October 2021 – Executive Director Message
Dear members, The desire to find balance in our lives has been on my mind quite a bit lately. The hope is that we can find some equilibrium between our families, work, and volunteering. The ideal has been that home and family come first, followed by work and school, and volunteering is third. It comes…
Category:
Leadership
Tip of the Week – October 7
PTA and Elections: Help Educate Your Members When it comes to elections, PTAs can help educate members on the issues that affect the health, education, and welfare of students. Here are three easy ideas for civic engagement all PTAs and councils can do: Candidate Forums– It’s not too late to hold an online candidate forum…
Category:
Leadership
That’s a Wrap! – Autumn Leadership Launch 2021
It’s time to celebrate a successful introduction of the first-ever virtual Autumn Leadership Launch (A.L.L.)! Many thanks to all who attended and volunteered. Registration exceeded what we had anticipated. Between attendance and the number of views of recorded sessions, this proved to be a popular training option for leaders statewide. If you missed it this…
Tip of the Week – September 30
Financial To-Do List to Start the Year The entire board of directors should review PTA budget and monthly financial statements Written financial policies, including for electronic banking and passwords Insurance policy renewal IRS informational filing (990N/990-EZ/990 – filing due November 15) Standards of Affiliation At the first membership meeting, PTA members should Adopt/re-adopt the PTA…
Category:
Leadership
October Checklist for Running Your PTA
Ongoing Tasks Attend board and membership meetings Read meeting minutes and offer corrections Prepare reports for board and membership meetings Get educated: take advantage of in-person and online training opportunities Be familiar with your responsibilities and fulfill them Review and ask questions about the monthly financial report Actively engage in a plan for membership growth…
Category:
Leadership
September 2021 – Executive Director Message
Dear Members, One of the principles underlying parliamentary procedure in a meeting is that every member present should have an equal voice and vote. This is one of the reasons why I love parliamentary procedure. At its core, it is profoundly democratic. However, there are a few barriers that come with this. Members have to…
Category:
Leadership
September Programs Plug
Here is the first Programs Plug to help let you know about what’s new. Your help is needed to promote all our PTA programs so we can meet our goal for increased participation. The biggest news is that Washington State PTA (WSPTA) will be using a new online submission platform for most of our awards…
Category:
Programs
September Checklist for Running Your PTA
Board To-Do List for September Ongoing Tasks Attend board and membership meetings Read meeting minutes and offer corrections Prepare reports for board and membership meetings Get educated: take advantage of in-person and online training opportunities Be familiar with your responsibilities and fulfill them Review and ask questions about the monthly financial report Actively engage in…
Category:
Leadership
August 2021 – Executive Director Message
Dear Members, Our Local PTA Specialist, Tatia Vasbinder, assisted with this month’s article. Last month I wrote about purpose, both the purpose of Washington State PTA and my personal purpose. What I missed was the purpose for your local or council PTA. Do you know what that is? The stated purpose of any nonprofit organization…
Category:
Leadership
August Checklist for Running Your PTA
Board To-Do List for August Ongoing Tasks Attend board and membership meetings Read meeting minutes and offer corrections Prepare reports for board and membership meetings Get educated: take advantage of in-person and online training opportunities Be familiar with your responsibilities and fulfill them Review and ask questions about the monthly financial report Actively engage in…
Category:
Leadership