How can you tell if your PTA is “healthy”? One fairly easy and fun way is to apply for one or more of WSPTA’s Awards of Excellence. These are a celebration of how much impact a PTA has in their community, and recognizes PTAs for the great service and programs they provide to their members.…

The newness of the year and decade feel like a blank page, just waiting for us to write the next chapter in the history of WSPTA. I testified on behalf of our members recently. As I stood in front of the capitol, I reflected on all those who have advocated for children and families, all…

This time of year reminds me of the family and friends connections that I hold most dear. My family has gotten fairly large, and getting 29 of us together for holidays is tough. We’ve started a new tradition of renting a large cabin early in the holiday season and celebrating then. It’s not easy to…

Dear Members, For parents, caregivers and PTA volunteers, Autumn is a very busy time! There are so many new people to meet, new routines, and projects to kick off that life can feel a little chaotic. Some of us thrive on these connections, and for some, it can feel overwhelming. Hopefully, you’ve completed some of…

Dear Members, Students are at the center of everything we do in PTA, but sometimes we get so immersed in running things that we forget to stop and ask the children how we can best serve them. I participated in two statewide education panels recently and heard so many touching stories about student challenges and…

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, 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, 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…