Category Archives: Resources

PTSA Equity Presentation

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Leading with Equity 
This presentation will better help you sharpen your equity lens and develop a deeper understanding on inequities students and families may face. We will define some equity terms used by the district and review some key training components. There is much work to be done. The district is looking for partners. Come join the conversation in supporting our students with equitable outcomes.  

Thursday, May 20th, 2021
9:30-11:30am

Questions? Contact our Issaquah PTSA Council Family and Community Engagement Coordinator, Alicia Spinner: face@issaquahptsa.org

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Resources

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Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Resources are available in the top 8 languages:  http://www.k12.wa.us/ESEA/ESSA/Resources.aspx

OSPI has translated five of our Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) flyers into the Top 8 languages spoken by Washington’s students. Those flyers address some of the biggest pieces of ESSA, including Title I: Federal Programs, Title II: Teacher & Principal Quality, Title III: English Learners, as well as Equity and 21st Century Community Learning Centers. These flyers were created to help readers understand the new federal education law—without first taking a course in legalese. They have been translated into Arabic, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Somali, Tagalog, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. English-language flyers are available on the ESSA resource page.

Grocer4U – Giving by Saving

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Grocer4U is an easy passive fundraising opportunity that any local PTSA can implement and it’s members will appreciate.

Let’s count the ways why your PTSA will be thankful for this fundraising opportunity:
  1. Grocer4U’s goal is to support building great futures by helping PTSA’s raise education dollars.
  2. Grocer4U is a FREE service that saves your members time and money with grocery shopping.  You can even login through Facebook!
  3. No more searching for grocery store sales.  Grocer4U aims to remove the necessity to sift through your local paper, online ads, and multiple retailer sites to find the sales you need.  Grocery4U brings the sales to you through your personalized portal.
  4. During registration you select your favorite grocery stores and create a “My Favorites” list of grocery items you normally buy. Grocery4U tells you not only the special at the stores you like to shop, but also shows ”My Specials”, highlighting items you have indicated in your “My Favorites” grocery list that are on sale. From there you can quickly add the ones you want to your shopping list.
  5. Quickly find BOGO free items at your favorite stores with the click of a button.
  6. Grocer4U allows you to either print or email your categorized grocery list, saving you time in the store. Email list will work on your smart phone or tablet as an interactive checklist.
  7. Grocer4U shows you your total savings by store, per shopping trip, and keep a running total so you can see how fast the savings add up.
  8. Whether you are a daily, weekly, or monthly shopper, Grocer4U will not only save you time and money, but allow you to keep an organized list of products that you can reuse.
  9. If you like to shop at only certain stores or buy only certain items, Grocer4U provides that flexibility.
  10. Part of the Grocery4U mission is to be an advocate for social responsibility. Grocer4U donates part of its profits back to the community, expressed by it’s slogan of “Giving by Saving”.  It’s a WIN for everyone involved!  The more you save, the more Grocer4U gives back to your PTSA.
Fundraising made simple;
  1. Get families and their friend across the USA to register on grocer4u.com using your PTSA unit-specific charity code.
  2. Encourage members to purchase through any of grocer4u.com affiliates (lots in Issquah).
  3. Encourage members to use grocer4u.com to manage their grocery purchases and print/email their grocery list.
Other FREE features that the site offers:
  1. One-stop to view many local grocery store promotions,
  2. Recipe options showing which ingredients are on sale,
  3. Personal grocery management system, and much more.
How does your PTSA make money?
  1. Every time new member registers with an annual cap.
  2. Every time registered member uses grocery print/email function with an annual cap.
  3. A uncapped annual based on percentage of member purchased product price made from grocer4u affiliates via grocer4u website click-through
Fundraising of $2700 for 500 members is estimated. Contact  Vivek Pathak with questions.
How does your PTSA get started?
  1. Communicate a desire to start up by contacting Vivek Pathak.  Click HERE for the easy steps Flyer
  2. Your PTSA will be provided a charity code* unique to your unit.
  3. Your PTSA will be given supportive material to use to communicate with your school.
  4. Monthly, you will be provided an update on the funds raised.  Use this information to attract more users resulting in greater benefit to your unit.
  5. Quarterly, funds will be distributed directly to your PTSA in the  form of a check.
*You can choose to modify their charity code at anytime while logged in via the “My Account” page.
In fact, you can see how it works by trying the sample charity code “YourCause”.

Click HERE for the easy steps Flyer

Grocer4U service can be used everywhere in our Nation, but was developed right here in Issaquah by Vivek Pathak, Issaquah Dad, Issaquah School District Teacher’s Husband, and education advocate.  Please call Vivek Pathak with your excitement and questions.  Visit the Grocer4U website to check it out – super cool!

Math Contest Fundraiser

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Dear Friend of Schools,

My name is Tom Clymer, and I want to help your organization administer an elementary math contest for your favorite district’s students.  I’m a big believer in school math clubs, and have been involved with them for the 28 years since I joined one in the seventh grade.  If my elementary school had had a math club, I’m sure I would have joined earlier.  🙂  Math Club isn’t for everyone, but it’s fantastic for the kids who finish their homework while the teacher is starting the lecture, the kids who do well after the lecture, and many members of an unexpected group: the kids who are not doing well in class because they find textbook work uninteresting.

I now have a daughter, and before she started school I’d already started a math club and joined the PTA.  As a PTA officer trying to raise money for my school, I hated trying to choose which catalog we’d send home with students so that they could pitch overpriced junk to their families.  I especially hated sending most of our families’ money to the company behind the catalog, rather than into classrooms.

Four years ago my math club and PTA worlds collided and I realized that I could “sell” a product that had educational value, rather than being sugar or plastic:  a beginner-level math contest for all the elementary schools in our district!  I created the Seahurst Elementary Math Bonanza and invited all the elementary schools in the Highline School District.  The next year, my friend asked if he could use my materials and copy my methods, and the Wildwood Elementary Math Bonanza began for Federal Way Public Schools.  Schools that sign up for our contests get practice materials ahead of time, enjoy the competition, and then get the solutions to the problems so that they can get excited for next year on the way home!  Most schools in our districts did not have math clubs when we started the contests, but many of them have now caught the bug…

So why am I writing to you?  After several years of success in Highline and Federal Way, my friend and I have realized that we can show other districts how to advance a culture of academic excellence while also raising money for schools.  We’re planning a series of informal meetings to show how easy, fun, and profitable it can be to run a beginner-level math contest, and we’re hoping you and others in your organization will attend.  Please invite them to:

Math Bonanza 101
Friday, January 18th, 5:30 PM
Bellevue Square Pagliacci Pizza
563 Bellevue Square
(425) 274-0472 (restaurant)

At this meeting, we will share our success stories and some pizza, then discuss what your organization could do to prepare for a successful contest.  We’ll also do some quick demos so that attendees can see how they might run a contest.  Afterwards, we’ll give them a CD with everything they’d need to run a great beginner-level math contest at a school, along with my e-mail address and phone number for the questions that will inevitably come up (actually, they’re below :-).

Please have them RSVP to tomclymer@gmail.com or 206-244-5214with their name and school, so that I’ll know how many pizzas and CDs to get.  They should feel free to ask me questions before the meeting.  Finally, please spread the word by passing this invitation on to others who might want to help their schools!

I hope that your organization will join us!

Friends of Youth

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Paula Frederick-Friends of Youth
PaulaF@friendsofyouth.org
http://www.Friendsofyouth.org

Hello,

My name is Paula Frederick and I’m the Director of Youth and Family service programs for Friends of youth based in Issaquah. We provide mental health counseling and substance abuse outpatient treatment for children and youth and their families. And for many years we have provided these services in designated schools throughout Issaquah school District. I would like to speak with someone about providing information, possibly writing some on-going articles regarding issues related to mental health and substance abuse for your newsletters– would you be interested?

Please feel free to call or e-mail me at your earliest convenience.
My office phone number is: 425-392-6367, ext.106

Thank you so much
Paula