 Every year PTAs start their membership campaign and every year families ask the same question: "Why join the PTA?" After over a year of being at home, many families may feel discounted and be asking why they should support PTA. It can be hard to communicate your PTA's value with programs being offered virtually when families are used to attending PTA events in person or seeing the support your PTA does in the classroom. That's why it's more important than ever to answer the question "Why PTA?" One great way of doing that is sharing with your families the reason why you support the PTA. Knowing WHY those leading your PTA serve is a great way to inspire other families to support your PTA by joining or donating. Check out all the reasons that inspire your Northshore Council Leaders to PTA below! Interested in making your own "Why I PTA" slides but need help? Contact Council's Co-VP of Membership, Melissa Kline. Start the school year off right by being sure to check these important tasks off your PTA To-Do list!  This is a busy time of year for PTA Leaders with so many things to get done in order to run your PTA, plan programming for students, and provide support to your school community. Here at Council we want to make sure a few key "to-do" items don't get overlooked so we've created the checklist below. We've included links and resources for these items, but remember, Council is always here to help and support our local Northshore PTA Leaders! Visit our Contact Page to connect with a Council officer. 
 The 2021-2022 school year is upon us and the PTA year is about to get into full swing! By now your PTA has held its summer board retreat and has begun planning a membership campaign. So what's next?
Now it's time to plan your first general membership meeting of the year! While some PTAs may be planning for in person meetings, many will plan for their meeting to be held virtually, which may require a little additional preparation. If you are new to hosting virtual meetings, get to know your virtual meeting tool’s online support – there should be tips for setup for all the features, including screen sharing, enabling closed captioning, and login requirements. TIP: Host one or more practice meetings with a few board members ahead of time to get accustomed to the online meeting tools and platform you'll be using. Whether the PTA meets virtually or in person, the same items of business must be done.
Bonus Tip: Plan on having something additional to offer your members once the business is complete. The first meeting is a great opportunity for your principal to give an update on the start of the year – there are lots of things about this school year that are different! Plan ahead with your principal and make sure you know what format for taking questions they are comfortable with. During the meeting, act as the moderator by setting ground rules and expectations for how members will participate and ask their questions. Questions about planning your 1st general membership meeting of the year? Contact Council - We are here to help! Information provided in this blog was originally posted by WSPTA in a 2020 article. Click here to read that article. Calling all party people - Council is searching for a VP of Events!  Do you like to plan parties and organize events (or know someone who does)? Then Council's VP of Events may be the perfect fit for you!
The VP of Events main duty is to plan and coordinate Council's yearly events including the Presidents and Principals Brunch, Council's Reflections Celebration, and the Spring Recognition Event. This position may be held jointly by two (2) people. Those interested must be at least 18 years of age and a current member of at least one local PTA that falls within the Northshore Council PTSA membership area. For more information, please contact Jane Chiodo, Council President.  PTAs are often the target of scammers. It's important for PTA officers to know the red flags to look out for to help keep your PTA safe.
Scam Emails Some scams may spoof the email of another officer to help make the request look legitimate. But there are things to check for before you reply:
Common Scams
Protecting Your PTA There are a few things you and your board should be doing in order to protect your PTA:
Money Handling Policy Does your PTA have a money handling policy? Has your PTA updated their policy to include online banking? Money handling policies are important to have so that it is very clear how your members and board are handling the funds of the PTA. Having these policies written out, communicated, and followed helps safeguard your PTA from scammers, and mishandled money. They should include how you handle your cash, checks, deposits, withdrawals, any online money access, and more. Need some help putting your money handling policies together or updating them? Council recently updated their own money handling policies, and it is available for you to use as a sample. Still have questions? Contact Council Treasurer, Serena Xu. Remember: There is nothing more urgent for your PTA than to follow best practices and policies to ensure you don't get caught in a scam!  All PTA/PTSAs must update their officer information in memberplanet, the membership database used by Washington State PTA (WSPTA). Updating officer information is a requirement for all PTAs per the WSPTA Standards of Affiliation. Doing so gives WSPTA and Northshore Council PTSA the means to contact a PTA/PTSA if a need arises as well as ensuring that all PTA/PTSA leaders are included in important WSPTA and Northshore Council communications.
The way to communicate leader information in memberplanet is through its Committees Module. There are a number of resources to help local PTA leaders use and understand memberplanet. However, because the Committees Module feature is so new, the documentation and support is not yet very extensive. Due to the importance of updating officer information, Northshore Council PTSA has created a guide to help users navigate the process. Download the “Assigning and Updating PTA Leaders in memberplanet” guide to get started! Looking for more help with using memberplanet? Attend Northshore Council's upcoming training! Date: September 9, 2021 Time: 7:00PM Location: Online via Zoom Presenter: Amanda Cabana, WSPTA Membership Director Register: zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0tdemgqDsvH9UAZzVDvhbpvGFvlGoqd7HU Additional Resources:
 Join us for ‘Northshore PTAs Connect’ – an online roundtable discussion for PTA/PTSA leaders to ask questions, share ideas, and connect with one another.
Northshore PTAs Connect Roundtables are designed to support our local PTA/PTSA leaders as we navigate membership, programs, and managing our organizations in an uncertain and ever-changing landscape. This evening (7pm) roundtable will feature a focused discussion on the topic of Membership. Local leaders will have the opportunity to ask questions and brainstorm ideas as PTAs begin their 2021-2022 Membership Campaigns. While the focus will be on membership, Northshore PTAs Connect Roundtables are an open discussion and there is always opportunity to ask questions and tackle emerging or ongoing areas of interest or concern. Date: Thursday, August 26th Time: 7:00PM Location: Online via Zoom Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/95115031258 Meeting ID: 951 1503 1258 Passcode: *Available upon request Questions? Contact Council's Membership Co-Chairs, Hanisha Bakshani & Melissa Kline Hello Northshore PTA Leaders! We all know that last year was incredibly challenging, stressful and at times downright frustrating. But, the barriers COVID presented also encouraged us to think outside our comfort zones to come up with new and innovative ways to engage with and support our communities. Through it all, our Northshore PTAs have continued to be strong, flexible and tenacious. I am so proud of every single one of our PTAs for not backing down in the face of such an extreme challenge and continuing to achieve their mission of supporting every child's potential. As we step into the 2021-2022 school year, it seems that this next school year will be more of the same - challenging us once again to pivot quickly and adapt to changing circumstances that are beyond our control. I want to let you know that we are always here for you. Our mission as your Northshore PTSA Council is to support the work you do at the local PTA level. We have many resources that can help you navigate the day to day PTA work, as well as the unexpected, including:
Our 2021-2022 Council team is ready to help you continue to do amazing things for our students, families, schools and communities. Wishing you a fantastic school year!
  Council recommends local PTA leaders do two important things this summer:
A board retreat can be a powerful way to kick-start your PTA's new year. If fact, it can be such a powerful tool that Washington State PTA considers having one to be a PTA best practice. A retreat is more than just a regular meeting; it is an opportunity to:
 There are many things to consider when planning for your retreat. While board retreats can take place in person, due to Covid guidelines or the individual needs of your board members, it maybe be best to plan a virtual retreat, which adds a few more items to that list.
 Great retreats also include a few key social elements that serve as ways to allow board members to connect, bond, and get to know each other, all of which work to help build a more cohesive team:
The extended nature of a retreat means that a board can have time for conversations and discussions with more breadth and depth. Consider some of the following discussion areas and questions as you build your board retreat agenda:
 Finally, remember that some of the most important work will happen after the retreat ends as ideas are put into action. Take time through the year to reflect and check-in with one another regarding discussions, action items, and progress toward goals.
Additional Resources:
 Are you new to your PTA role this year? Are you on a Nominating Committee and looking for the best candidate? Is your PTA looking to fill a role or create a new one? Then you might find our newest resource helpful: PTA Job Descriptions! We've added a new section to our Forms, Documents, & Procedures page that now includes PTA Job Descriptions. These descriptions are provided by Council to help your PTA better understand some of the different roles within PTA. We recommend that you create these for your specific PTA as well. Providing a job description is a great starting place for someone new to the role or when you are working on recruiting a new volunteer to your board.
Have a PTA job description for your local PTA that you don't see listed on our site? Feel free to share it with Council so we can share it with our local PTAs! Email communications@northshorecouncilptsa.org. |
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