| Parent Involvement Schools of Excellence |
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Congratulations to the following PTAs for the achievement of Parent Involvement School of Excellence Certification:
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Beecher Hills ES PTA
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Kincaid ES PTA
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Nickajack ES PTA
Learn more about Parent Involvement Schools of Excellence Certification...
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| Food for Thought |
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Parents, students, school administrators and legislators recently discussed school nutrition at a Cobb County Town Hall meeting at Sope Creek elementary school. Read more...
This one event is an example of using the new PTA's National Standards for Family-School Partnerships and meets the criteria for a Georgia PTA Promoting Healthy Habits grant. Plan to promote healthy habits in your school and use the National Standards to judge the quality of the PTA services and activities you decide to include in your 2008-2009 budget.
New PTA's National Standards for Family-School Partnerships
Standard 1: Welcoming all families into the school community - Families are active participants in the life of the school, and feel welcomed, valued, and connected to each other, to school staff, and to what students are learning and doing in class.
Standard 2: Communicating effectively - Families and school staff engage in regular, meaningful communication about student learning.
Standard 3: Supporting student success - Families and school staff continuously collaborate to support students' learning and healthy development both at home and at school, and have regular opportunities to strengthen their knowledge and skills to do so effectively.
Standard 4: Speaking up for every child - Families are empowered to be advocates for their own and other children, to ensure that students are treated fairly and have access to learning opportunities that will support their success.
Standard 5: Sharing power - Families and school staff are equal partners in decisions that affect children and families and together inform, influence, and create policies, practices, and programs.
Standard 6: Collaborating with community - Families and school staff collaborate with community members to connect students, families, and staff to expanded learning opportunities, community services, and civic participation.
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| A Call to Training for PTA Council Leaders |
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The first training will be conducted during a weekday morning in Gwinnett County to accommodate the needs of their three new councils with all new officers. This training is open to any Council leader from around the state who would like to take advantage of the weekday morning training.
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Who? |
New Council Officers and Old Officers who have never been to training. |
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What? |
Training for Council Leadership |
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When? |
Thursday May 8th, 2008 9:45 am- 2:00 pm |
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Where? |
St. Edwards Episcopal Church, Parish Hall
737 Moon Rd.
Lawrenceville, GA 30045 |
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Why? |
Some wanted training during elementary school hours. |
Go to their website http://www.stedwardsonline.org to get driving directions from your home to the church. If you are traveling to the church from Hwy 316, you exit at Sugarloaf Parkway. It is about a ten minute drive from that exit.
I will be going over material to help you make your step into council leadership a well prepared transition. Materials that will be covered include the use of the Statistical sheet that is sent to the council leaders. This information lets the council monitor their Local Unit's compliance with certain deadlines and obligations. We will talk about how the statistical sheet helps you do your job more easily.
How to mediate conflicts among local unit leaders.
How to conduct an audit. Why this is important knowledge to have as a council leader.
We will be covering the same materials at both sessions.
Second Training
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Who? |
New Council Officers and Old Officers who have never been to training. |
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What? |
Training for Council Leadership |
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When? |
Saturday May 17th, 2008 9 am-1 pm |
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Where? |
Georgia State PTA Office
114 Baker Street, Atlanta, GA 30308 |
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Why? |
To help prepare you to do the best job as council leader! |
For driving directions go to the State PTA website http://www.georgiapta.org.
RSVP to Mary Helen Harris, Georgia PTA Councils Chair by email or call 770.955.4451. We will need a head count to be sure we have enough materials for all participants. Let me know if there are any dietary restrictions. A light lunch will be provided for both sessions.
Mary Helen Harris, Georgia PTA Councils Chair
ptsamhh@aol.com
everychild. onevoice.
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| Save the Date - May 16, 2008 |
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Luncheon Forum
MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: The Homework Experience
Friday, May 16
12:00 - 2:00 PM
The Loudermilk Center, 40 Courtland Street, Atlanta, 30303
Georgia PTA, the MetLife Foundation and Center for Economic Development (CED) cordially invite up to two representatives from your PTA unit to attend a luncheon forum about the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: The Homework Experience. The forum will include a presentation of the survey findings, and a panel will discuss the implications of the survey for families and public education.
The luncheon is complimentary. Space is very limited, and reservations will be accepted on a first come-first serve basis. For additional information or to register online, click here.
Even though you're probably thinking about taking a break from homework during summer vacation, the topic of homework is always a subject of much debate among parents, teachers, and students. The latest Survey (one of a series commissioned annually by MetLife since 1984) examines the perspectives and experiences of teachers, students, and parents regarding the purposes, quantity, and quality of homework. It offers some surprising insights about who values homework, how it is used, and implications for teacher preparation and induction. Think ahead and be prepared to start the upcoming school year with the latest information on this important and timeless topic.
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Georgia PTA Partners with State's Afterschool Investment Council for Study of Youth Activities Available When the Last Bell Rings |
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The Georgia PTA is working with the Georgia Afterschool Investment Council to study parent perceptions of afterschool activities across the state. The survey seeks to measure their perceived quantity and quality of choices available to today's vulnerable youth during the hours immediately after school ends and before many adults get home. This project is funded by a grant awarded to us by The Mott Foundation and is currently underway.
In conjunction with this effort, we have also developed a survey targeted at the impressions of those same activities among children in grades 5 and above. If you have children in this age range, please ask them to take our brief survey. It is anonymous and in no way will be tied back to your child's response. If you have more than one child in this age category, feel free to have them each complete the survey separately.
In addition, we are asking that all District Directors and Middle School PTA Presidents please pass along this survey request to students in your area. The link can be typed directly into a web browser and will take kids only a few minutes to complete. We hope to compare the children's perspective with those offered by adults to identify gaps in afterschool programming needs and assessments in performance.
Here is the survey link: www.surveymonkey.com/student
If you have any questions, please contact the survey administrator at marketsinmotion@comcast.net.
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| Volunteers Worth More than Ever |
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The Independent Sector says that the estimated value of a volunteer hour almost kept up with inflation during 2007, increasing nearly four percent. A volunteer hour jumped by 74 cents, from $18.77 in 2006 to $19.51 in 2007. That increase makes volunteers' time worth 3.3 times the minimum wage which is at $5.85 per hour. The new figures were released in time for National Volunteer Week, April 27-May 3. Diana Aviv, president and CEO of the Independent Sector said, "Our nation's volunteers play a vital role in helping America's 1.4 million charitable organizations improve lives across the country and around the world....Quantifying the value of their time gives us yet another indicator of how important volunteers are to communities."
Information taken from an email dated 4/22/80 written by Joanne Fritz from About.com Nonprofit Charitable Orgs Guide [nonprofit.guide@about.com]
SO TAKE TIME TO SAY THANK YOU AND HONOR YOUR VOLUNTEERS - As you plan your election meetings, end of year programs and budgets for 2008-2009, please consider acknowledging the volunteers in your PTA and community. There are several ways to demonstrate the value you place on the volunteers that serve your PTA community. Start a new tradition by creating a volunteer wall, bulletin board, multiyear plague, section of the PTA newsletter, section of the PTA website, end of year flyer, volunteer reception, etc. to show appreciation for volunteers. You could also recognize volunteers, teachers, principals, school staff and faculty, board of education reps, superintendent, and business partners with any of the following PTA awards at any time during the school year; or select volunteer appreciation gifts from the PTA Mart.
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| Local Unit Presidents - Watch Your Mail for Parent Vaccination Guide |
We wanted to make you aware that during the week of April 28 National PTA will send a new parent resource on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline and NASN (National Association of School Nurses) to all PTA state and local-level leaders.
The resource is a parent guide on vaccinations and includes an immunization checklist along with web links to additional resources and information from medical expert organizations.
This checklist will provide useful information to parents to help them make informed decisions on immunizations for their children. GlaxoSmithKline is a Proud National Sponsor of PTA, and has underwritten the popular "PTA Healthy Lifestyles: A Parent's Guide."
If you have any questions regarding GlaxoSmithKline or this new parent resource, please contact National PTA's Resource Development department at (800) 307-4PTA (4782) or tnguyen@pta.org.
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| Woodruff Salutes Arts in Education Leaders |
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The Woodruff Arts Center is pleased to announce Woodruff Salutes Georgia Arts in Education Leaders, a program to honor teachers, school and arts administrators, community leaders and volunteers throughout Georgia who have championed and demonstrated the ability of the arts to impact positively the lives and learning of young people in grades Pre-K through 12.
Each month from September through December 2008, a Georgia arts-in-education leader will be recognized through a special citation, a $1,000 contribution to an arts program of each honoree's choice, newspaper and radio announcements, a Woodruff Arts Center campus display, and a culminating reception for all honorees to follow at the Woodruff in 2009. Honorees will be selected by the Woodruff Arts Center Education Committee.
Your participation in nominating Georgia arts in education leaders for recognition is welcome and encouraged! Woodruff Salutes program information is available for download at www.woodruffcenter.org. Please share this information with your colleagues. To nominate individuals for recognition, please complete the Woodruff Salutes Nomination Form on pages 3 and 4 of the download.
To be considered, nominations must be postmarked, faxed or emailed by Wednesday, July 2, 2008.
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| Books for the Bayou - Bringing Books Back to Students |
PTA has teamed up with Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) to bring books back to students in Louisiana and Mississippi communities damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Providing age-appropriate books for children's personal libraries will further the rebuilding process, encourage children to become readers, and promote academic success.
This effort is being launched with Kids of Katrina funds-donated to help rebuild hurricane-affected areas. We are also asking local PTAs to consider raising funds specifically for Books for the Bayou to help supply the much-needed books. All PTA funds go to buying books-at a discount!
Books for the Bayou is a great community service project that creates a powerful connection to helping students who were affected by the hurricanes regain some of what they lost. Distributions of books in this three-year program will take place primarily before summer breaks.
Learn more...
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| Asia Society and Goldman Sachs Foundation Invite Applications for Youth Prizes for Excellence in International Education |
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The Asia Society and the Goldman Sachs Foundation have announced the 2008 Youth Prizes for Excellence in International Education. The Youth Prizes will award up to five high school students who demonstrate an in-depth understanding of key issues in international affairs and the global economy up to $10,000 each as well as an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City in November 2008 to receive their prize.
The 2008 competition asks students to create an in-depth written essay or multimedia feature examining a social or economic issue that has relevance to them in a global context. In the essay category, students will compare and contrast how the issue affects their community and a community abroad, as well as create recommendations for what lessons the two communities could learn from each other. In the multimedia category, students will explore how a global problem or challenge affects their life as an individual, as a member of their local community, and/or as a global citizen.
Visit the Asia Society's Ask Asia website for the contest questions, eligibility rules, guidelines and helpful hints, and submission instructions. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, June 12, 2008 by 6:00pm your local time. | |
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