With the winter break from school coming up, the school year is at a rough halfway point. It’s a good time to assess how your child is doing and to work with your child’s teacher regarding areas where your child is struggling. The Child Mind Institute has recently updated an article on how to work … Continue reading How to Work with Your Child’s Teacher
Have Fun, Grow Membership, and Win Prizes with Membership Mania
As a PTA leader, you’ve probably often heard that you should integrate membership into everything your PTA does, but perhaps you’re not sure what that means exactly. Is it having a PTA membership table out at every event? Is it always having a join our PTA link in every e-mail? All of this and more? … Continue reading Have Fun, Grow Membership, and Win Prizes with Membership Mania
Embracing Inclusivity and Diversification: 7 Ways to Foster a Welcoming Holiday Season
The holiday season is a time for joy, unity, and celebration. As PTA members, we have the opportunity to make this festive season contain monumental joy by promoting inclusivity and diversification within our events, and creating opportunities for representation. Let's explore ways to embrace the richness of our differences and create a holiday season that … Continue reading Embracing Inclusivity and Diversification: 7 Ways to Foster a Welcoming Holiday Season
Building a PTA Meeting Agenda
Do your PTA meetings seem to run on forever? Does it feel like nothing ever gets decided? Do you actually have a published agenda for your meeting? Building an effective agenda for your PTA meeting is probably the most important thing you can do to improve your meetings, and in doing so, you’ll also improve … Continue reading Building a PTA Meeting Agenda
It’s Tax Time (for Many PTAs)
I know, you thought tax time was in April. But for PTAs (and other 501(c)(3) organizations), tax time depends on when their fiscal year ends. For many PTAs, that’s June 30th. And yes, your PTA is a non-profit organization, but you still need to file a form with the IRS. Your tax form is due … Continue reading It’s Tax Time (for Many PTAs)
Integrating Membership into your PTA Programming: Reflections
It’s Reflections season with art projects & entries being turned in. Students and families are excited at the ability to create projects in the 6 art categories and share their talents and creativity! Did your PTA sponsor the Reflections Art Program at your school? Have you ever thought of integrating your Membership campaign with those … Continue reading Integrating Membership into your PTA Programming: Reflections
Let’s Get Ready to Advocaaaaaaaaate!
The Illinois General Assembly has its Fall Veto Session coming up October 24-26 and November 7-9. This session is nominally aimed at reconsidering bills that the Governor has vetoed from the spring session, but the legislature can consider new bills or finish work on bills that didn’t pass both houses in the spring. Illinois PTA … Continue reading Let’s Get Ready to Advocaaaaaaaaate!
Understanding Your School District’s Finances
The Illinois Report Card for 2022-2023 will be released around the end of October. The report card covers how students performed on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), demographic information for your school district, and financial information on your school district, including site-based expenditure reporting for each school in the district on a per-pupil basis. … Continue reading Understanding Your School District’s Finances
Everyone Can Join PTA!
So you’ve made your first membership dues payment to Illinois PTA by October 1 (ahem), and perhaps you’re thinking, “Is that it? Are we done with membership for the year?” Of course not! You’ve got your Reach for the Stars goals to achieve. And if you’re looking for ways to grow your membership to meet … Continue reading Everyone Can Join PTA!
Call for Resolutions for the 2024 Illinois PTA Convention
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!
One Voice Illinois 