Registration is NOW OPEN for WSPTA's Legislative Assembly! WSPTA's 44th Annual Legislative Assembly When: Saturday, October 15th & Sunday, October 16th Where: Hybrid - Bellevue College / Remote PTA delegates from across the state will come together to update the WSPTA legislative platform. At legislative assembly, discover the power PTA has to advocate for the success of every child – the whole child. In PTA every member has an equal voice, and your input matters a great deal to the success of PTA's grassroots member-driven platform. PTA is needed more than ever right now, and you can help! Be a part of the process and help direct the course for WSPTA advocacy by serving as a delegate for your PTA! If you are interested in attending Legislative Assembly as a delegate for your local PTA, contact your local PTA president. Key Things to Note:
Voting Delegates: During the 44th annual Washington State PTA Legislative Assembly, delegates will decide the public policy positions that guide state and local advocacy work for WSPTA and its associated local PTAs and councils. To learn more about being a voting delegate, visit WSPTA's Legislative Assembly Voting Information page which includes the 2022 Voters’ Guide that has been created to help delegates prepare for the caucusing and general sessions. About Legislative Assembly: The Washington State PTA legislative platform is a two-year platform to mirror the Washington state legislative cycle. On the even-numbered years, the new platform is voted on by members at the legislative assembly in the fall. The top five issues become our short-term platform and consist of our priority issues when advocating throughout the year. Other issues are placed on an “also supported” list. Learn about WSPTA's current legislative priorities and other supported issues by clicking here. Check out the Legislative Assembly web page to learn more about this year's event. More on Advocacy:
As we wrap up another school year, Council would like to take a moment to recap some of the amazing advocacy work that has been done this year. We also want to thank all of our local PTA Advocacy Chairs, for the work they do at their school and within their community to advocate for all children, and our PTA members, who help strengthen our voice by being a part of the oldest and largest child advocacy organization in the country! In October, PTA delegates came together for the 43rd Annual WSPTA Legislative Assembly. During this event, PTA delegates were able to learn, listen, debate and vote on additions to our grassroots legislative platform. Three new resolutions and two amended resolutions were approved during the 2021 Legislative Assembly! New resolutions:
Amended resolutions:
The 60 day 2022 Washington state legislative session ran from January 10th to March 10th. This included the February 2022 Focus Week where PTA Members advocated to elected officials about WA State PTA's Top 5 Legislative Priorities for the current legislative session. Some key accomplishments from this year's legislative session include:
The end of the legislative session means it’s time to start looking and planning ahead. Here are a few actions you can take before the school year is over:
If you would like to learn more about Council's Advocacy work or how you can get involved, visit our Advocacy page.
Northshore Council PTSA is offering a FREE Parent Education Webinar Series in partnership with PAVE (Partnerships for Action, Voices for Empowerment). Special Education: Student & Family Support Date: Tuesday, June 7th Time: 6:00PM Focus Topic: Caregiver Self-Care Registration*: https://www.tfaforms.com/4970917 This webinar series will be presented by Jerri Clark, Parent Resources Coordinator of Partnerships in Action/Voices of Empowerment (PAVE). Each webinar in the series will have a different focus topic and a separate registration link. This fourth (and final for this school year) webinar in the series will take place on June 7th and be focusing on Caregiver Self-Care. This webinar will discuss mindfulness to support resilience, why a checklist can calm your brain, and access to a video library with more self-care content. Check out the flyer below for more information. *Deadline to register is 6pm on Monday, June 6th. Questions? Email Council's Special Education Representative, Laura Staneff. For more information about PAVE, visit their website at https://wapave.org. We look forward to seeing you at this and future Special Education: Student & Family Support events!
Northshore Council PTSA is offering a FREE Parent Education Webinar Series in partnership with PAVE (Partnerships for Action, Voices for Empowerment). Special Education: Student & Family Support Date: Tuesday, May 10th Time: 6:00PM Focus Topic: IEP Transition (Planning for Life after High School) Registration*: https://www.tfaforms.com/4970890 This webinar series will be presented by Jerri Clark, Parent Resources Coordinator of Partnerships in Action/Voices of Empowerment (PAVE). Each webinar in the series will have a different focus topic and a separate registration link. This third webinar in the series will take place on May 10th and be focusing on IEP Transition. This webinar will discuss planning for life after high school including information on tools to help students with disabilities prepare for adult life. Check out the flyer below for more information. Save the Date for Our Next Special Education Webinar:
*Deadline to register is 6pm on Monday, May 9th. Questions? Email Council's Special Education Representative, Laura Staneff. For more information about PAVE, visit their website at https://wapave.org. We look forward to seeing you at this and future Special Education: Student & Family Support events!
As a grassroots association, Washington State PTA relies on its members to provide the priorities that we will advocate for at the state-level and within our communities. Learn more about our WSPTA legislative priorities here and the history of our advocacy efforts here. Any PTA member is encouraged to submit an issue, resolution, or principle that addresses concerns that affect children on a state-wide level. The 2022 submission process is now open!
Key Deadlines:
To assist you in the process, WSPTA has developed a series of five videos, "The Savvy Submitter's Guide to Issues, Resolutions, and Principles," to walk you through the required steps:
At the 2022 Legislative Assembly, delegates will debate and vote on these submissions and whether to add them to our platform. This year is especially important as we will be voting on a new Top 5 to focus on over the next two years. Questions about submitting or about advocacy? Contact Northshore Council PTSA's Co-VPs of Advocacy, Diana Christiansen and Jennifer Drury. Northshore Council PTSA is offering a FREE Parent Education Webinar Series in partnership with PAVE (Partnerships for Action, Voices for Empowerment). Special Education: Student & Family Support Date: Wednesday, April 20th Time: 6:00PM Focus Topic: Early Learning (Birth-3 and transition to IEP at age 3) Registration*: https://www.tfaforms.com/4970013 This webinar series will be presented by Jerri Clark, Parent Resources Coordinator of Partnerships in Action/Voices of Empowerment (PAVE). Each webinar in the series will have a different focus topic and a separate registration link. The second webinar in the series will take place on April 20th and be focusing on Early Learning: Birth-3 services and transition into preschool for children with disabilities. Check out the flyer below for more information. Future webinars will include:
*Deadline to register is 6pm on Tuesday, April 19th. Questions? Email Council's Special Education Representative, Laura Staneff. For more information about PAVE, visit their website at https://wapave.org. We look forward to seeing you at this and future Special Education: Student & Family Support events!
Now is great time of year for our High School PTSAs to hold a Voter Registration Drive! Students 16 years old and up are eligible to register to vote and will then be eligible to VOTE when they turn 18. Hosting a student voter registration drive is a great way to not only increase your local advocacy efforts, but to also put the "S" into PTSA by elevating student voices. Students can promote civic engagement through voter registration drives and registering to vote themselves. Tips & Resources for Holding a Voter Registration Drive
Meet Council's Special Education Representative, Laura Staneff! Laura Staneff was appointed at the February 7th Council Board Meeting to fill the role of Special Education Representative for Northshore Council PTSA. Laura and her family have lived in Kenmore since January 2019; they had previously lived within Lake Washington School District, having moved to Washington from Massachusetts in 2017. In her new role at Council, Laura hopes to help to build a culture of collaboration for Special Education within NSD. She wants to improve communication within our current decentralized model for Special Education PTSA Representation, providing new opportunities for Representatives to consult with each other and to support the wider Special Education membership. She is also working on Parent Education opportunities, including the upcoming spring webinar series, Special Education: Student & Family Support, presented by PAVE (Partnerships in Action/Voices For Empowerment). If you are the Special Education Chair for your local PTA/PTSA, or are on your local PTA's board and looking for more information on how to bring this position to your PTA, please reach out to Laura by emailing specialed@northshorecouncilptsa.org. Northshore Council PTSA is offering a FREE Parent Education Webinar Series in partnership with PAVE (Partnerships for Action, Voices for Empowerment). Special Education: Student & Family Support Date: Tuesday, March 22nd Time: 6:00PM Focus Topic: Student Rights - IEP, Section 504, and more! Registration*: https://www.tfaforms.com/4969578 This webinar series will be presented by Jerri Clark, Parent Resources Coordinator of Partnerships in Action/Voices of Empowerment (PAVE). Each webinar in the series will have a different focus topic and a separate registration link. The first webinar in the series will take place on March 22nd and be focusing on Student Rights: IEP, Section 504, and more! Check out the flyer below for more information. Future webinars will include:
**Deadline to register is 6pm on Monday, March 21st. Questions? Email Council's Special Education Representative, Laura Staneff. For more information about PAVE, visit their website at https://wapave.org. We look forward to seeing you at this and future Special Education: Student & Family Support events!
Council Business:
Bond & Levies Support/Opposition Vote: Council's Board of Directors put forward the issue of supporting the bond and levies that are on the February ballot. During this meeting, both the pro and con positions on the issue were presented before calling for a motion to determine our PTSA’s support of or opposition to the bond and levies. Council would like to announce that the motion to support the Northshore School District Bond & Levies on the February 8th Ballot was passed unanimously. Learn more... District Updates:
Council Committee Reports:
We hope you will join us for our next General Membership Meeting on March 21st, 2022 @ 7pm. For a full list of our upcoming meetings and events, check out our Calendar. |
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