​Does someone in your PTA deserve a shout out?
​WSPTA has a formal volunteer award recognition program allowing local PTAs to award honors for outstanding educator, advocate, student advocate, and volunteer (Golden Acorn), as well as the honorary life membership award.

Awards are a great way for PTAs to show their community how much they appreciate them and to celebrate the dedication of those who support your PTA's mission and goals!

Local PTAs should appoint an awards committee who will gather nominations, review them, and choose the award recipients. This can be done during a meeting or some PTAs even choose to have the previous year's award recipients chair this committee. Check your Standing Rules as it may say who is on the committee. When the awards committee advertises for nomination submissions, it can be done via social media, newsletters, website, email, or even school flyers. To make it even easier for members to submit nominations, the awards committee can create an online submission form using tools like Google Forms or Survey Monkey. 

For recognizing the award recipients, your PTA can hold a volunteer recognition event or take time during a Membership Meeting to celebrate them. WSPTA offers a variety of items your PTA can order online to celebrate your award recipients including certificates, pins, plaques, and even yard signs!

VP of Events:  Plans and coordinates Council's yearly events including Presidents and Principals Brunch, Reflections Celebration, and Spring Recognition Event.

​Council will continue to seek volunteers for this position with the goal of holding an election at a future General Membership Meeting.

Qualification Requirements​
Per the 2022-2023 Council Standing Rules:
All Candidates:

• Any position may be held jointly by two (2) people, except the role of Treasurer. 
• Nominees must be at least 18 years of age.
• Nominees must be a current member of at least one local PTA that falls within the Northshore Council PTSA membership area. 

Interested? Contact Council Co-Presidents, Rachel Fitzgerald and Mary Khouzam for more information. 

Effective candidates for nominating committee:
• Are familiar with the needs and goals of Northshore Council PTSA.
• Are enthusiastic about Northshore Council PTSA's mission, vision, and goals.
• Are willing to work and devote considerable time to furthering the purposes and programs of Northshore Council PTSA.
• Possess tact, integrity, discretion, and the ability to hold their own counsel.
• Have the courage to express their ideas and defend their convictions
• Demonstrate sound judgment and skill in evaluating potential nominees.
• Are capable of understanding and maintaining complete confidentiality.
• Represent the diversity that is present in the community and student population.
• Should be elected on merit and ability – never on popularity.

Members of the nominating committee are eligible to become nominees for elected office. No person may serve on this committee for more than two consecutive one-year terms. A candidate for a council nominating committee must be a member of a local PTA/PTSA in the council for at least 15 days preceding their election.

The election of the nominating committee will take place at our January 19th membership meeting. 

Please note: You do not need to be a Northshore Council PTSA Officer to be on the Nominating Committee. We encourage any interested and qualified Northshore PTA/PTSA member to volunteer for this vital role that will help shape the future of Northshore Council PTSA!

A common question is: "Why join the PTA?"

PTA means different things to different people. One great way of showing the value of becoming a member of PTA is by sharing 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, Kim Ortiz.

Guest Presentation by Northshore School District Ethnic Studies Framework:  NSD Assistant Director of Equity and Pedagogy, Melissa Riley, and Northshore students shared a presentation on ethnic studies in the Northshore School District. This presentation answered the questions "What is ethnic studies, why is it important, and what will it look like for kids?" The curriculum will be for grades Pre K-12 and more information can be found here: https://bit.ly/pesbccdei.

Council Business: 
Approval of the January 20th, 2022 Meeting Minutes which were accepted with minor changes. Approval of the preliminary budget for the 2022-2023 school year.

Election of our 2022-2023 officers:
Thank you to our hardworking Nominating Committee, Diana Christiansen, Cherry Holmes, and Jasmine Lee Fry, for putting together the slate of candidates! Diana Christiansen read the Nominating Report. The self-nomination period was held in accordance with our e-voting policy with no others submitting their names for nomination. The election script was followed with a reading from the WSPTA bylaws. A motion was cast to accept the slate as presented, seconded, and approved by a voice vote.

Congratulations to our incoming 2022-2023 officers!!

• For the Office of Co President: Rachel Fitzgerald and Mary Khouzam
• For the Office of First Vice President: Grace Jurado
• For the Office of Secretary: Open*
• For the Office of Treasurer: Serena Xu
• For the Office of VP of Events: Open*
• For the Office of VP of Advocacy: Jennifer Drury
• For the Office of VP of Communications: Jennifer Snyder
• For the Office of VP of Elementary Support: Diana Christiansen
• For the Office of VP of Secondary Support: Brenae Brix

*Please be advised that by the time the self-nomination period closed, no candidate had come forth for either Secretary or VP of Events. Council will continue to seek volunteers for these positions with the goal of holding elections for them at a future General Membership Meeting. If interested in serving in either of these roles on an interim basis, please contact us at president@northshorecouncilptsa.org.

District Updates:

• NSD Partnerships & Volunteer Coordinator Marco Garcia informed us that everything related to becoming a Northshore volunteer or being a campus visitor can now be completed on the Safe Visitor website for volunteers. He also let us know that the vaccine requirement has not been lifted. Finally, Community Serve Day will be August 21st 2022 with more information to come. Learn more about becoming a NSD volunteer.

 

• NSD School Board Updates: Director Amy Cast reviewed the technology parameters with us, reviewed strategic goals and indicators of progress as it has been five years, and reviewed the use of the Levy money including safety grants, work towards more school mental health professionals, nurses, as well as fewer portables etc. Learn more about NSD's School Board.

 

• Northshore School's Foundation: Hanisha Bakshani/NSF Ambassador North Creek High School let us know that the NSF All in For Kids event is March 31st, 2022 at 4pm at the Evergreen Church. Learn more about the Northshore School's Foundation.

Council Reports: 

• Staff Appreciation: Rachel Fitzgerald informed us that we will have a virtual staff appreciation for district staff. Currently collecting thank you notes from the community to put together for the staff. There will be a different piece for the council to do as well. The deadline to collect notes  and gather all the information is April 22nd. Learn more...

 

• Council Recognition Awards: Mary Khouzam updated us on Council recognition awards. This year we have an online form for nominations again which can be found here. If you would like to help with the awards recognition, please contact Mary at awards@northshorecouncilptsa.org.

 

• Speaker and Events Grants Program: Mary Khouzam let us know that grant program has closed for this year. Click here for Round 3 Recipients.

 

• Reflections: Jasmine Lee Fry updated us that we had 267 entries that were submitted to the council. 59 submissions were forwarded to the state. 4 entries won awards at the state level. Click here for judging results from both Council & WSPTA as well as a link to our Virtual Art Showcase. 

 

• Special Education: Laura Staneff let us know that Council will hold a series of 4 webinars scheduled for free through PAVE. The first one was about IEPS and took place on March 22nd. There will be three other webinars in April, May and June. Learn more...

 

• Mental Health Committee: Melissa Kline & Pauline Wray updated that the Mental Health Committee's Digital Safety Event with Jo Langford happened on March 14th and was well attended. Currently the committee is working on getting Mental Health resource posters up in secondary schools. Finally, an anti-bullying article is currently up on our website and ask that you please share it with your communities. 

 

• Membership: Hanisha Bakshani & Melissa Kline updated us that 21 PTAs are over their membership numbers from last year and we have a total of 5,337 members to date.   

We hope you will join us for our next General Membership Meeting on May 16th, 2022 @ 7pm. This meeting will also include our annual Spring Recognition Event!

​For a full list of our upcoming meetings and events, check out our Calendar.

Does someone in your PTA deserve a shout out?
​WSPTA has a formal volunteer award recognition program allowing local PTAs to award honors for outstanding educator, advocate, student advocate, and volunteer (Golden Acorn), as well as the honorary life membership award.

Awards are a great way for PTAs to show their community how much they appreciate them and to celebrate the dedication of those who support your PTA's mission and goals!

Local PTAs should appoint an awards committee who will gather nominations, review them, and choose the award recipients. This can be done during a meeting or some PTAs even choose to have the previous year's award recipients chair this committee. When the awards committee advertises for nomination submissions, it can be done via social media, newsletters, website, email, or even school flyers. To make it even easier for members to submit nominations, the awards committee can create an online submission form using tools like Google Forms or Survey Monkey.

For recognizing the award recipients, your PTA can hold a volunteer recognition event or take time during a Membership Meeting to celebrate them. WSPTA offers a variety of items your PTA can order online to celebrate your award recipients including certificates, pins, plaques, and even yard signs!

Northshore Council is looking for awesome leaders!
Put all the PTA/PTSA knowledge you have to good use by becoming a Northshore Council Executive Team Member ​

Northshore Council PTSA is made up of volunteers from our Local PTAs and community that have chosen to use their skills to assist our community. The Nominating Committee is seeking interested candidates for Northshore Council PTSA's 2022-2023 Executive team. Positions include:

• President
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• First Vice President
• VP of Advocacy
• VP of Events
• VP Elementary Support
• VP Secondary Support
• VP of Communications

Learn more about the job description for each position as well as qualification requirements below.

Qualification Requirements

Per the 2021-2022 Council Standing Rules:

All Candidates:

• Any position may be held jointly by two (2) people, except the role of Treasurer. 
• Nominees must be at least 18 years of age.
• Nominees must be a current member of at least one local PTA that falls within the Northshore Council PTSA membership area. 

Candidates for the office of President and First Vice President shall also:

• Have two years of elected officer experience on Northshore Council PTSA; 

-OR -

• Have served as President of a local PTA for at least one year and have one year of serving in an elected position on Council or higher.

Candidates for the offices of VP of Elementary Support and VP of Secondary Support shall also:

• Have served in PTA a minimum of 2 years, with one year as a local PTA President and one year in a board position at the educational stage that they are going to support.

Below is a brief job descriptions of Council positions. For a more detailed job description, click here.

President: The President has many important jobs including serving as the official contact, communicator and representative of Council. They oversee and coordinate the work of the executive board, preside over meetings, are ex-officio members of all committees (except Nominating Committee) and are designated as an authorized signer for checks, contracts and authorizations for payment. But, most importantly, they work to connect PTAs which in turn helps them support families, schools and the community to work towards overall student success.
​
1st VP: Must be familiar with the Council president’s duties and responsibilities. Act as an aide to the president and perform the duties of the president in his or her absence. Is in charge of advertising and organizing the Council Grant Program and yearly Awards.
 
Treasurer: Is the authorized custodian of the funds of the association and receives and disburses all monies in accordance with the budget as approved by the  membership.

Secretary: Keeps an accurate record of meetings, which become part of the permanent history of the PTA. Also responsible for taking attendance and monitoring quorum at meetings.

VP of Events: Plans and coordinates Councils yearly events including Presidents and Principals Brunch, Reflections Celebration and Spring Recognition Event.

VP of Communications: Works to facilitate Northshore Council PTSA communications in order to inform, engage, educate and inspire local PTAs and beyond.

VP of Advocacy: Help to educate local PTA's and disseminate information about current WSPTA and National PTA legislative priorities.

VP of Elementary Support: Act as a conduit of information for local elementary PTAs. Helps to answer questions local PTA's may have and works to recognize and celebrate local PTA's.

VP of Secondary Support: Act as a conduit of information for local secondary (high school and middle school) PTAs. Helps to answer questions local PTA's may have and works to recognize and celebrate local PTA's.

If you are interested in serving on Council in this role, know someone who is, or have additional questions about this role, please contact Council President, Jane Chiodo.​

Council SpEd Rep Details

• Can be a co-position (shared by 2 volunteers)
• Heads up the Special Education Committee: This committee is made up of all the SpEd reps from all NSD schools, and any projects or objectives can be carried out as a joint effort of the whole committee, rather than falling only on the chair, or co-chairs.
• Duties of this position include:
  • Helping to raise awareness.
  • Promoting district and community resources.
  • Attending Northshore Council PTSA meetings
  • Offering educational program opportunities, often in partnership with other community organizations.
  • Connecting with and supporting the SpEd reps at NSD schools by meeting with them periodically (most recently over Zoom) to hear concerns from them, and from parents of kids at the schools they represent, and/or discuss possible action items.
  • Collecting questions and feedback from NSD SpEd reps to share at meetings with Council, other local PTA leaders, school board members, or other NSD staff as appropriate.

Due to public meeting limitations, Northshore Council PTSA's 2021-2022 Nominating Committee elections will be taking place electronically.

We are currently accepting self-nominations for the three (3) Nominating Committee positions. Interested candidates can self-nominate by emailing Jane Chiodo by Friday, November 5th.

Please note: You do not need to be a Northshore Council PTSA Officer to be on the Nominating Committee. We encourage any interested and qualified Northshore PTA/PTSA member to volunteer for this vital role that will help shape the future of Northshore Council PTSA!

If there are only three candidates, the election will be held at the November 15th, 2021 General Membership Meeting via Zoom. If there are more than three candidates, the election will be conducted by electronic ballot and detailed information will be available within the second notice of election on November 8th, 2021.

To learn more about serving on the Nominating Committee, eligibility requirements, or for more information on what makes an effective NomCom Candidate, click here.