April 2020 – WSPTA Executive Director Message
Dear Members, As we cope with the pandemic, I thought I would share with you some of the lessons I learned living through the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s. Like most gay men of my generation, I was greatly impacted by that awful disease, losing friends and a partner/husband. It was a terrible…
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Leadership
Family and Community Engagement During This Time of COVID-19
Guest Post Provided by Judy East, WSPTA Family and Community Engagement Committee member COVID-19 has infiltrated every aspect of our lives. Daily routines interrupted. Shopping is a daily adventure now. Trips canceled. And our children are with us all the time as “social distancing” doesn’t include our own kids, sadly. (Only kidding…mostly!) Our PTA lives…
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Family Engagement
Taking Care of Business Through Virtual Meetings
*Update 3/27/20:* WSPTA and National PTA are working hard to bring you the best possible information as quickly as we have it. New information has come to us from National PTA President Leslie Boggs. “After visiting with our legal counsel and parliamentarian, here is what we learned: In common law, the cy pres doctrine [a…
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Leadership
Washington State PTAs and COVID-19
Updated on March 26, 2020, to include summary of topics. Updated on March 11, 2020, adding information on Childcare and Venue Rental Agreements. This post covers the following topics: Advocating for All, Childcare, Supporting Schools, Events and Activities, Venue Rental Agreements, Virtual Meetings, Donating to Families, and Media Inquiries. Our local PTAs and PTA councils…
WSPTA President’s Power of Connection – March 2020
Despite restrictions on our ability to gather in person, I see a huge surge in our need to connect with others and lift each other up. We are all in a different place than we were when we began our PTA leadership roles. You may be reading this in a house full of children that…
Category:
Leadership
National PTA’s Frequently Asked Questions Regarding COVID-19
National PTA provided this guidance through a newsletter sent March 18, 2020 The outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is a rapidly evolving public health situation. State and local PTAs must follow the direction and guidance of their respective health and education departments. In order to assist and support the most vulnerable children and families, PTAs should…
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Health & Well-being
2020 Legislative Session – Week Nine Recap, Sine Die
Legislature adjourns March 12 Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant, legconsultant@wastatepta.org The Legislature adjourned “sine die” on March 12, leaving $2 billion in the Rainy-Day Account and nearly $1 billion in reserves. To support COVID-19 efforts, the Legislature appropriated $200 million, of which $25 million was set aside in a new unemployment account created…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
Supplemental Operating Budget Highlights
Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant On March 11, the House and Senate operating budget negotiators released their agreed-upon supplemental operating budget. Here are the highlights for K-12 education: $45.7 million for LEA hold harmless (list of school districts and funding); $31.8 million for 0.5 school counselors, starting with high-poverty elementary schools (50% or…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
Information regarding ESSB 5395 – Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Bill
Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant Parents who are wondering about ESSB 5395, the comprehensive sexual health education bill, may find the following bill information or this bill report helpful. As always, I encourage people to “read the bill.” Here some things to keep in mind: Timing & Curriculum If your district doesn’t currently…
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Advocacy
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Legislative
PTAs and Coronavirus: How We Deal
Grace Jurado, President, Northshore Council PTSA Guest Post Provided By Grace Jurado, President, Northshore Council PTSA Since March 5, all schools in the Northshore School District have been closed in an effort to slow down the spread of COVID-19 within our district boundaries. With Evergreen hospital and the Life Care Center both just a couple of…