What is the Standards of Affiliation (SOA) Checklist?
It is a checklist of 13 items that every PTA should do annually. Completing this checklist will help local PTAs ensure their independent nonprofit business remains current with all IRS, state, insurance, and PTA requirements. We encourage you to include your entire board of directors in this work, to keep your membership up to date with your progress, and to record progress in meeting minutes.

Download the SOA Checklist (wastatepta.org) HERE.

Questions? Email [email protected]

Council meetings will build your PTA knowledge, give you the opportunity to network with other PTA, school district and community leaders, and they can be a lot of fun, too. Each PTA may send up to 4 voting representatives - but we encourage ALL who are interested to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

Questions? Email Council President, Grace Jurado, at [email protected].

Save the Date - View calendar of future meeting dates.

Community Partners

• Director Elisabeth Sotak - NSD School Board Representative
  A budget review was done by the district and school board to look at costs to cut in the 2025-2026 budget. The district is hoping the legislature will allocate more money to schools in the upcoming legislative session. NSD is currently on a “financial watch” list, along with other districts. The recent "Conversations with the Board" event was well attended.
• Marco Garcia - NSD Community Partnerships & Volunteer Coordinator
  With many possible power outages tomorrow, district communications will send out information early in the morning regarding school closures. The communications department is discussing the release of directory information to PTA leaders. The communications department is also working on a handbook for PTA use. Volunteer background checks have halted temporarily because of a WA state court system outage.
  
  

Council Business

• All Council business was tabled until the January 21, 2025, meeting due to not having quorum. This included the election of our 2024-2025 Nominating Committee and approving our 2024-2025 Mission and Goals.
  
  

Council Updates

• Treasurer - The Council Treasurer was not able to attend. Their update was given by Council President, Grace Jurado. The September 2024 and October 2024 monthly Treasurer reports were presented. Taxes have been filed, and the insurance renewal has been completed.
• Events - Our Co-VP of Events, Melissa Bennett, recapped the Presidents and Principals Luncheon. The luncheon went well. There was some feedback regarding time of day the event is held and increasing opportunities to connect with other leaders.
• Advocacy - Our Advocacy team is planning for Focus Day happening on February 17, 2025.
• Reflections - The Reflections Art Reception will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2025. It is hoped that high school National Honors Society students will fill all volunteer needs.

 Community Partners

• Marco Garcia - NSD Community Partnerships and Volunteer Coordinator
  The communications department has been able to resolve the PTA directory issue. They will send directory information to Council to distribute to local PTA leaders. It was suggested that volunteers request their Level 2 Volunteer clearances as early as possible for Spring camps, fieldtrips and parties. The communications department is looking to share Art Docent projects. If your Art Docent program would like to share an example of a project at your school, please send Marco information by end of February. There will be an Art Docent training coming up in March.
• JoLynn Berge - NSD Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Superintendent
  Council and local PTA leaders were given an update on the 2025-2026 budget shortfall. If your PTA would like to have this presentation at your upcoming membership meeting, please reach out to Deputy Superintendent Berge directly!

Council Business

• The minutes for the September and November 2024 Council Membership meetings were presented for review and approved with slight changes.
• Council Treasurer, Brenae Brix, presented the November and December 2024 Treasurer Reports, requested a name change of a budget line item, and asked for volunteers to perform Council's mid-year financial review.
• The 2024-2025 Council Nominating Committee was declared elected. Thank you to our volunteers!
• The updated 2024-2025 Council Mission and Goals Statement was approved.
• Members in attendance reviewed a resolution addressing free school meals and lunch debt. The resolution was approved. You can view the resolution HERE.
• Members in attendance reviewed a letter to WA state legislators regarding fully funding education. The letter was approved. Follow up with individual PTAs will occur to ask to add their names to the letter before sending it to legislators. You can view the letter HERE.
  
  

Council Updates

• Advocacy – Advocacy Coalition meetings are ongoing. Be sure to be aware of Action Alerts from WSPTA during Focus Week and to register for Focus Day. Council will be carpooling to Focus Day. On Monday, January 27, a group from NSD including administration, school board members, students, teachers and other community members will meet with legislators to encourage fully funding education.
• Grants – The committee is discussing how to move forward. It has been a struggle to get PTAs to apply for the grants. Suggestions for how to meet the committee's goals are welcome!
• Reflections - Over 300 people attended the Reflections Art Reception on January 11th. Entries have been submitted to state. Work is occurring on a virtual slide show of art submissions.
• Events - The date of the Spring Recognition event will be June 4th. There will be a survey sent out to request feedback on if leaders would like a breakfast, lunch or evening event.
• Membership - There are a total of 4578 members! PTA leaders were asked to be sure that they have engaged with Givebacks, the WSPTA membership database, since their first dues payment. A reminder was given that dues for members must be paid to WSPTA within 30days and a recommendation to send in dues by the first of every month. 
• Communications – Be sure to read the Council eNews email newsletter for the most up to date information!
• E-Prep – There will be a meeting open to all NSD community members on February 4th @ 11am where Carri Campbell, NSD Director of Communications, will discuss the recommendations of the NSD Student Wellness and Safety Task Force.
• Elementary and Secondary PTA Support - There will be a PTA Leader Meet-Up occurring on February 7th from 11:30am - 1pm at The Texan Cafe and Coffee House to answer questions and connect.
• Inclusion Committee – The committee has had successful meetings. Discussion included: recruiting people to join our PTA boards, how to ensure that our PTA boards represent our school community, headsets for translation at the district level, and strategies for communicating events out to the wider community.
  
  

Calendar Reminders

• Don't forget to register for WSPTA Focus Day happening February 17, 2025!

We hope to see you at our next membership meeting on Monday, March 17, 2025, at 7PM via Zoom. Each PTA may send up to 4 voting representatives - but we encourage ALL who are interested to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!

Questions that just can't wait? Email your VP's of Support!
Sorenson, NFP, and Elementary PTAs: Jennifer Drury and Jenn Snyder
NSEC & Secondary PTAs: Rachel Fitzgerald

THANK YOU TO......

• Our judges - Brenae Brix, Lynn Brunelle, Katie Chiodo, Megan Clark, Greg Fry, Wes Geffner, Suma Subramaniam, Laura Staneff, Han Tran, Patsy Treece, Jill Zosel
• The Bothell High School Culinary Center for the delicious cookie spread
• The Brightwater Event Center
• The Reflections Reception Planning team - Melissa Bennett, Rachel Fitzgerald, Ashley Russell, and Laura Templeton
• Our High Schools National Honor Society Students for volunteering their time to set-up, help during the event and then cleaning up
• The Reflections chairs at each of our participating schools
• All of incredibly talented student artists
  ​

View 2024-2025 Reflections Results HERE!

Want to learn more about Reflections? Visit our Reflections webpage!

Already Registered? The Northshore PTA Carpool will leave the Bothell Park and Ride at 7:15 a.m.
Do you want to join the Council Carpool? We will be using a Community Van!
IMPORTANT: 
- Students: bring a student ID or Orca Card for a free ride.
- Adults: need an Orca card number for a single bus fare.
You can get an Orca card at: https://www.myorca.com/
Learn more about the Community Van at: https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/metro/travel-options/community-van 
Fill out our FORM to participate in the carpool or to let us know if you'd like to join a meeting with a representative!

​If you have any questions, or want to learn more about Northshore PTA advocacy efforts, please email [email protected].

Still need to Register for Focus Day with WSPTA?  Complete the registration form here!

​WHAT IS FOCUS DAY & WHY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER ATTENDING?
Washington State PTA Focus Day is an annual gathering where advocates, parents, students, educators, and community members join forces to voice their concerns, share ideas, and engage in constructive dialogue about the future of education in our state. This is also a school holiday - an ideal time to involve students in the process of local government and citizen action!  It's a day to amplify our collective voice and make a difference! 
 
YOUR VOICE MATTERS
Our Legislators want to hear from YOU. They need to hear the stories, experiences, and passion of our students, parents and teachers - it can be the catalyst for positive change in our education system.  
 
MEET WITH REPRESENTATIVES & SENATORS
PTA Focus Day provides a unique opportunity to engage directly with decision-makers. Your face-to-face conversations can be a game-changer and your participation can influence decision-makers and drive positive change.
 
ADVOCATE FOR FUNDING
By attending, you become part of a movement that seeks to shape the educational landscape for the better and you become a crucial advocate for increased funding that will directly benefit our students, teachers, and schools. 
 
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
Connect with your community and feel the strength in numbers power that can fuel inspiration, hope and connection within our local and larger community.

​More on Advocacy: 

• Council's Advocacy Page
• Questions? Email Council's Co-VPs of Advocacy, Terra Droney & Holly Muenchow.

The Northshore Council E-prep Team is hosting a special meeting on Tuesday, February 4th from 11am - 12pm on Zoom!

Our guest speaker will be Carri Campbell, NSD Executive Director of Communications, who will join us to present and discuss the findings of the NSD Student Wellness & Safety Task Force. This task force's recommendations have begun to be implemented and affect schools and students across our district. NSD community members are invited to join this meeting to learn more about these recommendations.

Register to attend the presentation HERE.
The link to register for this special presentation also registers you for our regular monthly emergency prep meetings. By registering for this Zoom on February 4th, you are under no obligation to attend our meetings in April-June, but we'd love to have you! 

More about Monthly Council Emergency Preparedness (E-prep) Meetings:
Anyone in a PTA/PTSA is welcome to attend our meetings; we encourage local PTA/PTSA E-Prep chairs to attend as well as Presidents, VPs, or other PTA/PTSA delegates.
In these meetings we share and obtain updates from the NSD Safety & Security team and discuss opportunities where the PTA can provide support to our schools in the areas of emergency preparedness, safety, and security.
Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month from 11:00am to Noon.

Questions? Email: [email protected]
Learn more about E-prep here: www.northshorecouncilptsa.org/emergency-preparedness.html