Supporting digital equity remains WSPTA priority
Last fall, members adopted a position to close the digital divide, improve affordable connectivity, and provide developmentally appropriate devices to students. Nancy Chamberlain shared the overall goal with the Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee here, while Tori Emerson shared a more localized story with committee members, heard here. The bill they were testifying on…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
WSPTA advocates for suicide prevention
Speaking in favor of 2SSB 5327, establishing a confidential youth tip line, Tanya Aggar shared some heartbreaking stories about youth suicides from the past week with the House Children, Youth and Families Committee. “Youth suicide is preventable, and the goal is zero. No more deaths,” said Aggar. Her testimony can be found here.
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Advocacy
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Legislative
WSPTA supports college credit bill
Speaking on behalf of Washington State PTA, parent advocate Natalya Yudkovsky asked the Senate education committee to pass SHB 1302 from committee. The bill would extend the opportunity for 9th graders to earn college credit when taking College in the High School courses. Also, at the request of WSPTA, bill sponsor Rep. April Berg, D-Everett,…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
Preparing for Transition – Phase 1
Believe it or not, it is not too early to start thinking about transitions in preparation for next year. To set up your PTA and incoming board for success it is important to start planning now. Imagine how you would want to begin a new term in your PTA, and create a plan to make…
Category:
Leadership
The Value of Councils
There are 29 councils in Washington, and 71% of all PTAs in Washington are served by councils. WHY is being in a council important? If a school exists in an area served by a council, it is more likely to have a PTA: 66% of schools served by councils have PTAs, while only 16% of…
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Governance
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Leadership
Not That Kind of Fishing
A phishing email is a bogus email with harmful intent carefully designed to look like a legitimate request (or attached file) from a site or person you trust. Its purpose is to get you to give up confidential personal information or download something containing a virus. The first thing to ask yourself is, “Do I…
Category:
Leadership
Prevent Gun Violence
Safety. Powered by PTA. As children go back to school, WSPTA wants to echo our National PTA’s concerns about gun violence. “National PTA and all PTA members nationwide are saddened to hear of the shooting that occurred on March 1 at Watson Chapel Junior High. As schools across the country are beginning to reopen for in-person…
2021 Focus on Advocacy – March 8 Report
Legislature passes half-way mark Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant, legconsultant@wastatepta.org With an eye towards the March 9 deadline for bills to be passed out of the chamber in which they started, legislators spent the past week meeting in caucuses and conducting floor action. Both the House and Senate met on Saturday; the House…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
March 2021 – Executive Director Message
Dear Members, The crocuses are up, the daffodils are about to blossom, and the tulip plants are at half-height! Spring is such a wonderful time of year. Our world is renewing, giving us hope for a warmer, brighter tomorrow. Hope has been on my mind quite a bit lately. As we rapidly approach a year…
Category:
Leadership
PTA Supports Clean Drinking Water in our Schools
Advocacy. Powered by PTA. PTA supports clean drinking water in our schools to protect the health of our children. As such, WSPTA supports House Bill 1139, which would pay for and require testing for lead and remediation of public school outlets (faucets, etc.) that have elevated levels of lead (above 5 ppb). We encourage local…
Category:
Advocacy
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Legislative