Concerned about an issue in your community that is actually statewide in scope? Looking to strengthen your advocacy on that issue? Then you need to consider submitting a resolution to the 2024 Illinois PTA Convention. Resolutions are how Illinois PTA takes on new advocacy issues on specific topics, such as safe gun storage, health care … Continue reading Call for Resolutions for the 2024 Illinois PTA Convention
Creating Your PTA Value Message
If you are looking to grow your PTA membership, you might have already heard that the number one reason people haven’t joined PTA is because they were never asked to join. And while, “Would you like to join our PTA?” will get some people to join, it’s not always enough. Fortunately, National PTA has created … Continue reading Creating Your PTA Value Message
Selfies, Social, and Screens: Navigating Virtual Spaces for Youth
Today’s guest post comes from Mental Health America and discusses their latest Back-to-School toolkit focused on social media, online activities, and their affect on children’s mental health. In the toolkit, you will find posters you can share with your PTA members or post at school, graphics and sample social media posts, and information and fact … Continue reading Selfies, Social, and Screens: Navigating Virtual Spaces for Youth
A Very Successful Spring 2023 Legislative Session
It was a very busy spring session in Springfield this year, with almost 6,700 bills introduced in the General Assembly. Our advocacy campaigns this spring were also incredibly successful, with our highest ever response rate and with almost all of our targeted legislation passing both houses and signed into law by the governor. Thank you … Continue reading A Very Successful Spring 2023 Legislative Session
Have a Healthy Start to the School Year
The start of a new school year can bring a lot of challenges—new classmates, perhaps a new school building, new routines. If your child is anxious about the new school year, check out National PTA’s Healthy Minds resources for families, part of the Healthy Lifestyles program. National PTA’s Healthy Minds resources for families provide tools … Continue reading Have a Healthy Start to the School Year
School of Excellence Recognizes 9 PTAs for 2022-2024
National PTA’s School of Excellence program is designed to build strong partnerships between families and schools and create meaningful family engagement. This year, National PTA has recognized nine Illinois PTAs as Schools of Excellence for the 2022-2024 period, with Twin Echo Elementary PTA in Collinsville earning the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Family-School Partnership Award of Merit … Continue reading School of Excellence Recognizes 9 PTAs for 2022-2024
Be An Arts Advocate – Speak Up for Diversity in the Arts
As we head back for another school year, take note that the arts are an essential part of a complete education, whether it happens in the home, school, or community. Children and youth benefit from innovative thinking, creative expression and improved focus. PTA supports programs that promote the public awareness of the arts and arts … Continue reading Be An Arts Advocate – Speak Up for Diversity in the Arts
New National PTA Resolutions
At this year’s virtual National PTA Convention, four resolutions were adopted by the delegates: Resolution on Hazing Resolution on Seizure Safe Schools Resolution on Safe Storage of Firearms Resolution on the Protection of and Support for LGBTQ+ Individuals Resolutions are how a local PTA or PTA Council can direct the Illinois PTA or National PTA … Continue reading New National PTA Resolutions
Get Ready for PTA Grant Season
One of the great benefits of being a PTA is that National PTA offers a huge number of grants on a variety of topics. Last fall, 18 local PTAs in Illinois received $1,000 grants supporting programs in STEM, tobacco prevention, reading and literacy, arts education, internet safety, and digital device use. An additional 8 local … Continue reading Get Ready for PTA Grant Season
5 Steps to PTA Financial Success
You may think of your role with your PTA as “just a volunteer job,” but in reality, you are helping to run a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. That’s why both the state and federal governments have specific legal requirements for your PTA, most of which focus on financial issues. Here are five steps to PTA financial … Continue reading 5 Steps to PTA Financial Success
Help, I’m the New PTA President!
So the previous PTA president just dropped off a box of stuff and sped off down the street (and was that a cackle you heard?). The person from the nominating committee had said it was an easy job, just run the PTA meetings, but there’s so much stuff in the box and nothing about running … Continue reading Help, I’m the New PTA President!
The Secret to PTA Leadership Success
What if there was a tool to avoid the most common problems PTAs run into—a tool that made your PTA meetings run smoother, made board conflict less likely, and helped avoid legal issues with the IRS and the state of Illinois? What if learning to use this tool effectively only took a few hours of … Continue reading The Secret to PTA Leadership Success
6 Steps to Grow Your PTA Membership
July kicks off the start of a new PTA membership year. As a PTA leader, you know that members are the lifeblood of your PTA, but perhaps you are unsure how to grow your membership. Here are six simple steps to growing your PTA membership. Have a membership goal. It’s hard to grow your membership … Continue reading 6 Steps to Grow Your PTA Membership
National PTA Survey Shows Increasing Concern Over Violence and Bullying
Today’s guest post is from National PTA, focusing on the results of a national survey of parents’ concerns during the 2022-2023 school year. It is the sixth survey by National PTA that has documented how families have experienced the pandemic with respect to their children’s schools and the third survey this school year on parent … Continue reading National PTA Survey Shows Increasing Concern Over Violence and Bullying
Soar into Summer with Reading Field Trips from RIF
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) has been supporting childhood literacy since 1966. This summer, they are supporting summer reading through their Summer Reading Field Trips. RIF is inviting children across the country to explore their communities and the world around them through reading. The website has everything you need to help your elementary school child traveling … Continue reading Soar into Summer with Reading Field Trips from RIF
Engaging Immigrant Families
Family engagement is critical to student success, and PTA has emphasized this for decades. With one in ten public school students being English language learners, engaging with immigrant families is becoming a growing challenge for PTAs and schools. The Carnegie Corporation of New York recently released a report, Becoming an Ally: Partnering with Immigrant Families … Continue reading Engaging Immigrant Families
Social Media and Youth Mental Health
The US Surgeon General recently released an advisory on social media and youth mental health. The advisory notes that while almost all of those ages 13-17 use social media and it does provide some benefits to children and adolescents, it also presents a meaningful risk to them as well. The advisory also notes that the … Continue reading Social Media and Youth Mental Health
Advocacy, Legislation, and Results: Lead in School Drinking Water
Illinois PTA has a long history of advocacy success, and one of the biggest successes in recent years—testing school drinking water for lead—just had a follow-up article in the Chicago Tribune (Note: The Tribune has lowered its paywall for this article) along with a tool to see the results of your school district’s lead testing. … Continue reading Advocacy, Legislation, and Results: Lead in School Drinking Water
Build Your Membership with Membership Minutes
National PTA has a wealth of tools to help your PTA build its membership. One tool that you might have missed is the Membership Minute short videos shared on social media. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be an easy way or a location where you can find all of these videos in one place, so … Continue reading Build Your Membership with Membership Minutes
10 Steps to a Smooth PTA Transition
With the school year coming to a close, it’s time for current PTA officers and board members to wrap things up and hand them over to the incoming PTA leadership team. For incoming officers and board members, it’s time to what you need to do and what you need to know to be successful in … Continue reading 10 Steps to a Smooth PTA Transition
One Voice Illinois 