Dear Members, Wow – what a month! The 2019-2020 Strategic Plan Listening Tour got off to a great start in September. I was absolutely delighted to participate in four region conference and hold Listening Tour sessions. So far I have met so many members and heard so many stories. Some stories were heartbreaking and others…
Dear Members, “Intentional Inclusion” is a term I’ve been hearing lately. I heard it recently from a special education teacher who advocates for her students to be included not just during the school day, but in community events. She said inclusion is a learning process for all of us, and I think she’s right. Family…
Dear Members, It’s the end of August and we have hit the ground running. There is so very much to do this time of year! Families are engaged in the annual “back to school” ritual, preparing children and youth for school. PTAs are gearing up membership drives and planning their events and activities for the year. WSPTA Region Directors and other…
Dear Members, My 21-year-old daughter, Maddie, has been working part-time while attending college, and it’s been fascinating to observe her young career taking shape. She’s working towards a degree in aviation maintenance management where roughly 98% of the workforce doesn’t resemble her at all. As a petite young woman in a male-dominated field, she’s learning…
Dear Members, As you are probably aware, our membership database is about to change. About 5 years ago Washington State PTA switched to PT Avenue from the prior database program. This was a dramatic change for both the state office and for local PTA leadership. Some of the results were great, some not so good.…
Dear Members, Our 2019-2021 term is off to a great start, and I’m really excited about all the terrific things we’re working on! As Andrew mentioned in his recent blog post, we started off the year with a board retreat on May 31 and June 1 in Redmond. I’ve been to a lot of awesome…
Dear Members, One of the messages I have heard repeatedly when I started working with the Washington State PTA seven months ago was how quiet it gets in the summer time. The story goes that with the end of the school year we stop hearing from you, the leaders and other members of the PTAs…
Dear Members, It has been a busy month for us at the Washington State PTA office. After wrapping up the Convention we dived right into preparations for the various meetings and retreats we will be holding over the summer to prepare for the 2019-2020 year. New volunteer leaders will be forfeiting part of their summer…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Andrew Estep Washington State PTA (253) 214-7410 www.wastatepta.org WASHINGTON STATE PTA ANNOUNCES NEWLY INSTALLED BOARD OF DIRECTORS Board of directors to meet for strategic planning session. Tacoma, WA (June 1, 2019): The Washington State PTA (WSPTA), the oldest and largest grassroots child advocacy association in Washington state, announced the 2019-2021 board of…
Dear Members, The following is derived from my Executive Director Remarks to the membership at the Convention on April 28, 2019. Thank you, President Michelle Nims and the entire Board of Directors, for hiring me. Being the Executive Director of the Washington State PTA is an incredible privilege and I am filled with gratitude at…