Are you interested in making your voice heard???

During the Washington State Legislative Sessions, Washington State PTA will send action alerts and informational broadcasts to WSPTA members who have subscribed to WSPTA's Action Network Group. These action alerts are quick, easy ways to communicate with our legislators on topics they are actively working on that relate to WSPTA's legislative platform.


You can sign up here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/subscribe-to-wsptas-action-network-group.

Congratulations to the 10 Northshore PTAs that have won WSPTA Membership growth awards so far this year!

PLATINUM award winners have increased membership 20% over last year:
⭐ Bear Creek Elementary PTA
⭐ Moorlands PTA
⭐ Shelton View PTA

GOLD award winners have increased membership 10% over last year:
⭐ Canyon Park Middle PTSA
⭐ Sorenson PTA

BRONZE award winners have increased membership by at least 1 more member over last year:
⭐ Canyon Creek PTA
⭐ East Ridge PTA
⭐ Fernwood PTSA
⭐ Lockwood PTA
⭐ Timbercrest Middle PTSA

Keep up the amazing work!!! Remember that membership is year-round and these awards are ongoing. If your PTA has earned an award-- keep the momentum going and work toward the next level. And if your PTA isn't there yet-- keep at it and continue building awareness because every member counts!

If you have membership questions, are looking for ideas or need support, please contact our Council Membership Chairs, Sherry Rudolph and Mary Khouzam. They are here to help!

Awards season is nearly upon us!

Has your PTA considered applying for one or more of the Washington State PTA Awards of Excellence???  You are all doing GREAT work for your students, so you should participate!!!  There are some great benefits to applying for these awards:

• It is an amazing tool for your PTA to learn about best practices and gauge your success! 
  
• The judges will give you feedback on what you are doing well and areas for improvement.
• It can help lead your board for the following year.
• You can learn from what other PTAs across the state are doing by checking out the awards display at the next Convention.
• If you do win, it can help with membership.  Everyone wants to be a part of an award winning PTA!!!

Available awards include:

Find more information about awards at the WSPTA website: https://www.wastatepta.org/events-programs/awards/excellence/

Deadline is March 1st 2019.

Please reach out to your Council VP if you want help or guidance in applying:

• VP East (North Creek and Woodinville feeder patterns): Melissa Kline
• VP West (Bothell and Inglemoor feeder patterns): Marcilla Proudfit

We encourage you to consider applying for one or more of these awards!

At Washington State PTA's 40th annual Legislative Assembly, October 20-21 at Green River College in Auburn, WA, PTA delegates from around the state gathered together for presentations, education, debate and decision-making surrounding advocacy and building the new WSPTA legislative platform. Many thanks to all of the delegates from Northshore PTAs/PTSAs who participated in the process, as well as Northshore Council delegates Carrie McKenzie, Robin McKenzie, and Marcilla Proudfit.

Delegates approved three new legislative principles, four new resolutions as well as one amended resolution. In addition, a new two-year legislative platform was approved and the top five issues decided:

Be on the lookout for more details and supporting handouts on these issues in the coming weeks. For more information on these issues and to find out how you can get involved and support WSPTA advocacy efforts, visit the WSPTA Advocacy page. 

During the Washington State Legislative Sessions, WSPTA will send action alerts and informational broadcasts to WSPTA members who have subscribed to WSPTA's Action Network Group. These action alerts are quick, easy ways to communicate with our legislators on topics they are actively working on that relate to WSPTA's legislative platform. You can sign up here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/subscribe-to-wsptas-action-network-group.

If you are interested in learning more about how you and/or your PTA can use these platform issues to advocate at a local level, you can also reach out to Northshore Council's Advocacy VPs, Nancy Chamberlain and Charla Griffy Brown.

Feeling overwhelmed keeping up with membership? Need a little help with PT Avenue? There is a wealth of resources on the Washington State PTA website available to you and your team!

Visit Leadership Guides (use the login and password info sent via WSPTA's Leadership News) and then scroll down to the "Membership Database" section to find training guides, specific information on how to enter members in the database, manage reports and so much more! There is even a video to help you learn how to import data.

Remember that you can ask for help entering data into the database. Make it a team effort. Membership is everyone’s responsibility!

Questions? Council's Membership Chairs are here to support you as well and they are only an email away: Mary Khouzam and Sherry Rudolph.

The 40th annual WSPTA Legislative Assembly will take place October 20-21, 2018 at Green River College, Auburn, WA. PTA delegates from across the state will come together to set a new platform of legislative priorities for the 2018-2020 legislative session in support of our vision of "Making every child's potential a reality." Delegates will have the opportunity to debate, amend, and vote on long-term resolutions and principles that were brought forth by the members through the grassroots submission process late last spring. In addition, the assembly will vote on new short-term platform issues that WSPTA will focus on in the upcoming legislative session.

The Guide to Proposed Legislative Principles, Legislative Issues and Resolutions, also known as the WSPTA Legislative Assembly Voter Guide, contains information needed to familiarize yourself with these proposals.

If you are interested in attending Legislative Assembly as a delegate for your local PTA, contact your local PTA president.

Registration for Legislative Assembly is now open! Get all the details: https://www.wastatepta.org/events-programs/legislative-assembly/.

Each PTA is a legal corporation and your officers have fiduciary responsibilities to keep your organization on track. Some requirements come from the IRS, others are Washington State law, your PTA insurance company has requirements and WSPTA also has standards.  Keeping on top of it all can be a challenge!

Washington State PTA (WSPTA) offers the Standards of Affiliation (SOA) as a guideline for keeping all the important requirements for your PTA up to date. Taxes to insurance to best practices-- all can be tracked with the help of the Washington State PTA SOA checklist-- and the 2018-19 SOA is now available!

Tracking your PTA’s compliance with the SOA checklist is a great way to stay on top of things this year. Sharing the progress you’ve made with your members also lets others know about how your PTA operates and shows the work that goes on, often behind the scenes, to keep your PTA legal, safe and operating within the very best practices of our state.

If parts of of SOA don’t make sense or you need further help and clarification, WSPTA has also created a Best Practices and Tip Sheet with details on each of the 13 requirements. And, of course, Northshore Council is here to help you as well! Contact us with any questions or concerns you may have!