 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.  Does your PTA have a display board? Now's the perfect time to create one as it can be used all year long! Why make a display board? It's a great tool to use to easily identify your PTA, connect with members of your school community, and highlight your PTA's value!  A display board is a great tool to have at your membership table at events. It helps volunteers easily answer the question we often hear - “Why should I join PTA?” You could also ask to put the display board in your school office in the fall so staff and families can see what PTA contributes to your community. Recently, Northshore Council PTSA leaders attended the NSD Back-to-School Fair to highlight all Northshore PTAs and ask families to join their local PTA. We had a display board at our table to highlight what programs and activities are run through PTA. Check out Council's display board below for inspiration! Some ideas to highlight when creating your display board:
 Display board Council used at the August 2021 NSD Back-to-School Fair. 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.  Council is helping to promote PTA Membership across our district! Last week, Council's Co-Chairs of Membership, Hanisha Bakshani & Melissa Kline, traveled to all corners of our district placing "PTA for Your Child - Join PTA" yard signs. These signs were placed at all Northshore Schools and the District Admin Building. The QR code on these signs directs families to our list of Northshore PTAs/PTSAs* on our website. This list includes links to your website, Facebook, and online join link so families can connect with your PTA and sign up for membership. Check out the photo gallery below for pics of all the yard signs! To find out more about why online join is key, check out last week's Membership Monday article on Planning Your Campaign. *Need to update or add a link for your PTA to our list? We can do that! Just send us an email.                                    Please join us for our first general membership meeting of the year on Monday, September 20, 2021 via Zoom! In addition to our regular business items, we’ll also be voting on updated standing rules, goals and budget, and hearing updates from community leaders. *Update* We'll also be offering breakout rooms for networking and Q&A with Council members. The breakout rooms offered will be (1) elementary level PTAs, (2) secondary level PTAs, and (3) general questions regarding running your PTA.
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!
*A meeting passcode is required to join. It will be sent to local leaders via email. You can also request the passcode by emailing Council PTSA Communications VP, Rachel Fitzgerald.  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!  Applications* are now being accepted for Northshore Council PTSA's 2021-2022 Educational Speakers and Community Events Grant Program!
This program is designed to help support Northshore PTAs in hosting relevant and timely speakers for our district families and to encourage them to create engaging events for our community. ALL local PTAs, within the Northshore School District and in good standing, may apply for a grant through a simple application process. Learn more about our grants program by clicking here. Download & Print the 2021-2022 Grants Application Form *2021-2022 grants are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis where applications will be reviewed by the Northshore Council PTSA or until the Council Programs budget is used in its entirety. Submission Deadlines for Applications September 24, 2021 (Review by Council on Oct. 4th) November 26, 2021 (Review by Council on Dec. 6th) January 21, 2022 (Review by Council on Feb. 1st) Looking for a speaker or event to bring to your community? Check out our past Grant Recipients and our Community Resource Page for inspiration. Questions? Email us!  Northshore Council is continuing to provide Online Meeting Hosting for local PTAs/PTSAs this school year!
This can be used by any local PTA/PTSA that wants Council to host a Zoom meeting for them. Please note that max number of attendees is 100 and that this service is offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Here is how it will work:
Questions? Contact us! All great Membership Campaigns start the same way: with a plan!  As you begin to coordinate your 2021-2022 membership plans, think about the reasons why families and staff should join.
This year it's more important than ever to kick off your campaign and start entering those memberships because Washington State PTA has a **new** requirement. This year, in order to remain in good standing, your PTA/PTSA must have at LEAST 25 members entered into memberplanet by October 31, 2021 AND must enter any memberships received into memberplanet no more than 30 days after someone joins. Why is it important to remain in good standing? If you want to attend convention, send in reflections submissions, apply for awards, or apply for grants you must be in good standing. (Click here for all SOA requirements.) One way to increase your membership this year is to make sure it is EASY to join online. We have compiled a list of all our local PTAs/PTSAs with a link directly to your site to join online, so make sure your links are up to date. This makes each PTA/PTSA more accessible to members of our community, school board, and even district admin who might be looking to join. Please know you can contact us anytime with questions or to help you brainstorm ideas for your membership campaign. Reminder: Council will be hosting a Northshore PTAs Connect Roundtable this Thursday, August 26th @ 7PM. This Roundtable will focus on membership. Membership is everyone's job, so all officers are welcome to join! Additionally, please email your membership chair name(s) and contact information to us ASAP so they can be added to all communications about membership. Melissa Kline and Hanisha Bakshani Northshore Council PTSA Membership Chairs membership@northshorecouncilptsa.org |
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