At the Illinois PTA 2016 Legislative Conference, one of the focus issues was the Illinois budget situation. Today is the 280th day without a budget in Illinois, and this lack of a budget is having profound effects on the lives of children, families, and our state’s economic future. The “Do Nothing” Budget Illinois currently has … Continue reading News from the Illinois PTA Legislative Conference—The Illinois Budget
Sign the Testing Bill of Rights!
This post by Jacki Ball originally appeared on National PTA’s One Voice blog. Jacki Ball is the director of government affairs at National PTA. National PTA is pleased to join forces with the Center for American Progress (CAP), America Achieves and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), among others in support of the … Continue reading Sign the Testing Bill of Rights!
New Report Highlights 21st Century School Facility Needs
When thinking about what makes a quality school, most people cite quality teachers, good curriculum, and perhaps modern technology. Very few think about the school building itself; after all, in many cases the building has been there largely unchanged for decades. In 1995, a U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) report, School Facilities: Condition of America’s … Continue reading New Report Highlights 21st Century School Facility Needs
Illinois First State Chosen to Close Equity Gaps in Advanced Courses
In its 10th Annual Report to the Nation, the College Board noted that while progress has been made between 2003 and 2013, low-income and students of color continue to be underrepresented in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. In Illinois, African-American students represented 13.5% of the graduates in 2003, but only 6.9% of those taking AP exams … Continue reading Illinois First State Chosen to Close Equity Gaps in Advanced Courses
Spring Break Activities to Fight “Mom, I’m Bored” Syndrome
It’s spring break time for many Illinois schools, and with it comes the “I’m bored” comments from your kids. While the old parental adage that boredom is a choice, not a condition probably won’t eliminate those comments, here are some sources of worksheets, activities, and ideas to provide some of those choices. Great Kids has … Continue reading Spring Break Activities to Fight “Mom, I’m Bored” Syndrome
President’s Corner
Greetings, We are two weeks away from convention and the excitement is building even more. We are excited to see and meet every single one of you. If you haven’t registered yet it’s not too late. Just click here. We are excited and blessed to have Crystal Davis, Miss Illinois speak on distracted driving at … Continue reading President’s Corner
7 Questions to Ask a Summer Camp
The weather is warming up, and the school year is beginning to wind down. You may be starting to think about summer camp for your child. Whether it is a sleep-away camp or a day camp, summer camp provides a great opportunity for kids to spend time in nature, meet new people, try new things, … Continue reading 7 Questions to Ask a Summer Camp
Effective PTA Communications
We live in a media-rich environment with smartphones and the internet providing information in an almost constant stream. PTAs used to be able to send home a newsletter with a brightly-colored front page and know that families would see it, but the “Backpack Express” is much less effective these days. So how can your PTA’s … Continue reading Effective PTA Communications
President’s Corner
The Illinois PTA has been asked to serve on the ESSA committee with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Matthew John Rodrigues, our State president has been attending those meetings as the Illinois PTA Representative. Now we, parents and families, have the opportunity to tell law makers what measures a student success for you. … Continue reading President’s Corner
New College Scorecard Helps Families Make Informed Choices
For many high school seniors in Illinois, it’s a nervous time of waiting to hear which colleges and universities they’ve been accepted into. While they may be logging into websites or checking their e-mail rather than looking for that “fat envelope” that their parents did, making the final choice of where to go can still … Continue reading New College Scorecard Helps Families Make Informed Choices
Navigating Illinois PTA’s New Advocacy Tools
You may not think of yourself as an advocate, but if you’ve ever spoken to your child’s teacher about a problem your child was having, if your PTA has ever brought a concern to your school’s principal, if you’ve ever spoken up at a school board meeting, you are an advocate. Illinois PTA has new … Continue reading Navigating Illinois PTA’s New Advocacy Tools
On My Way to Parent-Teacher Conferences: Recalculating
Parent-Teacher conferences are coming up for many schools. Judy Hutchinson is a Family Consumer Specialist with the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS), Division of Mental Health (DMH) Child & Adolescent Services who has been a guest blogger for One Voice Illinois before. Today she shares a personal tale about the importance of parents and … Continue reading On My Way to Parent-Teacher Conferences: Recalculating
President’s Corner
Welcome back, As we continue to develop our partnership with McDonald’s I wanted to inform you of a couple new things we are learning along the way. They have a new and exciting program supporting our children’s literacy. As you can see below each of the franchise owners have a deep rooted commitment to distribute … Continue reading President’s Corner
7 Things Families Need to Know About the New Illinois Science Standards
In 2014, Illinois adopted a new set of science standards, based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). School districts have been implementing the standards since then, and all schools must use the standards beginning in the 2016-2017 school year. Here are X things that families need to know about these new standards. The standards … Continue reading 7 Things Families Need to Know About the New Illinois Science Standards
Parent Cue Cards to Help Deal with Discipline
Have you ever wished that your kid came with an instruction manual? Do things like homework hassles, sibling issues, and shutting down the screen when asked leave your nerves frayed? Great Kids has a new resource to help you with what to do when issues arise: Parenting Cue Cards. The cue cards were developed in … Continue reading Parent Cue Cards to Help Deal with Discipline
Do’s and Don’ts of PTAs and Elections
Illinois’s primary election is coming up on March 15th and the presidential election is November 8th. While most local elections in Illinois are in odd years, your school district may have a bond referendum on the ballot. With elections dominating the news, it’s a good time to review what PTAs can and can’t do as … Continue reading Do’s and Don’ts of PTAs and Elections
Preparing Students with Autism for the Transition to College
For high school seniors, now is an anxious time. College applications are in, and the acceptances and rejections are starting to be sent out. It’s an anxious time for parents as well, whether is the first child to head off or the last. For parents of children on the autism spectrum, the anxieties can be … Continue reading Preparing Students with Autism for the Transition to College
New Report Evaluates Content and Quality of PARCC Assessment
In less than a month, the testing window for this year’s Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) will open and schools will begin assessing students in grades 3 through 8 and in high school. There was some controversy surrounding last year’s PARCC assessment, and this year’s assessment is changing to address … Continue reading New Report Evaluates Content and Quality of PARCC Assessment
Why PTA? Advocacy!
It is a question that is often heard—why be a PTA? Why not be an independent parent organization rather than paying PTA dues? For many PTAs, the answer is because of the many PTA programs like Reflections, the online training courses and other leadership resources, or even the member benefits. But the one thing that … Continue reading Why PTA? Advocacy!
Illinois Schools are Closing the “Honesty Gap”
Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), states were required to have annual assessments of students in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. For Illinois, those assessments were the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) for the younger grades and the Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE) for high school students. Because NCLB set specific percentages … Continue reading Illinois Schools are Closing the “Honesty Gap”
One Voice Illinois 