Action for Healthy Kids, a long-time partner of the Illinois PTA, has an ongoing webinar series focusing on school health issues. There are three live webinars scheduled for this year so far, and past webinars are available as recordings. The live webinars will also be archived for those unable to attend in real-time, so be … Continue reading School Health Webinar Series—Programs, Fundraisers, and More
Give Your Child a Quick Readiness Check for This School Year
Surveys show that 90% of parents believe their child is performing at or above grade level. However, their teachers indicate that only 39% of students start the school year prepared for grade-level work, and other indicators such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) agree with them. Learning Heroes has created a quick readiness … Continue reading Give Your Child a Quick Readiness Check for This School Year
3 Back-to-School Things Families Need to Know
Illinois students are heading back to school now or in the next few weeks. Here are three key things that parents need to know that your PTA should be educating them about. Family engagement is critical to student success.Research shows that real family engagement, not just newsletters home or brief parent-teacher conferences twice a year, … Continue reading 3 Back-to-School Things Families Need to Know
National PTA’s New Position Statement on Safe and Supportive Schools
As schools across the country are increasingly impacted by violence and natural disasters, National PTA’s board of directors adopted a new position statement on safe and supportive schools during its August board meeting. The statement calls for a multi-faceted approach to address school safety that involves all stakeholders, especially students, parents and families. “School safety is … Continue reading National PTA’s New Position Statement on Safe and Supportive Schools
How Do You Tell Your PTA’s Story?
At this year’s National PTA Convention, Illinois PTA President Brian Minsker was speaking with PTA members from Tennessee about their efforts in raising the age for juvenile courts there. He shared the Illinois PTA report on Young Adults Involved in the Justice Systemwith them. One of them asked him to join their PTA, which he … Continue reading How Do You Tell Your PTA’s Story?
Key Questions to Ask at Your Child’s School
The start of the new school year is fast approaching. The US Department of Education has created I Have a Question…What Parents and Caregivers Can Ask and Do to Help Children Thrive at School: A Parent Checklistto help you fulfill an important part of your child’s education—engaging with your child’s school in a way that … Continue reading Key Questions to Ask at Your Child’s School
News from National Convention—Membership
Membership is at the heart of PTA, so it’s not surprising that membership was the focus of several workshops and one big announcement at the 2018 National PTA Convention in New Orleans. The announcement? Every PTA leader who registers or logs in to the Local PTA Leader Kit(formerly the Back-to-School Kit) will receive a new … Continue reading News from National Convention—Membership
News from National Convention—Grant Opportunities
At the 2018 National PTA Convention in New Orleans, numerous new grant opportunities were announced that PTAs (and in some cases, PTA Councils and PTA districts or regions) can apply for. These grants provide an opportunity for your PTA to implement new programs and grow your PTA. STEM + Families Science Festival Grants Deadline: August … Continue reading News from National Convention—Grant Opportunities
Toolkit Helps Parents Advocate for Teacher Training on Special Needs
If you are the parent of a child with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Section 504 plan, you are probably used to advocating for your child. But there is one area that many parents overlook—teacher training or professional development. Understoodand the National Center for Learning Disabilitieshave created a parent toolkit to help advocate for … Continue reading Toolkit Helps Parents Advocate for Teacher Training on Special Needs
Handbook Helps Local Leaders Engage Districts on ESSA
Local implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the focus of many new resources for stakeholders, as school district begin to create their own ESSA implementation plan. One of the latest, which National PTA contributed to, is Meaningful Local Engagement Under ESSA—Issue 2: A Handbook for Local Leadersfrom Partners for Each and Every … Continue reading Handbook Helps Local Leaders Engage Districts on ESSA
Engage for Education Equity Toolkit
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and Illinois’s ESSA implementation plan emphasize family engagement as a critical piece for improving student achievement. To help empower parents, families, caregivers, students, and other community members, the Dignity in Schools Campaign, Partners for Each and Every Child, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund have partnered to … Continue reading Engage for Education Equity Toolkit
National PTA School of Excellence Sign-Ups Open Now
Show your community that something important is happening at your school—a new kind of welcoming process that extends beyond the building and into the homes of families who now feel prepared to help support their child’s success. Become a National PTA School of Excellence! This recognition program supports and celebrates partnerships between PTAs and schools … Continue reading National PTA School of Excellence Sign-Ups Open Now
The Importance of Teacher Leadership for Student Success
It’s sometimes said that teachers reach the pinnacle of their career the first day they walk into their classroom. Unless they wanted to go into administration, a classroom teacher had no advancement track. But that is changing in many school districts as they begin to embrace teacher leadership. What is Teacher Leadership? Teacher leadership can … Continue reading The Importance of Teacher Leadership for Student Success
National PTA Launches Center for Family Engagement
Last week, National PTA announced the launch of the Center for Family Engagement, a new initiative to embed transformative family engagement practices, programs and policies across the educational system. “We know families are essential to children’s success and school improvement efforts. However, traditional family engagement policies and practices do not always meet the needs of … Continue reading National PTA Launches Center for Family Engagement
National PTA’s Family Guides
You might be aware of National PTA’s Parents’ Guides to Student Success that help parents understand what their child is learning, how to talk with their child’s teacher, and how to help support their child’s education. National PTA has partnered with the National Education Association to create additional family guides to help parents support their … Continue reading National PTA’s Family Guides
USDA Provides School Wellness Policy Outreach Toolkit
Does your school or school district have a wellness policy? Chances are, they do, but families and even teachers may not know much about it. The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service has created a Local School Wellness Policy Outreach Toolkit to help schools (or PTAs) engage staff and families on their … Continue reading USDA Provides School Wellness Policy Outreach Toolkit
Early Learning Council’s New Guidelines for Community Engagement
The value of PTA can be measured in a wide variety of ways, but one of the most strategic is representation of the parent community at the state level through participation in meaningful relationships. One such relationship is with the Illinois Early Learning Council. Created by Public Act 93-380, the Council is a public-private partnership … Continue reading Early Learning Council’s New Guidelines for Community Engagement
Why Don’t Volunteers Stick Around?
It is generally agreed that no one of us can motivate another. The most we can do is to stimulate others to action, but individuals must provide the motivation for themselves. Volunteers are obviously motivated by something other than a paycheck, such as self-esteem, recognition, approval, acceptance, and pride in a job well done. A … Continue reading Why Don’t Volunteers Stick Around?
New Hour of Code Activity from National PTA & ThinkFun
Computer Science Education Week begins December 4th, and with it comes the Hour of Code program that Illinois PTA has covered before. We’ve also covered the importance of computer science education and computational thinking for students. This year, as part of National PTA’s STEM + Families initiative, program partner ThinkFun has created an Hour of … Continue reading New Hour of Code Activity from National PTA & ThinkFun
ESSA, Family Engagement, and Your PTA
Implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) continues to make progress, with the US Department of Education approving Illinois’s ESSA plan. In Congress, the House of Representatives has included funding for the Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFECs) in its appropriations bill. With the approval of the Illinois ESSA plan, attention now turns to Local … Continue reading ESSA, Family Engagement, and Your PTA
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