Game Planning Your School’s Open House
by Jenn Talingo, WSPTA Membership Director It is the season of open houses, back-to-school nights, and back-to-school bashes! As you prepare for these events, consider having a tri-fold board that lets prospective members know what your PTA did last year and what your PTA plans to do this year. Publicize your PTA membership goals! Set…
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Washington State PTA Opposes Initiative 2117
Washington State PTA (WSPTA) is the oldest and largest volunteer child advocacy association in the state. Our 80,000 plus members support mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change which pose a direct threat to the health and well-being of all children and youth. WSPTA also supports ample funding for schools and promotes safe and healthy…
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It’s the final countdown
By Marie Sullivan, legconsultant@wastatepta.org Friday, March 1st was the final deadline by which bills had to pass out of the opposite chamber to remain under consideration this session. Many bills were amended in the opposite chamber, which means they will return to their “house of origin” for concurrence, dispute, or conference committee. Typically, conference committees…
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Announcement from the WSPTA Special Education Committee
Hey PTA leaders, did you know there are now resources to support and include disabled students and their families in your PTA community and at your events on the Washington State PTA website? Under the focus area tab, you can find a link to the Special Education page. There are resources including how to ensure…
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Whose Money is it?
Andrew Estep Dear Members, As we slowly recover from the pandemic, a few bright spots shine. One that is shining through is that many PTAs have much larger bank balances than they had in the past. For some, that seems to be a luxury and not a problem. It can, however, be a problem. Charitable…
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From the Executive Director
Andrew Estep Dear Members, For me, July means Independence Day, barbecues, picnics, and vacations. It also means enjoying friends, family, and community. We get to go to baseball games, enjoy 16+ hours of daylight (in Washington), and celebrate our good fortune to be Americans. I was talking with a college-age student yesterday. Her family had…
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Annual Reports
Written reports have been prepared instead of the verbal ones typically presented at the annual business meeting on April 30. Those three reports are linked below. The State of the PTA by Nancy Chamberlain Finance Officer’s Update by Candy Walters Executive Director’s Report by Andrew Estep
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2022-23 Swank Movie Licenses
EDIT – This is an outdated post. For information about this year’s movie licenses, click here. Washington State PTA is excited to continue our partnership with Swank Movie Licensing USA to bring movie licensing to WSPTA member schools at significant savings. Movie licenses are an excellent option for PTAs eager to fundraise and support their school.…
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Testimony by WSPTA Advocates
Monday, January 31, was a big day for testimony on Washington State PTA’s legislative priorities, spanning topics of enrollment stabilization, increasing school staffing, and funding school seismic safety upgrades. Listen here as WSPTA parent advocates spoke in favor of these bills: Natalya Yudkovsky on SB 5563, stabilizing funding due to enrollment decline (listen here); Heidi…