The Illinois PTA is pleased to announce another success on Illinois PTA-supported legislation: Senate Bill 1793, Suicide Awareness Policy, was signed into law by Governor Rauner on August 21, 2015. Now known as Public Act 99-0443 or Ann Marie’s Law, requires that the State Board of Education: Develop a model youth suicide awareness and prevention … Continue reading A Summer of Legislative Success for the Children of Illinois
Math Video Series To Help You Help Your Child With Homework
The New Illinois Learning Standards for Math, based on the Common Core State Standards, are a fundamental shift in the way our children learn math. These new standards don’t just spell out what a student needs to learn, but shift teaching in focus, coherence, and rigor. The standards focus on the skills that students truly … Continue reading Math Video Series To Help You Help Your Child With Homework
20 Important Questions Families Should Ask Teachers
It’s back-to-school time, which means new teachers for most students and families. It’s easy to find information online supporting teacher-student interaction and family-student interaction, but not much is available on the third side of the triangle, the teacher-family interaction. Students are best supported when families and teachers are working together as a team. Part of … Continue reading 20 Important Questions Families Should Ask Teachers
Three Key Things Parents Need to Know This Back-to-School Season
As kids head back to school, here are three key things that parents need to know. Family Engagement is the Key to Student Success Years of research shows that family engagement is crucial to children’s success in school and beyond. When families are engaged by reading together, monitoring homework, ensuring attendance, working with teachers, asking … Continue reading Three Key Things Parents Need to Know This Back-to-School Season
12 Bullying Myths
We hear about bullying a lot in the media these days, from cyberbullying to fights at school to children committing suicide after months of tormenting. As parents, we like to think we would know when our kids are bullied or are bullying, or that they would at least tell us that they were being bullied. … Continue reading 12 Bullying Myths
Protect Your PTA Officers by Incorporating
The Illinois PTA encourages all PTAs to incorporate because incorporation offers additional liability protections for all PTA members. In the event an incorporated PTA is sued, barring willful or wanton conduct, only the PTA, as an entity, with its limited assets, would be subject to lawsuit and/or damages, not the individual members. Liability of the … Continue reading Protect Your PTA Officers by Incorporating
National PTA Helps Launch BeALearningHero.org
As families head back to school, a new effort will help parents prepare for the school year with the information and tools they need to become “learning heroes” for their children. Be a Learning Hero, a first-of-its-kind national public service partnership built exclusively for parents and guardians, launches today with support from the nation’s leading … Continue reading National PTA Helps Launch BeALearningHero.org
10 Tips to Get You Ready for Back to School
from kids.gov Back to school time can be both exciting and stressful for students and parents alike. Getting ready for the first day of classes is family effort. These tips from Kids.gov may help parents make this year’s back to school time easier: Schedule time with teachers. Keep an open dialog with school staff to … Continue reading 10 Tips to Get You Ready for Back to School
How to Talk About Bullying
from StopBullying.gov Parents, school staff, and other caring adults have a role to play in preventing bullying. They can: Help kids understand bullying. Talk about what bullying is and how to stand up to it safely. Tell kids bullying is unacceptable. Make sure kids know how to get help. Keep the lines of communication open. Check … Continue reading How to Talk About Bullying
Governor Signs Two More Illinois PTA-Supported Bills
Governor Rauner continues to take action on bills that were passed by the legislature this past spring, including two more that were supported by the Illinois PTA. Multiple Measure Index Bill House Bill 2683, the Multiple Measure Index Bill, now known as Public Act 99-0193, was signed into law on July 30, 2015 by Governor Rauner. … Continue reading Governor Signs Two More Illinois PTA-Supported Bills
Questions to Consider When Planning a PTA Fundraiser
As the new school year approaches, many PTAs are planning their budget for the coming year. One part of that budget is fundraising. The National PTA Back-to-School Kit has a list of questions for PTAs to use as guidelines when selecting and planning a fundraising project. Does it adhere to the PTA mission and purpose? … Continue reading Questions to Consider When Planning a PTA Fundraiser
Resources to Help Navigate Special Education in Illinois
As the new school year approaches, parents of children with special needs may be a little more nervous than most parents about sending their child to school. Navigating the special education system can be a confusing and frustrating process for parents. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has a parents’ guide, Educational Rights and … Continue reading Resources to Help Navigate Special Education in Illinois
10 Ways to Get Community Support for Your School
As school budgets continue to shrink, school districts are turning to their local communities to enhance children’s education. The Family Education website has a slide show of 10 Ways to Get Community Support for Your School. Their ten ideas are: Organize workplace tours Have a career day Volunteer reading programs Interview local community members Attend community … Continue reading 10 Ways to Get Community Support for Your School
New Parent Checklist Provides Questions to Ask Your Child’s School and More
The first day of school is rapidly approaching (and may already be here for some schools on a year-round calendar). The US Department of Education has partnered with the National PTA and other organizations to create a new parent checklist of questions and resources for families to use to help ensure their children are getting … Continue reading New Parent Checklist Provides Questions to Ask Your Child’s School and More
Advocacy in Action—Legislative Update
Every Child Achieves Act Thank you to those in our membership who took action on the Every Child Achieves Act and the proposed Family Engagement Amendments to that bill. With our combined advocacy efforts, the Every Child Achieves Act (previously known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA/No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)) has … Continue reading Advocacy in Action—Legislative Update
News from National Convention—Clave al Éxito (Key to Success)
National PTA announced a new resource to help Hispanic parents support their children’s education-- Clave al Éxito (Key to Success). Developed in collaboration with Univision Communications, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GreatSchools, and many other non-profit organizations, the ground-breaking, mobile-optimized website empowers Hispanic parents and other family members to engage in their child’s education … Continue reading News from National Convention—Clave al Éxito (Key to Success)
News from National Convention—Resolutions
One of the important business items at the National PTA Convention is adoption of resolutions. PTA resolutions and position statements are official documents outlining the opinion, will, or intent of the association to address national problems, situations, or concerns that affect children and youth and require national action to seek resolution on the issue. They … Continue reading News from National Convention—Resolutions
News from National Convention—STEM Education
One of the top topics at the 2015 National PTA Convention was STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education, as several panel discussions and workshops focused or touched on the topic. It is an important issue, as the US is producing fewer engineers and other STEM-related graduates at a time when the number of jobs … Continue reading News from National Convention—STEM Education
News from National Convention—New Diversity Toolkit
As our country and school communities become more diverse, our PTAs are working to become more diverse in their membership and leadership as well. Tohelp PTAs with that process, National PTA released the new Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit at the 2015 National PTA Convention at a breakfast honoring this year’s Jan Harp Domene Diversity and … Continue reading News from National Convention—New Diversity Toolkit
News from National Convention-Future Ready Schools
If you search for a picture of a classroom from 1915 or even 1890, chances are it looks a lot like your child’s classroom today. There are children at desks facing forward with the teacher at the front of the classroom providing information to the students. Perhaps there is a Smart Board at the front … Continue reading News from National Convention-Future Ready Schools
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