the ohio pta voice - march 2015 issue

The Ohio PTA Voice

Table of Contents:

Pg. 1- Presidents Message

Pg. 3- Membership

Pg. 5- Advocacy

Pg. 7- National PTA News

Pg. 8- Health, Welfare and Safety

Pg. 10- Family-School Partnership

Pg. 11- Mosaic

Pg. 13- Fundraising

Pg. 14- Convention

Pg. 15- Reflections

Pg. 16- Just Between Friends

Page 1 March 2015

Advertising in this newsletter does not imply endorsement by Ohio PTA

Note from the President...

Ohio PTA

40 Northwoods Blvd Ste A

Columbus, OH 43235-4718

(614) 781-6344

Fax: (614) 781-6349

[email protected]

A powerful voice for all children A relevant resource for families and communities

A strong advocate for the education and well-being of every child

This is What True Harmony Is! I had the opportunity to attend several events commemorating the

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday weekend. In the midst, I had

an epiphany and thought, Wow, this is what true harmony is!

I first attended an organizations private viewing of the movie, Selma, which is a riveting production documenting events in

Selma, Alabama, that were instrumental in the passage of the 1965

Voting Rights Act. The next event that I attended was the Dr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Birthday Observance at Cuyahoga County College,

which featured the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra and my favorite psalmist,

Grammy-nominated Richard Smallwood. When I was Music Director for my

church, our choir sang almost every one of his songs.

I also attended the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Concert at Severance

Hall, where the Cleveland Orchestra and a more than 200-voice mass choir

performed. It was during this celebration that I had the Aha moment. It was

specifically during the unbelievably-awesome guest performance of Sterling Elliott,

a 15-year-old prodigy and winner of the 2014 Sphinx Competition Junior Division,

who played a cello solo with the orchestra.

As I looked around the magnificent concert hall, it just hit me that this is what true

harmony is. It struck me that music truly is the universal language. I looked at the

current Cleveland Orchestra musicians, representing many countries and languages,

who were united by music as they came together to all speak the same musical language and create beautiful harmony, exhibiting why they are considered to be

one of the best orchestras in the world.

I thought about how young the teen cellist was, and how some of the orchestra

musicians were of retirement age. I remembered my eldest daughters private violin teacher, the late Kurt Loebel, who was a violinist with the Cleveland

Orchestra. After escaping Nazi-dominated Vienna, he eventually came to

Cleveland and found a voice with the Cleveland Orchestra for 50 years, the third-

longest tenure in its history.

I looked at the mass choir that represented varied races, ages, spiritual

denominations, and voice ranges. When I scanned the audience, it was so diverse

in every way, with all races, ages, socioeconomic statuses, and cultures.

The Ohio PTA Voice

Music had brought a sold-out hall of 2,000 people together to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For almost 2-1/2 hours, we were all there on one accord with one purpose.

I thought of my theme for this term, Our PTA Symphony: Bringing Harmony to Every Childs Life. How powerful it is when we all come together on one accord to celebrate one thing making every childs potential a reality.

This whole thought process happened in a matter of moments.

When we speak with one voice, on one accord, with the universal purpose of making every childs potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children, I hope that well have the same effect on our audience.

As we speak for every child with voice, our audience will say This is what true harmony is!

Lisa Mack Ohio PTA President 2013 2015

FUTP60 Spring Campaign

Greatness! This campaign centers around breakfast and National School Breakfast Week to increase availability, accessibility and participation in school breakfast.

http://www.fueluptoplay60.com/

Page 2 March 2015


The Ohio PTA Voice

Membership

Using Membership to Motivate!

If it feels like Membership in your PTA has lost its luster, maybe all thats needed is a little reminder of why we are involved in PTA in the first place. This is the list that Mary Pat King, from National PTA, says why volunteers get involved in the first place.

I stay involved when I feel, Welcomed and supported by leadership through effective, two-way communication

Proud of the way the mission supports others

Engaged in decision-making and respected for unique perspectives

Valued for time, talents and skills contributed

Connected in a positive way to others in the community

Get started by using the PTAs National Standards for Family School Partnerships as an evaluating tool to measure how your PTA matches up.

If you havent reviewed these standards for a while, now is a great time for your PTA leadership to re-familiarize themselves on each of them and start asking the hard questions listed below each standard:

Standard #1: Welcome All Families

Do you know who the families are at your school... their unique perspectives and their needs?

Are you welcoming and considering the leadership potential of every parent/caregiver, regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, family structure, employment status, education level, socioeconomic level?

Do you know what families and teachers think of your PTA? If so, is it all positive? Is there anything that could be better?

Do you always assume every parent/teacher wants whats best for their students?

Do you treat every parent/teacher as a potential PTA leader?

How do you welcome families at the beginning of the school year and at each PTA event that follows?

Standard #2: Communicate Effectively

Do you communicate in many ways and often?

Do you communicate simply and in the languages preferred by families?

Do you encourage feedback for improvement? Do you incorporate the suggestions you receive?

Do you view every face-to-face interaction as an opportunity to recruit a PTA member or potential leader?

Do you share many ways to contribute to PTAs success?

Do you regularly communicate how membership dollars and PTA volunteer hours contribute to student success and school improvements?

Do you thank families and teachers who support PTA and its members?

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The Ohio PTA Voice

Standard #3: Support Student Success

Do you provide opportunities for families to experience what their child is learning and how they can support that at home?

Do you offer events or forums that foster relationship-building and positive interactions with school professionals?

Do you talk with teachers about the challenges they are having and work together to develop PTA supported solutions?

Do you access the turn-key toolkits, grants, family resources available through National and State PTA to support your efforts?

Standard #4: Speak Up for Every Child

Do you know what students need for their educational success and overall well-being?

Are you working in partnership with your school leaders to address a specific school improvement goal?

Do you share PTAs District, State, National advocacy efforts that are important and relevant to your school community?

Do you create opportunities for families of your school to voice their perspectives to school leaders, district leaders and policymakers?

Do you access the advocacy tools available through National and State PTA to share needs and address concerns of the families at your school?

Standard #5: Share Power

Do you treat every member as a potential leader?

Do you always say Yes when someone offers to help in some way

Do you provide them with direction to get them started?

How are you engaging all families in PTA decision-making?

Are your general meetings well-promoted and do you offer educational value for families?

Do you offer flexibility related to timing and means of attendance (conference calls, etc)? Do you provide translators?

Do you have a central place for minutes, upcoming events, and ways to gain feedback on PTA progress from general membership?

Standard #6: Collaborate with Community

How are you seeking support from local businesses, including parent-owned businesses?

Financial support Member benefits In-Kind donations Employee volunteer hours Promotion space/visibility How do you partner with local community organizations to reach new

families and support the needs of your families? How do you work with other PTAs to share best practices and

support each other?

Continued...

Page 4 March 2015


The Ohio PTA Voice

Review these questions with your board. What are you doing well? What can you do better? What things on these lists would make a difference to your PTA potential members? If it makes a difference to you, than it will probably make a difference for someone else too. Thank you Mary Pat King, National PTA Director of Programs and Partnerships, for motivating all of us to do better and make the most of our membership!

Suzie Smith-Rios

Director of Membership

Ohio PTA

Advocacy Report

The 131st General Assembly has been in session for about a couple of

months. Bills have been introduced, committees have begun their work

and biennial budget season is upon us.

Introduced on January 29th, HB 25, sponsored by Stephanie Kunze (R-

Hilliard), would require the State Board of Education to adopt rules

regarding the sale of beverages and food during the regular school day in

connection with a school-sponsored fundraiser.

In the House Education Committee, two bills have already had first

hearings. Rep. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) and Rep. Mike Dovilla (R-

Berea) offered sponsor testimony February 4th on House Bill (HB) 2

regarding community school accountability. The committee also heard

from Rep. Jim Buchy (R-Greenville) on HB 7 regarding state

assessments.

Continued...

Page 5 March 2015


The Ohio PTA Voice

Introduced on the Senate side, Senate Bill (SB) 3, sponsored by Cliff

Hite (R-Findlay) and Keith Faber (R-Celina), would exempt high

performing school districts from certain laws; revise the law regarding

the administration of state assessments; permit school districts to contract

with hospitals, healthcare professionals and educational service centers

for school health services; revise the competitive bidding threshold for

school building and repair contracts; and require the Ohio School

Facilities Commission to develop a legislative proposal assisting high-

performing school districts in purchasing technology, building expansion

and physical alterations to improve school safety or security. SB 20,

sponsored by Joe Schiavoni (D-Boardman), deals with audit and record-

keeping requirements for community school sponsors and operators.

Both were sent to the Senate Education Committee on February 4th.

Also, Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Peggy Lehner (R-

Kettering) has begun holding several hearings to explore the issue of

assessments. She began February 4th with superintendents from across

the state who shared their thoughts and suggestions on Ohios assessment system.

On Monday, February 2nd, Governor Kasich announced the provisions of

his biennial budget proposal for fiscal years

2016 and 2017. Based on current information,

the proposal makes six major changes to

school funding in Ohio.

1) Increases in Funding Formula Parameters

2) State Share Index

3) Transportation

4) Transitional Aid (aka the Guarantee)

5) Gain Cap

6) TPP Replacement Payments

Page 6 March 2015


The Ohio PTA Voice

National PTA News:

Federal Budget

On February 2nd, President Obama released his FY2016 budget

request. In the request, the President proposes elimination of the harmful

budget cuts required by the sequestrasion non-defense discretionary

programs, which include Head Start, K-12 education, housing and

nutrition assistance for low-income families, and much more. His budget

would restore $37 billion in funding to the non-defense side of the

budget and a similar amount to the military side, to be offset by revenue

increases, program integrity measures, and other savings. Overall for

education, the President requested a $3.6 Billion increase in federal

education spending. More information is available on the PTA website

at www.pta.org

National PTA Public Policy Agenda and Executive Summary

On February 9th, the 2015 National PTA Public Policy Agenda and

Executive Summary was released. It features the following policy areas:

Elementary and Secondary Education

Early Childhood Education

Special Education

Education Funding

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Child Nutrition

School Safety It is posted on the National PTA website. It can be accessed at http://www.pta.org/advocacy/content.cfm?ItemNumber=3222&navItemNumber=556

Also there is a recorded webinar that outlines the policy agenda. The link

is below: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/3059820278148741890

ESEA-NCLB Reauthorization Draft Released

Last month, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Senate

Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released a discussion

draft of a bill that would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary

Education ActNo Child Left Behind (ESEA-NCLB). The draft, entitled the "Every Child Ready for College or Career Act of 2015," was

released to begin discussion of reauthorization in the 114th Congress

among the Senators and to solicit feedback from the public.

Comprehensive ESEA-NCLB reauthorization that includes

improvements to the law's family engagement provisions remains

National PTA's top K-12 priority this session as stated in the public

policy agenda.

Page 7 March 2015


The Ohio PTA Voice

Health, Welfare and Safety

March is National Nutrition Month. Click on the following link for

information

http://www.nationalnutritionmonth.org

Since 2002 parents, teachers,

school nurses, custodians,

advocates, and agencies have

promoted National Healthy

Schools Day activities nationwide.

Whether you are at the beginning

stages of investigating school

environments or have an

established Indoor Air/

Environmental Quality program,

you are invited to host a local

activity that educates others and celebrates your schools successes. National Healthy Schools Day is coordinated by Healthy Schools

Network in partnership with many agencies and organizations. They

promote the use of EPA's IAQ Tools for Schools guidance as well as

other EPA environmental health guidelines and programs for schools and

childrens health. Source: http://www.nationalhealthyschoolsday.org

Venezuela Robinson

Director of Health, Welfare and Safety

Page 8 March 2015


Continued...

The Ohio PTA Voice Page 9 March 2015

The American Public Health Association champions the health of

all people and all communities. They strengthen the public health

profession. They speak out for public health issues and policies

backed by science. They lead public awareness campaigns such as

Get Ready and National Public Health Week April 6-12, 2015.

During the first full week of April each year, APHA brings

together communities across the United States to observe

National Public Health Week as a time to recognize the

contributions of public health and highlight issues that are

important to improving our nation. http://www.nphw.org/tools-

and-tips/themes

Sources:

http://www.nphw.org

http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings

Venezuela Robinson

Director of Health, Welfare, and Safety

National PTA's Take Your Family to School WeekFebruary 16 -20, 2015focused on the theme Supporting Student Success to promote family engagement solutions that are proven to help

prevent the risks associated with high school dropout. Take Your

Family to School Week began as a way to celebrate National

PTA's Founders' Day.

Each year National PTA recognizes 50 local PTAs from across

the country with $1,000 grants and event toolkits to support their

participation in PTA Take Your Family to School Week. The

PTAs were selected to receive the grants and toolkits from more

than 230 applicants. The 2014 National PTA Take Your Family

To School Grant Winners were recently announced. We are

especially proud to acknowledge our Ohio winner:

Congratulations to Stiles Elementary PTA,

Columbus, OH

For tools and resources for Take Your Family to School Week, go

to pta.org/TYFTSW

Pam Bonnett

Director of Family-School Partnership


The Ohio PTA Voice

March is National Womens History Month

2015 Theme - Weaving the Stories of Womens

Lives

National Womens History Month, designated by Joint Resolutions of the House and Senate and Proclamations by six American Presidents, is designed to honor and celebrate the achievements of women and the roles they have played throughout history.

The stories of womens achievements are integral to the fabric of our history. Learning about womens tenacity, courage, and creativity through the centuries is a tremendous source of strength. National Womens History Project

Test Your Knowledge of Womens History

1) Who was the first woman to run for President of the United States (1872)?

2) Who opened up social work as a profession for women, and also won the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize for her anti-war organizing work?

3) Who was the first woman Poet Laureate of the United States?

4) Who was the first First Lady to have developed her own political and media identity?

5) Who wrote the first version of the Equal Rights Amendment, in 1923?

6) What leading suffragist was arrested and convicted of attempting to vote in the 1872 election?

7) What woman was turned down by 29 medical schools before being accepted as a student, graduated at the head of her class, and became the first licensed woman doctor in the U.S.?

8) When was the Equal Rights Amendment first introduced into Congress?

Please visit the National Womens History Project website, www.nwhp.org, for more information on the National Womens History Month.

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The Ohio PTA Voice

Every Child in Focus March is Foster Child Month

Every Child in Focus is a campaign centered on strengthening family engagement in schools by celebrating important cultural distinctions and achievements, while highlighting solutions to potential educational issues.

About Foster Children and Families Nearly 400,000 youth were in foster care in September 2012 and approximately 250,000 of those youth were school-aged.

52% were male and 48% were female.

During their first foster care stay, a youth experiences an average of 2.8 living arrangements.

Students in foster care are twice as likely to be absent from school than other students.

More than half of students who enter the foster care system must change schools and more than a third of 17-18 year olds in foster care have experienced 5+ school changes.

17-18 year olds in foster care are twice as likely to have an out-of-school suspension and three times more likely to be expelled than other students.

The average reading level of a 17-18 year old in foster care is 7th grade.

Students in foster care are 2.5-3.5 times more likely to receive special education services.

Only half of students in foster care complete high school by age 18.

While 84% of 17-18 year olds in foster care want to go to college; only 20% of students in foster care that graduate from high school attend college.

Only 2% to 9% of youth in foster care attain a bachelors degree.

(Source: Fostering Success in Education: National Factsheet on the Educational Outcomes of Children in Foster Care, 2014)

Go to http://www.pta.org/parents/content.cfm?ItemNumber=3997 for more information.

Page 11 March 2015


The Ohio PTA Voice

March 21st is National Down Syndrome Day

(This date was picked because of the 3 chromosomes on the 21st pair of chromosomes.)

Recommended Resources:

Ohio Help Me Grow - www.ohiohelpmegrow.org/parents/childrenspecialneeds.aspx - This group was awesome at sending an Intervention Specialist to the house to help with any kind of support we might need and to help with any services we wouldve encountered had she had any health problems. At age 3 the program ends and then the school faze begins.

Buzzle.com - www.buzzle.com/articles/down-syndrome-facts.html

The Up Side of Downs - www.theupsideofdowns.org This is an awesome support base for families with Downs children in Northeast Ohio.

Answers to Womens History Quiz:

1. Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927)

2. Jane Addams (1860-1935)

3. Rita Dove (b. 1952)

4. Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

5. Alice Paul (1885-1977)

6. Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906)

7. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910)

8. 1923

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The Ohio PTA Voice

Treasurers Tools

Fundraising

At this point in the school year, PTAs

are examining their budgets to see if

additional funds will be needed to conduct programs and services to

finish out the year. PTAs are also considering what type of fundraising

will be needed to take place next school year to fund programs and

events.

National PTA has developed a wealth of information from guidelines for

conducting a successful fundraising event to possible vendors to use to

some not often thought of ways to raise money for your PTA.

PTAs are encouraged to explore these guidelines and options when considering the type of fundraiser that will best service the needs of their PTA as well as school community.

PTA Fundraising Marketplace http://www.pta.org/about/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1959 Planning Top-notch Events http://www.pta.org/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1327

Questions to Consider When Developing Fundraising Strategies http://www.pta.org/members/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1329

Strategies for Direct Donation Drives http://www.pta.org/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1328

Additional Resources:

These articles can also be found on the National PTA website and may be of interest when considering raising funds for your PTA.

Is Your PTA an ATM for Your School? http://www.pta.org/content.cfm?ItemNumber=2230

Online Fundraising Auctions http://www.pta.org/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1735

Source: National PTA

Sharon Urig Secretary/Treasurer

Page 13 March 2015


The Ohio PTA Voice

OHIO PTA 109th ANNUAL CONVENTION

The Broadway Production of

The Convention

Ohio PTA is gearing up for its 109th Annual Convention to be held April

24 26 at the Hilton Polaris Hotel, 8700 Lyra Drive, Columbus. Registration is now available on the Ohio PTA

website www.ohiopta.org

The event includes opportunities for you, the

PTA members, to learn about a variety of topics

including Ohio learning standards and

assessments; the importance of providing access

to books for children all year, not just during the

school year; engaging diverse families in

education; and more.

New this year is Hidden in Plain Sight. This traveling exhibit, hosted by the Bath and Copley

police departments, is designed to resemble a

teenager's bedroom and includes items that may

indicate a teen is involved in high-risk behavior such as substance abuse,

underage drinking, eating disorders, sexual activity and more.

Participants will get an up-close look at the items in the room and learn

how they can be used.

Other highlights of the Convention include installation of the 2015-2017

Ohio PTA Board of Directors and recognition of Reflections winners

from throughout the state. The Reflections program is designed to

enhance art education programs and provides opportunities for students

to express themselves and to receive positive recognition for their artistic

efforts.

Keynote speaker will be Tracy Hill, executive director of Family and

Community Engagement for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

Hill works with schools, community partners and stakeholders to develop

programs that are aligned to district goals and build the capacity of

parents/caregivers to support their children's academic achievement.

Captain DAngelo Loyd of Columbus, a graduate of the United States Army Officer Candidate School, will also speak, representing National

PTA. Loyd is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Public Administration.

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The Ohio PTA Voice

Reflections Update

The celebration continues!!! The annual National PTA Reflections Art Exhibit Opening Ceremony at the U.S. Department of Education was held Tuesday, January 13th. Jessica Jackson, 2014 Award of Merit Literature winner,

attended the event. The event video will be available on National PTAs YouTube Channel and at PTA.org/Reflections.

Ohio PTA 2013-14 Reflections Winner Jessica Jackson recently traveled to Washington D.C. for the National Art Exhibit Opening event. Jessica's mother, Sarah, provided us with the following account and photos of this wonderful event. Congratulations to Jessica! We are so pleased you were able to attend this event and represent Ohio PTA Reflections Winners!

"The ceremony was very nice. Jessy was even chosen to cut the ribbon! It was her 9th birthday on the day of the program, so that was extra special! We had a wonderful time in Washington D.C., visiting many great places, including; Arlington Cemetery, Smithsonian's American History, Natural History, and Air and Space Museum's, the Department of Engraving and Printing, White House Visitor Center, Lincoln Memorial, Library of Congress, the Washington Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and a special VIP tour of the Capitol Building! We were very busy on our trip, but it was a wonderful experience- one we will remember for a very long time! Thank you again for making these programs available to our children!

***Photos show Jessy in the white dress with the pink sweater. The second photo is with Otha Thornton, our National PTA President. The third picture is of the Jackson family outside of the exhibit hall.

Applications are now being accepted for the Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant for the 2015-16 school year. The grant provides matching dollar funding to local PTAs to support in-school and after-school arts enhancement programs within their communities. It is recommended that you review the grant narrative before applying. You can find the online application on [email protected].

Pam Bonnett Director of Family-School Partnership

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The Ohio PTA Voice

Just Between Friends

Just Between Friends (JBF), the PTA online communication and membership management platform, has been acquired by SimplyCircle. As part of this transition, the Just Between Friends system is closing on February 27. As an incentive for PTAs to move to the system, SimplyCircle will make a donation to any PTA that joins SimplyCircle. The donation will be $0.25 for each PTA member who joins the system by February 27, 2015, paid to the individual PTA unit. Many PTAs have up to 7 years of past records in Just Between Friends. Now is the last chance for leaders to retrieve past communications and templates, membership history (or to print up this year's membership cards), rosters and directories, or other documents before the system is retired. The SimplyCircle team is offering dedicated support to PTA leaders to migrate their PTA units over to the SimplyCircle platform, with minimal work required on the PTA's part. Once a PTA unit is set up on SimplyCircle - it's free and easy to continue to use SimplyCircle for the group's communication and other needs next year and on. If you would like complimentary, dedicated support assistance during this transition, please contact [email protected], and a transition specialist will be assigned to you. Any PTA leader can create a free circle for their PTA on SimplyCircle and begin communicating immediately. PTAs can use SimplyCircle to send announcements, create events and tasks, manage volunteer signups, and share documents and photos. For more information about the service, visit simplycircle.com/ptas.

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The Ohio PTA Voice

SHOE COLLECTION!!!

Looking to clear your closets? We need your gently used shoes!! Ohio PTA is

conducting a statewide shoe collection. Help us spread the word. Ask your

members to bring shoes to your local unit and district meetings.

Be sure to bring the shoes to the Ohio PTA Convention in April. Collection box

will be available.

If you have a large quantity of shoes to donate and need to have them

transported, please contact Pam Bonnett at [email protected].

Page 17 March 2015


the ohio pta voice - march 2015 issue

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