The past year has been a huge challenge for many of us, and among the biggest challenges were those facing our teachers. Going from a typical school year to suddenly all online and perhaps now back to in person or a hybrid system, our teachers have risen to the challenge of connecting with their students, … Continue reading Teacher Appreciation Week is May 3-7
May is Mental Health Month
There have been so many challenges throughout the pandemic, and many have struggled with their mental health in dealing with those challenges. The month of May is Mental Health Month, and Mental Health America has created a toolkit that your PTA can use to increase awareness and make a difference in the mental health of those in your school … Continue reading May is Mental Health Month
Advocate for Education Funding Now!
Illinois PTA has advocated for education funding for decades and was instrumental in helping to pass the Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula in 2017. In passing the EBF formula, the legislature promised to provide an additional $350 million every year to the formula to bring Illinois schools up to adequate levels of funding. Last year, no new money … Continue reading Advocate for Education Funding Now!
What Parents and Educators Can Do To Combat Hate Speech
Hate speech is more than harsh words. It is any form of expression meant to vilify, humiliate, or incite hatred against a group or class of people. It can be communicated by words, symbols, images, memes, emojis, or videos. Connect Safely has created a guide for parents and educators on how they can help children … Continue reading What Parents and Educators Can Do To Combat Hate Speech
Every Kid Healthy Week is April 26-30
Every Kid Healthy Week is an annual event organized by Action for Healthy Kids to celebrate school health and wellness during the last full week of April. Each day of the week focuses on a specific way schools and families can improve the health and wellness of kids. Your PTA can host an Every Kid … Continue reading Every Kid Healthy Week is April 26-30
National PTA Launches New YouTube Series
National PTA is launching a new YouTube series called 10 Minutes to PTA the Transformative Way on March 29th. The series is part of National PTA’s Center for Family Engagement initiative and will help PTA leaders improve their family engagement efforts. As the title implies, the 10-minute videos will feature PTA leaders and experts in the field … Continue reading National PTA Launches New YouTube Series
What to Do When Your Kids Are Fighting
Siblings are sometimes described as best friends and best enemies. Given that they live together and spend a lot of their free time together, it’s understandable that they’ll get on each other’s nerves once in a while. And the pandemic, with all of us spending much more time at home, hasn’t made things any easier. … Continue reading What to Do When Your Kids Are Fighting
Questions to Ask a School Board Candidate
With school board elections coming up soon, your PTA or PTA Council can be involved in the election by hosting a candidate forum or by publishing candidate answers to a set of questions. As noted last week, PTAs are allowed to conduct a candidate forum or provide educational material, just remember not to send materials … Continue reading Questions to Ask a School Board Candidate
Elections—A Guide for PTAs
Local elections are coming up on April 6, 2021, and it is these elections, often featuring school board races and school funding referenda, that PTAs and their members are most often involved with. Because PTAs are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, the IRS sets specific limits on what PTAs can and can’t do regarding elections. Failure to … Continue reading Elections—A Guide for PTAs
Make Sure Your Child is on the Path to Success
Learning Heroes, in partnership with National PTA, Univision, and Remake Learning Days Across America, has launched Paths to Success, a research-based bilingual resource aimed at helping parents of middle school and high school students prepare their child for success in high school and beyond—whether that path leads to a four-year college, technical program, or a job. … Continue reading Make Sure Your Child is on the Path to Success
Keeping Your Kids Safe Online—The Smart Talk and Parental Controls
Several years ago, Illinois PTA shared information on The Smart Talk, a National PTA program steps you through a conversation with your child about online limits and produces a “contract” based on your discussion. Now, with kids online even more in the pandemic for school, socializing, and fun, it might be time to revisit The … Continue reading Keeping Your Kids Safe Online—The Smart Talk and Parental Controls
Creating Meaningful Engagement Between Schools, Teachers, and Families
Last spring as the pandemic began to spread and schools shut down, how school districts communicated their plans with families was critical. National PTA partnered with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to investigate how schools engaged families and teachers in both school closing and reopening plans and to see what lessons could be learned … Continue reading Creating Meaningful Engagement Between Schools, Teachers, and Families
What the Education Omnibus Bill Means for Your Child’s Education
The Illinois General Assembly wrapped up its legislative session with a lame duck session in January just before the new legislators were sworn in. Among the bills passed was HB2170, known as the Education Omnibus Bill. As an omnibus bill, HB2170 contains lots of different pieces of legislation ranging from early childhood education all the way … Continue reading What the Education Omnibus Bill Means for Your Child’s Education
Take Your Family to School Week is February 14-21
Take Your Family to School Week occurs the week of February 17th to honor the day that PTA was founded in 1897 and is designed to provide families an opportunity to get more involved in their child’s education and to strengthen their relationships with their child’s teachers and administrators. Take Your Family to School Week 2021 may look … Continue reading Take Your Family to School Week is February 14-21
Helping Your Child Stay Engaged in Remote Learning
As classes start back up after the holidays, many of our children are quickly closing in on a year of online learning. Like many adults working remotely, they may be finding it difficult to continue to be engaged. The Child Mind Institute, whose resources we’ve highlighted before in supporting learning at home and modifying your child’s IEP or 504 … Continue reading Helping Your Child Stay Engaged in Remote Learning
Illinois Student Assistance Commission’s Free FAFSA Help
A new law that took effect with the 2020-2021 school year requires every Illinois public high school senior to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to graduate. With students struggling with remote education and family finances perhaps stretched by the pandemic, college plans may seem more up in the air than … Continue reading Illinois Student Assistance Commission’s Free FAFSA Help
PTAs and Fundraising: Games of Chance
One of the more common fundraising questions from PTAs concerns various games of chance—raffles, “squares,” and other similar activities. The appeal of such fundraisers is apparent, as they are often very easy to run and have the potential to raise a significant amount of money. However, such activities are heavily regulated in Illinois and may … Continue reading PTAs and Fundraising: Games of Chance
Education in a Pandemic
Last week, Advance Illinois released a report, Education in a Pandemic: Learning from Illinois Students & Caregivers to Plan for the Road Ahead. The report encapsulates what Illinois’s school communities—including students, parents, and caregivers—are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic and what they will require in the long term to recover and rebuild. A recording of the … Continue reading Education in a Pandemic
More Resources for Running Your PTA Virtually
Running a PTA during the pandemic has certainly been a challenge, from moving meetings online to figuring out what fundraisers and events can be done safely. Now, both National PTA and Illinois PTA have put together more resources to help you run your PTA virtually. Illinois PTA has been running an online series of events, Building … Continue reading More Resources for Running Your PTA Virtually
The 2020 Illinois School Report Card: What’s New and What’s Missing
Illinois releases its school report card every year at the end of October, and the data presented can help you and your PTA understand what is happening in your district and in your child’s school. This year, because of the pandemic, there are a lot of exceptions noted on the school report card, but there is still … Continue reading The 2020 Illinois School Report Card: What’s New and What’s Missing
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