Category Archives: Uncategorized

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

Special Education Webinar #4 is Available!

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Webinar #4 (recorded on 3/9/2021) focuses on these questions –

  • I received a question from a parent interested in the role of paraprofessionals w/in Special Ed.
    • How do the education/certification requirements for a special education teacher compare to special education paraprofessionals?
    • Is there specific training provided to paraprofessionals in special education settings?
    • When and why is a para chosen as a student’s IEP pull out instruction leader instead of a certificated Special Education teacher?
    • Is there a daily system of feedback between the para and the teacher to track progress or lack thereof?
  • Families are still having a hard time getting access to in-person appointment services for LRC1 students. I’ve received feedback that parents are requesting appointment services for students with learning regression during IEP meetings but still being told it isn’t an option. Are you aware of these situations and how can more students get access to in-person assistance? 
  • The district is currently bargaining with the teacher’s union and other unions to allow secondary students to return to hybrid in-person learning at least one day per week.
    • If those union agreements can be reached, would that provide an opportunity for LRC2 students to attend their general education classes in-person with their peers?
    • If union agreements can be reached, could students with IEPs (both LRC1 & LRC2) be given access to more time in-person teaching than students without IEPs?
    • Would separate bargaining need to occur for the special education population to take advantage of those opportunities like what happened with the K-3 memorandum of understanding (or MOU)?

You can find it on the Special Education Page.

2020-2021 Executive Board

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Welcome to our newly elected executive board for 2020-2021:
  • President: Erin Eaton
  • Treasurer: Pauline Tamblyn
  • Secretary: Cindy Kelm
  • Vice President of Middle & High Schools: Carla Geraci
  • Vice President of Elementary Schools Central: Lauren Bartholomew
  • Vice President of Elementary Schools South: Nicole Morgan
  • Vice President of Elementary Schools North: OPEN 

October 2018 Best Practices

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  • Make sure all of your elected officers are trained, and at least one of your elected officers has attended PTA and the Law.
  • Print these documents from the WSPTA website and become familiar with them. They will help remind you of the items you need to gather and complete to keep your PTA in good standing, and will help you keep your timeline on track.
  • Standards of Affiliation – This sheet should be filled in and complete by the end of November, with the possible exception of your PTA’s corporate renewal, which will be filed during the month that your PTA was first incorporated.
  • Standards of Excellence – Show your membership that your PTA is following best practices by applying for the Standards of Excellence Award (due March 1st). Refer to the timeline checklist each month to see what your PTA should be doing during this time, and gather/create documents as you go. If you put your notebook together a bit at a time over the course of the year, it’s quick and EASY!
  • Make sure your voting delegates have been turned in to the Council secretary, and that you or one of your delegates is planning to attend each Council membership meeting.
  • Register for Legislative Assembly here: https://www.pt-avenue.com/conference/  (October 21-22, Green River College, Auburn). Encourage your board members to attend. Make sure you have submitted the names of your PTA’s voting delegates to WSPTA (due Oct. 12).
  • Send the Legislative Principles, Issues and Resolutions Survey to your membership. Share the data with your Legislative Assembly delegate(s), so their vote will properly represent your membership at Leg. Assembly.
  • Brand and Market your PTA! Educate EVERYONE in your school community (not only your membership) about each and every program and event that your PTA supports. Show them how your PTA benefits your students. If you sponsored it, put a sticker on it! If you have an event, hang a banner! This is how you attract members and encourage donations. 🙂

Region 2 Back-to-School Conference with PTA and the Law – August 21st

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FREE training and leadership development for all PTA leaders! Come learn, network with your fellow PTA leaders, and meet part of your PTA support team. All Washington State PTA trainings and events are for PTA officers, board members, committee chairs, and interested members only.

Tuesday, August 21, 2018
3:00 PM – 9:00 PM PDT

Location
Bellevue High School
10416 SE Wolverine Way
Bellevue, WA 98004

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/region-2-back-to-school-conference-with-pta-and-the-law-tickets-47969309496

Training is vital for your entire board. Please join us for this FREE training and leadership development opportunity for all PTA leaders. PTA and the Law will be offered, and is one of the most important classes you will take every year. Come learn, network with your fellow PTA leaders, and meet part of your PTA support team.

Come start off your PTA year in the know! So many opportunities to learn, ask questions and network with other leaders in one location. Join us at Bellevue High School for a variety of class opportunities as well as PTA & The Law. New this year — we will be offering class sessions earlier in the afternoon, as well as a light dinner prior to the evening class sessions and PTA & The Law.

You are welcome to attend the entire event, or just stay for one session.

Session 1, 3:00 – 4:30 PM:

  • President 101: PTA Basics for First-Time Presidents
  • Navigating a Meeting: An Interactive Journey
  • Managing your Non-Profit PTA
  • Planning your PTAs Fall Membership Drive
  • Volunteers: Find them and Keep them

4:30 – 5:30 PM:

  • Dinner – we highly recommend that your RSVP for dinner so we can have a more accurate head count.
  • Networking
  • Concil Roundtables

5:30 – 6:00 PM:

  • Region Updates (all attendees in PAC)

Session 2; 6:00 – 7:30 PM:

  • Foundation of FACE
  • The Effective Vice President
  • Advocacy at the Local PTA
  • Secretary: More than Just Minutes
  • Treasurer Basics

Session 3; 7:35 – 9:00 PM:

  • Branding and Marketing
  • Managing your Nonprofit PTA
  • President: Plan to Succeed
  • Membership: The Ask
  • Pump Up your Communications

PTA and the Law: 6:00 – 9:00 PM

PTA and the Law deals with state and federal rules and regulations for running a charitable, tax-exempt nonprofit corporation in Washington state and will explain how these rules can and do affect your PTA.

  • Laws and regulations can change every year, so whether you went last year, have not been in a few years, or have never been to this class, this presentation is for any officer or committee chair.
  • Per the WSPTA Standards of Affiliation agreement, the annual training requirement states that at least one elected officer must attend PTA and the Law, and all other elected officers must attend at least one WSPTA-approved training before this year’s WSPTA convention. Don’t miss the opportunity to meet this requirement.

All Washington State PTA trainings and events are for PTA officers, board members, committee chairs, and interested members only.

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/region-2-back-to-school-conference-with-pta-and-the-law-tickets-47969309496

May 2017 Agenda Notes

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May Agenda
April Draft Minutes
April Treasurer Report
Draft Budget 2017-2018

REMINDERS

LOCATION REMINDER:

Issaquah PTSA Council Transition Luncheon
Thursday, May 18th at Pickering Barn
9:30 – General Meeting (Current & Incoming Presidents)
11:30 – Luncheon (PTSA Council, Principals & District Guests)
 
We look forward to seeing you all at the Issaquah PTSA Council Transition Luncheon, celebrating another successful school year! 
Current* & Incoming Presidents arrive at 9:30 for the General Meeting. Principals & Issaquah District Guests join us for the 11:30 Luncheon.
 
*Current Presidents, please bring a *store-bought* salad to serve 10+ guests. (Pickering Barn policy requires that all food served be prepared in a commercial kitchen, refrigeration is available.) 
  

TREASURER

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AWARDS

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ADVOCACY

Contacts:
5th Leg. District
Sen. Mark Mullet – Mark.Mullet@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Paul Graves – PaulGraves@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Jay Rodne – JayRodne@leg.wa.gov
41st Leg. District
Sen. Lisa Wellman – Lisa.Wellman@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Judy Clibborn – JudyClibborn@leg.wa.gov
Rep. Tana Senn – Tana.Senn@leg.wa.gov
Thank you again for your dedication! 😊

ART IN THE SCHOOLS
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BEST PRACTICES

Best Practices Checklist

Council Transition Checklist

FACE/Family And Community Engagement

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HEALTHY YOUTH NETWORK

2017 ACTION FORUM FOR YOUTH
     JUNE 1, ISSAQUAH HOLIDAY INN, 7:00 TO 9:00 A.M.
     JUNE 6, SAMMAMISH X3 TEEN CENTER, 7:00 TO 9:00 A.M.
http://www.healthyyouthinitiative.org/action-forum-for-youth.html

 

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ISSAQUAH SCHOOLS FOUNDATION

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MEMBERSHIP

Washington State PTA Membership Leadership Guide

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OUTREACH

Outreach Notes – This page is kept current as needs or programs change.

Tools 4 School Class Packs link is now available through July 15th. Flyer. Donate.

FREE SAT practice exam at the Issaquah Library on May 20th. FLYER.

PARENTWISER (formerly Parent Education)
1. Thank you to those able to help during Jessica Lahey’s talks on April 25th!  Thanks to the many Presidents who stepped in, we ended up with sufficient volunteers making both day and evening events flow easily.   Thank you!!!
2. New Topics – Based on results from our March district-wide survey, we are currently planning speakers for next year.  The topics that emerged are:
1) Managing screen time
2) Managing academic/friendship stress
3) Parenting tweens & teens (grades 6-12)
4) Managing behavior challenges (in grades K-8)
5) Sibling Rivalry
Targeting these areas, we are considering a similar model to current year with 1 film documentary/panel discussion, and 3 additional speakers, including 1 national keynote speaker. Speakers and dates will be available in September.
3. Quarterly ParentWiser Committee Meeting will be via email this spring; please send any parent ed suggestions/comments for continual improvement to parentwiser@issaquahptsa.org.  Please keep a parent ed rep on your PTA/PTSA roster as the local voice for parent ed at your school, and encourage them to participate in ParentWiser events as volunteers and idea generators.  They can also contact us for local speaker suggestions to draw attendance to your General Membership Meetings.
4. Back-to-School PTSA Check-In.  When creating your online membership/registration for back-to-school check-in, please add the following question/field, and then send your list of emails accumulated to parentwiser@issaquahptsa.org :
“Add me to the monthly ParentWiser email distribution to learn about district-wide parent ed events                  (enter email here)               “
5.  ENEWS announcement for May/June.  (This was also sent directly to all parent ed reps and communication chairs.)
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(For ENEWS):
ParentWiser invites you to…
1.  Join us May 22 at 7pm for a Debrief Discussion on “The Gift of Failure” by Jessica Lahey to discuss key takeaways and implementing a cultural change in raising independent, resilient kids.
2.  Bookmark ParentWiser.org for the new speaker series coming 2017-18!
3.  Access online Parent Ed conferences over the summer.
…because parenting continues even when school ends.
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Thank you !
Heidi Fuhs & Debbie Steinberg Kuntz
Co-Chairs

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ParentWiser Logo.

REFLECTIONS
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STAR/SPECIAL EDUCATION
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VICE PRESIDENTS

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VOLUNTEERS FOR ISSAQUAH SCHOOLS (VIS)

ISD LEVY COMMITTEE UPDATE

The purpose of the ISD Levy Development Committee is to advise the Superintendent as he prepares a recommendation for the school board to approve levy issues for the 2018 ballot. The Committee is made up of 44 representatives from each of our Schools, Principals, Senior/Retired Community, PTSA Council, Certificated Staff Rep, Classified Staff Rep, and Community Members at Large. There are 3 proposed levies – Transportation, Capital Levy (Technology & Critical Repairs) and the M&O (Maintenance and Operations Levy).

Click here for Transportation Levy and May 3rd meeting details.
Click here to read the Capital Levy Priority 1 and Priority 2 proposals and May 17th meeting details.

The next meeting of the committee is May 31st.


WEBMASTER/DIRECTORY

There is still time to do a member survey.

Other

Next month’s training following the GMM will be”Managing Your Nonprofit PTA: The Financial Responsibilities of Board Members” and is applicable to all board members counting for your 2017-2018 training requirement. 

New Arts Learning Standards for Washington

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This year Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal formally adopted the new Arts Learning Standards for Washington at an event at Elk Plain School of Choice in the Bethel School District. “Education involves the whole child,” Superintendent Reykdal said. “The arts are a part of that.” The new standards are developed for dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts.

For more resources about these standards and standards for other subjects, please visit the OSPI Learning and Teaching website.

For more information on arts standards, contact:
Anne Banks, 360-725-4966, Anne.Banks@k12.wa.us

To view the Arts Learning Standards:
http://www.k12.wa.us/Arts/Standards/default.aspx

To read the entire ALE email update (where this information came from):
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WAOSPI/bulletins/1905e91