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The Ohio PTA Voice
Table of Contents:
Pg. 1- Presidents Message
Pg. 4- Advocacy
Pg. 6- Heritage Month
Pg. 7 Family School Partnership
Pg. 8 Special Needs Child
Pg. 9 Bylaws
Pg. 10 Membership Awards
Pg. 12 Healthy Lifestyles
Pg. 17 Education
Pg. 20 Standards of Affiliation
Pg. 21 End of Year Tools
Pg. 22- Treasurer Tools
Pg. 23- Reflections
Pg. 25 Convention Pictures
Pg. 26 Reports
Pg. 37 Board of Directors
Page 1 May 2015
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Note from the President...
Ohio PTA
40 Northwoods Blvd Ste A
Columbus, OH 43235-4718
(614) 781-6344
Fax: (614) 781-6349
[email protected]
A powerful voice for all children A relevant resource for
families and communities
A strong advocate for the education and well-being of every
child
Grand Finale
As I write my Grand Finale, my final article as your Ohio PTA
President, I am
filled with so much emotion. I am so thankful for the
opportunity to conduct Our
PTA Symphony. This has been such a wonderful experience!
The theme of my term, Our PTA Symphony: Bringing Harmony to
Every Childs Life, was chosen because of my love for music and
because of what music represents, and we focused on four movements
or goals this term: Family
Engagement, Training, Advocacy, and Relevancy.
Ive enjoyed making musical analogies as it relates to PTA. Ive
talked about the basics of music starting with the staff - a set of
5 lines with 4 spaces in between -
and how theres nothing particularly exciting about the staff,
yet when other notation is added, it develops into music! When we
start adding clefs, time
signatures, measures, and notes, it begins to develop into a
beautiful symphony.
We have to understand that we need all of these components. We
will never be
able to engage families, advocate for them, or be relevant if we
are on a different
note, if we dont consider their notation in the symphony.
Ive talked about the beauty of Our PTA Symphony is that theres a
part for everyone. Each part of music looks different, sounds
different, but each has its
place to bring it together to make the PTA Symphony. Ive
communicated about being instrumental in PTA and being in the right
key. Ive shared about the composers of Our PTA Symphony, our
founders. Resonating with our families and
being in true harmony have been focuses. And Ive spoken about
the power of the sound of one voice. Symphony means agreement of
sound one voice. Our PTA tagline is Every Child. One Voice. Last
month I shared about the importance of memorizing our mission.
For some Ohio PTA Board of Directors, this is also their Grand
Finale. We have
several board members leaving who have collectively served over
75 years to help
shape and direct PTA. Id like to take this opportunity to
acknowledge them.
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 2 May 2015
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Cathy Harless, our Vice President of Field Service - when I
first came on the Board
of Directors as District 11 Advisor (half of Cuyahoga County),
she was District 10
Advisor (Central Ohio). Cathy was an experienced District
Advisor and I looked to
her as a type of mentor as I learned the ropes. She also served
as Vice President of
Leadership and Director of Events.
Sharon Urig, our Secretary-Treasurer - when I decided to take a
small step onto the
state level, I joined the Ohio PTA Membership Committee and
Sharon was the
Director of Membership. She was a great source of inspiration to
me. She also has
served as District 7 Advisor and Director of Bylaws and Standing
Rules.
Lynn LaMore, our Director of Events - Lynn is the one you can
blame for me being
your Ohio PTA President. When I was a Council President, she was
my District 11
Advisor. After I completed my council presidency, she asked me
to be the District 11
Membership Chairperson. Then unexpectedly, she approached me and
asked if I
would be interested in filling her vacancy as District 11
Advisor as she desired to
move to Director of Programs. In addition, Lynn has served as
Secretary-Treasurer.
Hazel Trinko, our District 18 Advisor - Hazel has probably
attended every National
PTA Convention since she started on the board 17 year ago. We
roomed together at a
couple of conventions and she was always my fashion policewoman.
In all those
years, she has rarely missed a Board meeting or function. She
has also been Director
of Education and District 13 Advisor.
Last, but not least, is Gloria Cazan, our Immediate Past
President - Gloria was always
ready to greet me with open arms when I first came onto the
board and she always
lent a listening ear when I had ideas. As she likes to say, we
were connected at the
Id like to leave with you the lyrics of the song that was shared
at my installation banquet entitled, What Good is a Song? by Quincy
Jones.
Continued...
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 3 May 2015
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What good, what good is a song?
What good are the lyrics if they cant soothe you? If they cant
ease a troubled mind
What good is the beat if it cant move you? It would be a waste
of time
What good is the music if it cant please you? If it has no depth
or height
What good is a rhyme if it cant relieve you? Or some problem in
your life
What good is a song if it cant inspire? If it has no message to
bring
If a song cannot send you higher
Then its not good enough to sing
You can hum a little song when youre hurting Then feel a reason
for some laughter
Or whistle a melody while you work
It will make your day go faster
Songs have been known to lift the spirit
Songs has been known to touch the soul
But when no one ever needs to hear it
Then its not worth the title it owns
I hope that Our PTA Symphony is soothing, moving, pleasing,
relieving, and
inspiring. I hope that it serves to ease troubled minds, has
depth and height. I hope
that Our PTA Symphony is something that helps the hurting,
brings some laughter
and happiness, lifts spirits, touches souls. I hope that it will
always be hummed,
whistled, and sung. And I definitely hope that Our PTA Symphony
is worth the title
that it owns, because we do have a message to bring.
As we do our work in PTA and play our parts in Our PTA Symphony,
we should
always keep in mind that PTA has stood the test of time for 118
years, and is the
largest volunteer child advocacy organization in the nation,
whose mission is to be a
powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for
families and communities,
and a strong advocate for public education. We want to make sure
that this mission
We should celebrate the great impact that Our PTA Symphony is
making in the
lives of families and communities in Ohio!
From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for embracing
the vision of my
theme and helping to bring harmony to every childs life!
With great love and appreciation, I sign off for the last time
as your Ohio PTA
Conductor. May Our PTA Symphony resound forever!
Ohio PTA President 2013-2015
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 4 May 2015
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Advocacy Makes a Difference!
On March 12, the Ohio Constitutional Modernization
Commissions Education, Public Institutions and Local Government
Committee voted to preserve the current
language in Article VI, Sections 1 and 2, which contains the
thorough and efficient clause. Ohios responsibility to offer and
support public schools shall be retained in this 164-year old
phrase.
House passes community school accountability bill
The Ohio House recently passed HB 2, regarding community
school
accountability, by a vote of 70-25. The bill is in the Ohio
Senate for
consideration.
Senate passes mandate relief bill
The Ohio Senate passed SB 3, which would provide mandate relief
in various
ways to local districts in the areas of extracurricular
reporting, teacher
evaluations, testing, and non-licensured teachers. The bill is
in the Ohio
House for consideration.
Ohio House continues work on budget bill
The Ohio House has set a target date of April 22 for finishing
up their work
on House Bill (HB) 64, the biennial budget the bill, then
sending it to the
Senate for consideration.
Senate Medicaid Committee
At the end of March, this committee heard sponsor testimony from
Senator
Kevin Bacon (R-Minerva Park) and Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering) on
SB 94.
This legislation deals with the Medicaid School Program (MSP)
and provides
for the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to receive at least
3.5% of the
federal matching funds the state receives for the MSP. It also
requires various
reporting methods for federal fund collection, transportation
and personal care
services for recipients, and eliminates the requirement that an
MSP service be
provided in a school.
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 5 May 2015
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Advocacy in Action
We will be transitioning to a new board in the coming months, so
thank you
to everyone who has helped Ohio PTA advocate on behalf of
children in our
state and across the nation. Remember to keep your advocacy
efforts going
over the summer and plan for a strong membership campaign by
incorporating PTA advocacy through candidate nights (school
board elections
are this fall), monthly recognition of outstanding advocates in
your school,
district or around your region, or by inviting elected officials
to open houses
and PTA events.
Thank you for allowing me to serve as the Ohio PTA Director of
Advocacy
for the past four years. It has been an honor.
Jackie Arendt
Director of Advocacy
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 6 May 2015
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May is Asian Pacific American
Heritage Month
2015 Theme:
Leadership to Meet the Challenge of a
Changing World
Asian Pacific Americans represent more than 50 ethnic groups and
100
languages. The Asian-Pacific encompasses the entire Asian
continent and the
Pacific islands of Melanesia (Fiji, New Caledonia, New Guinea,
the Solomon
Islands, and Vanuatu), Micronesia (Guam, Kiribati, Marianas,
Marshall
Islands, Nauru, Palau, Wake Island, and the Federated States of
Micronesia)
and Polynesia (American Samoa, Cook Islands, Easter Island,
French
Polynesia, Hawaiian Islands, Midway Islands, New Zealand,
Rotuma, Samoa,
Tonga, and Tuvalu).
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month celebrates the culture,
traditions,
and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the
United States. It
originally was a weeklong celebration during the first week of
May, selected to
commemorate two important events: the arrival of the first
Japanese
immigrants in America on May 7, 1843, and the completion of
the
Transcontinental Railroad (by many Chinese laborers) on May 10,
1869. In
Here are some ideas on how to commemorate this month:
Contact local cultural clubs, centers, and organizations
Invite members from the community to share at your PTA
meeting
Invite parents and families to share their experiences at your
meeting or a
special event
Provide activities to help educate and give a better
understanding
For activity suggestions and more information, please go to:
http://www.infoplease.com/asian-pacific-american-heritage-month/fun-
stuff.html
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 7 May 2015
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Promoting Family School Partnership
The National PTA School of Excellence enrollment period is open
now until
October 1.
This program is a great way to showcase your school. Register
today and re-
ceive a toolkit with step by step instructions on how to work
towards receiv-
ing this award. When you support and celebrate partnership
between your
PTA and school, you help to enhance all students educational
experience and overall well-being!
Best wishes to the eleven schools in Ohio that are currently
working toward
receiving their School of Excellence Award for this academic
year. The next
deadline for submitting the report is June 1st.
Please encourage your unit to form their team and apply for this
award! Go
to pta.org for details and to register.
Pam Bonnett
Director of Family-School Partnership
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 8 May 2015
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Preparing your Special Needs Child for
College
For many parents of children on the autism spectrum, we want our
children to
be accepted, we dont want them to be labeled and we pray for
them to have the same experiences as any child. As we guide them
through their educational
challenges and struggles from pre-school to high school, many
parents wonder
if college will be in our childs future.
According to Michael A. Noonan, a Special Education teacher in
the Columbus
City Schools district, there is no reason children with any
disability should not
continue their education after high school graduation. He not
only teaches
children with special needs, but is also the parent of a child
with special needs.
Like any family, Noonan says, preparation is the key to getting
your child
ready for the next level of education. Nothing pains me more
educationally speaking than to watch students wait until their
senior year to become
concerned about their future, especially going to college. As a
parent of a child
attending college and an educator of students with special
needs, I cannot
emphasize enough the importance of starting early with preparing
for college.
Noonan advices parents to check any special accommodations and
services
their child may have offered to them. Columbus City Schools has
partnered
with I Know I Can, a program that offers valuable services
including
assistance completing required college forms for college
admission, searching
for scholarships and help with Free Application for Federal
Student Aid
(known as the FAFSA). Noonan suggests when searching for the
college that
fits best for your child, make sure you know the colleges
admission requirements, deadlines for forms, what they offer
(extra-curricular activities,
classes) and, of course, costs. And I might add, says Noonan,
many students in Special Education can and should go to college.
These students need to
consider how the different colleges can be of assistance. When
should a student
start their college search? The answer is simple: NOW!
For more information on colleges for children with special needs
go to:
www.college-scholarships.com/learning_disabilities.htm
N. Michelle Sutton
Member, Ohio PTA Mosaic Committee
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 9 May 2015
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Update Your Bylaws in the Summer? Sure!
Summer is coming! Lots of questions to consider: Where to
vacation? What camps should we send the kids to? When and
where is Summer Leadership so I can get some great PTA
training? When should we start reviewing our bylaws?
Wait..what???
Bylaws sometimes scary intimidating boring.but ALWAYS necessary!
And a great time of year to review them is summer.
Bylaws are an entity of PTA that has no beginning and no end.
There are no
deadlines, such as in Membership, no definite start and no
ending. Therefore, bylaws
can be done ANY time of year.
Bylaw revisions process isnt as hard as people make it out to
be. It can be a little time consuming, but not difficult. There are
six simple steps to revising our bylaws:
1) Obtain a copy of your current bylaws and a copy of the
current sample bylaws
from the Ohio PTA Director of Bylaws.
2) Form a committee 3 people is good. 3) Meet and go over the
current units bylaws and the sample bylaws. Make
comparisons.
4) Bring your revised bylaws back to your units PTA meeting for
review and discussion.
5) At your next months unit meeting, ask for a vote to approve
the new bylaws. 6) Email them to the Director of Bylaws and
Standing Rules and I will check them
over and approve or send them back to you for a revision.
This whole process can take up to 3 months so plan ahead if you
want to change something in your bylaws by a certain date or event,
and doing this over the summer
will assure your unit that you will be ready for business in the
fall.
So grab some people, pick someones house, kick back on the deck
with some cold lemonade and have fun with it. Do it while life isnt
so busy with schedules.
Good luck and have a great summer!!
Linda Read
Director of Bylaws and Standing Rules
CONGRATULATIONS!
AmandaJoy Pierce-Lotts provided the catalyst for our new
e-newsletter name -
The Ohio PTA Voice. Pictured is President-Elect Sheila Ragland
presenting
the $100 check to AmandaJoy for the winning contest
submission.
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 10 May 2015
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The Ohio PTA 2015 Membership Awards
2015 Unit Awards
President Awards: Gold District 12 Big Creek Elementary PTA 189
Members Over Last Year Silver District 11 Lincoln Elementary PTA
200% Over Last Year Bronze District 12 N. Olmsted Early Child PTA
Most Creative
Club Awards: 500 Club D6 Loveland Elem. PTA 502 Current Members
D6 Nagel Middle School PTA 926 Current Members D12 N. Royalton
Middle School PTA 531 Current Members D12 Falls Lenox Elementary
PTA 625 Current Members 100 Club D6 Oak Hills High School PTA 174
Members Over Last Year D10 Huber Ridge Elementary PTA 109% Over
Last Year D13 Streetsboro Community PTA 124 Members Over Last Year
D13 Suffield Elementary PTA 128% Over Last Year D13 Echo Hills PTA
151 Members/105% Over Last Year D13 Dunbar Elementary PTA 109
Members Over Last Year D13 Wilcox Primary PTA 143 Members Over Last
Year D17 Orchard Hollow Elementary PTA 128% Over Last Year D18
Boardman High School PTSA 116 Mem. Over Last Year
Buckeye Award Winners (All percentages are Over Last Year)
D4 Kettering Middle School PTA 91% D6 Amelia Elementary PTA 32%
D6 William Henry Harrison Jr. Sr. PTA 28% D6 White Oak Middle PTA
77% D7 Keystone Elementary PTA 57% D7 North Ridgeville Early Child
PTA 53% D10 Georgian Heights Elementary PTA 70% D10 Alton Hall
Elementary PTA 54% D10 East Franklin Elementary PTA 58% D10 Norton
Middle School PTSA 26% D10 South-Western Preschool PTA 29% D10
Stiles Elementary PTA 46% D10 Westland High School PTSA 55% D10
Liberty Elementary PTA 55% D10 Cherrington Elementary PTA 26% D10
Robert Frost Elementary PTA 61% D11 Central Primary PTA 45% D11
Roxboro Elementary PTA 38% D11 Chardon Hills Magnet PTA 45% D11
Euclid Central Middle PTA 43% D11 Euclid Senior PTSA 64%
D11 Gilles Sweet Elementary PTA 26% D11 Maple Leaf Elementary
PTA 29% D11 Charles F. Brush Sr. PTSA 25% D11 Memorial Jr. PTA 53%
D12 Maple Intermediate PTA 73% D12 Normandy Sr. PTA 38% D12 Renwood
Elementary PTA 45% D12 Albion Middle School PTA 46% D13 Akron Early
College High School PTA 87% D13 Cuyahoga Falls High School PTSA 26%
D13 H.A. Preston Elementary PTA 33% D13 Nordonia Middle School PTA
29% D13 Fishcreek Elementary PTA 32% D13 Lakeview Intermediate PTA
28% D13 Tallmadge Middle School PTA 43% D13 Hillcrest Elementary
PTA 29% D17 Dale R. Rice Elementary PTA 26% D18 LaCroft PTA 59% D18
Struthers Elementary PTA 47%
Continued...
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 11 May 2015
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Scarlet Carnation (All percentages are Over Last Year)
D6 Milford Jr. PTSA 18% D6 Colerain Elementary PTA 10% D6 Delhi
Middle School PTA 11% D6 Finneytown Elementary PTA 10% D7 Avon PTA
11% D7 Eastview Elementary PTA 20% D7 Learwood Middle School PTA
20% D7 Elizabeth Wilcox Elem PTA 15% D7 Liberty Elementary PTA 13%
D10 Devonshire Alt. Elem PTA 18% D10 Eastmoor Academy Sr. PTA 17%
D10 Brookpark Middle School PTA 13% D10 Hayes Intermediate PTA 15%
D10 Brookside Elementary PTA 18% D10 Sutter Park PTA 14% D10
Emerson Elem Magnet PTA 11% D10 Mark Twain Elementary PTA 11% D11
Monticello Middle School PTA 20% D11 Fairview Mid/High School PTA
15% D11 Grant Elementary PTA 12% D12 Bay Village Early Child PTA
17% D12 Bay Village Mid School PTSA 15%
D12 Olmsted Early Childhood PTA 16% D12 Parma Park Elementary
PTA 14% D12 Ridge Brook Elementary PTA 18% D12 Rocky River Early
Child PTA 16% D12 Rocky River Mid School PTA 22% D12 Chapman
Elementary PTA 16% D12 Dover Intermediate PTA 13% D12 Lee Burneson
Mid Sch PTA 16% D13 Manchester Sr. PTA 13% D13 Litchfield Middle
School PTA 17% D13 Barberton Elem East PTA 23% D13 Barberton Elem
West PTA 24% D13 Barberton Middle School PTA 18% D13 Ledgeview
Elementary PTA 22% D13 Northfield Elementary PTA 14% D13 Riverview
Elementary PTA 15% D13 Green Sr. PTSA 18% D13 Arrowhead Primary PTA
11% D13 George G. Dodge Inter PTA 10% D13 RBC & Twinsburg High
PTA 20% D13 Samuel Bissell Elem PTA 17% D17 Brentmoor PTA 16%
CONGRATULATIONS FOR YOUR
HARD WORK THIS PAST YEAR!
2015 Council Awards
President Awards: Gold: District 13 Twinsburg City Schools
Council PTA 227 Member Increase Over Last Year
Current # of Members: 916 Last Yr. # of Members: 689 Silver:
District 12 Olmsted Falls Council of PTAs 37% Increase OLY Current
# of Members: 1,842 Last Yr. # of Members: 1,776
Golden Acorn (5% or more increase with a 50 member Minimum)
D13 Barberton Council PTA 13% Increase OLY D13 Stow-Munroe Falls
PTA Council 6% Increase OLY D13 Tallmadge Council PTA 11% Increase
OLY
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 12 May 2015
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The Healthy Lifestyles program provides family-centered
education and tools that connect them with schools and
advocate for healthy changes in nutrition and physical activity.
In a healthy school:
All foods, beverages and snacks sold or served meet National
School Nutrition Standards.
All students have opportunities to be physically active on a
regular basis.
All students have access to regular physical education.
Districtwide wellness policies are developed, implemented
and
evaluated with input from students, parents, staff and
interested community members.
What PTAs Can Do Advocate to:
Improve student nutrition Increase physical activity and
physical education
Establish School Wellness Policies
Model positive health behaviors
Participate in family-oriented programs:
Improving Energy Balance Toolkit: Provides local PTAs
with tools and resources to use in partnering with schools and
engaging families in addressing an everyday healthy lifestyle
practice known as energy balance balancing what we eat with
exercise.
Healthy Lifestyles Month: Learn about National PTAs Healthy
Lifestyles Month, ideas for celebrating and best
practices for integrating healthy lifestyles into your school.
Fire Up Your Feet: A healthy fundraising option available to
all schools and PTAs that encourages families to walk more to
and from schooland in daily lifewhile keeping track of their steps.
Healthy Lifestyles Energy Balance 101 Grants: National PTA
offers $2,000 grant for PTAs in grades K-5 with tools and
resources to use in partnering with schools to improve energy
balance and provide families with nutrition and physical
activity education.
Deadline: June 19. Learn more
Healthy Lifestyles
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 13 May 2015
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Learn More Healthy Schools Program (Alliance for a Healthier
Generation): An evidence-based initiative that will help schools
improve physical education, health education, and
nutrition. HealthierUS Schools Challenge (USDA): A voluntary
certification initiative recognizing those schools enrolled in
Team Nutrition that have created healthier school
environments through promotion of nutrition and physical
activity.
Let's Move: A comprehensive initiative, launched by the First
Lady, dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood
obesity within a generation.
Fuel Up to Play 60 (National Dairy Council and the NFL): An
in-school nutrition and physical activity program to help
students make positive changes in their schools. Thriving
Schools (Kaiser Permanente): A targeted,
multiyear initiative offering free tools and resources to
improve the health of students, staff and teachers in K12
schools.
Parent Leadership Series (Action for Healthy Kids):
Teaches parents how to work collaboratively within their school
communities to improve policy and practices related
to school nutrition and physical activity. Together Counts
(Healthy Weight Commitment
Foundation): A nationwide program inspiring active and healthy
living.
Source:
http://www.pta.org/programs/content.cfm?ItemNumber=4280&navItemNumber=4216
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 14 May 2015
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Make Summer Safe for Kids
Warm weather brings more opportunity for outdoor activities.
Whether they are young children or teens, keep your kids
safe and healthy while they enjoy the summer fun.
Master water safety Water-related activities are popular for
getting physical
activity and have many health benefits. Here are some
tips to stay safe while having fun. Learn how to prevent
recreational water illnesses and
help protect yourself and your kids. Help kids get H2O Smartz
about water safety.
Drowning is responsible for more deaths among children
ages 1-4 than any other cause except birth defects. Two to
three children die every day as a result of drowning.
Always supervise children when in or around water. A
responsible adult should constantly watch young children.
Teach kids to swim. Formal swimming lessons can protect
young children from drowning.
Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Your CPR skills
could save someones life.
Install a four-sided fence around home pools.
Recreational boating can be a wonderful way to spend time
with family and friends. Make boating safety a priority.
Wear a properly fitted life jacket every time you and your
loved ones are on the water.
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 15 May 2015
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Beat the heat and sun Heat-related illness occurs when the bodys
temperature
control system is overloaded. Those at greatest risk for
heat-
related illness include infants and children up to 4 years of
age.
Even young and healthy people can get sick from the heat if
they participate in strenuous physical activities during hot
weather. For heat-related illness, the best defense is
prevention.
Never leave infants, children, or pets in a parked car, even if
the windows are cracked open.
Dress infants and children in loose, lightweight, light-colored
clothing.
Schedule outdoor activities carefully, for morning and
evening hours.
Stay cool with cool showers or baths.
Seek medical care immediate if your child has symptoms of
heat-related illness.
Just a few serious sunburns can increase you and your
child's
risk of skin cancer later in life. Their skin needs
protection
from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays whenever
they're
outdoors.
Cover up. Clothing that covers your and your child's skin
helps protect against UV rays.
Use sunscreen with at least SPF (sun protection factor) 15
and UVA (ultraviolet A) and UVB (ultraviolet B) protection every
time you and your child go outside.
Keep mosquitos and ticks from bugging you
this summer Protect yourself and your family by preventing bites
and
diseases, like West Nile virus and Lyme disease, which can
be transmitted by insects. Use an effective insect repellent
while playing outdoors.
Make your backyard a tick-safe zone. Check yourself and your
children for ticks. Ticks are easy to
remove.
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 16 May 2015
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Hello Fellow PTA Members,
It has been my pleasure to serve as your state-level Health,
Welfare, and Safety Director during the 2013-2015 term.
Please
welcome my successor, Lisa Catalano, as she will continue
the
Ohio PTA tradition of educating, engaging, and serving the
needs
of Ohio PTA members.
I look forward to working with the incoming Ohio PTA leaders
and all PTA members next term, as your Director of
Communications.
I hope everyone has a safe, healthy, and sensational summer.
Best regards,
Venezuela Robinson Director of Health, Welfare and Safety
Ohio PTAs many times works with other educational associations.
These include but are not limited to this list. Join us as we thank
them for their continued support! OEA Ohio Education Association
OSBA Ohio School Boards Association OFT Ohio Federation of Teachers
OAESA Ohio Assoc. of Elementary School Administrators E&A
Coalition for Equity and Adequacy OASSA Ohio Assoc. of Secondary
School Administrators BASA Buckeye Assoc. of School Administrators
OASBO Ohio Assoc. of School Business Officials CPE Coalition for
Public Education
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 17 May 2015
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STANDARDS OF AFFILIATION
ARE COMING YOUR WAY
Ohio PTA introduced the Standards of Affiliation for Councils
and Units at the
Ohio PTA Convention in Columbus this year. The Standards of
Affiliation
(SOA) is not anything new to Ohio PTA. As a state PTA, we have a
SOA with
National PTA. Many of the required indicators that Councils and
Units are
asked to provide in the SOA are what you are currently doing.
This will assist
you to be in compliance with the Mission and values of PTA,
maintain good
business practices and follow federal laws for 501(c)3
organizations. Well-run
Councils and Units will find the Standards of Affiliation to be
very helpful in
operating your Councils and Units.
The required indicators requested are:
President, officer and chairpersons names and contact
information
Volunteer hours
National PTA/Ohio PTA dues submitted (Councils do not pay
dues)
Copy of Financial Review
Copy of 990
Proof of Bonding
Charitable Solicitation Act Filing Receipt
Code of Ethics
Conflict of Interest Policy
Updated Bylaws (Reviewed yearly, updated every three years)
Each of the above bullets are things you have been doing, or
should be doing to
have a smooth running PTA. More detailed information will be
provided over
the next few months and in the Ohio PTA Resource Guide mailed to
the
incoming/returning President.
Gloria Cazan
Immediate Past President
VERY
IMPORTANT!!!
NEW THIS
2015-2016 YEAR!
-
The Ohio PTA Voice Page 18 May 2015
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Ohio PTA
END OF YEAR TREASURER TOOLS
Preparing for the Financial Review
Before leaving office, the president and treasurer must follow
the PTA units bylaws and standing rules to see that a financial
review is performed even if the current treasurer is returning. The
financial review committee generally consists of three or four
members whom do not have check writing privileges with the PTA
being reviewed.
The purpose of the financial review is to verify the accuracy of
the books and records of the treasurer. This assures the membership
that the PTAs funds are being managed appropriately and in a
businesslike manner. The final financial review for the year can go
very smoothly if reconciliation of the checkbook and bank
statements has been done monthly. To prepare for the financial
review the treasurer needs to assemble materials to make the job of
the financial review committee easier. The following items need to
be made available to the committee: A copy of the last audit report
Checkbook and cancelled checks Receipt book Bank statements and
deposit receipts Treasurers ledger The annual financial report
Itemized statements and receipts of bills paid Check requests
(vouchers) Copies of board, executive committee, and organization
minutes including
the adopted budget and subsequent amendments Current bylaws and
standing rules
Once the committee performs the review, a statement is prepared
explaining their findings and signed by committee members. The
report of the financial review committee must be officially adopted
by the PTA and must be included in the annual report. Further
information regarding financial review procedures and forms may be
found in the Ohio PTA Financial and Legal Handbook and on National
PTAs website. Sharon Urig Ohio PTA Secretary/Treasurer
-
The Ohio PTA Voice Page 19 May 2015
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Ohio PTA
TREASURER TOOLS
RELINQUISHING OFFICE
As the school year comes to a close, it is time for PTAs to
transition to new officers. There are several items the PTA
treasurer needs to have in
order.
Be sure that all state and national dues have been collected and
forwarded to the
Ohio PTA office.
Balance the books in preparation for the financial review. PTA
financial books
should agree with the bank balance.
Prepare a financial report covering term of office. Prepare IRS
Form 990/Form
990-EZ/Form or 990-N for filing as well as registration with the
Attorney
Generals office.
Arrange for transfer of all records, reports and files to the
new treasurer.
Make arrangements for updating signature cards with the bank so
that the new
treasurer may draw on funds without delay.
Forward a copy of the annual financial report to the Ohio PTA
office.
Prepare the treasurer file to transfer to the next treasurer.
This file should contain the
following items:
A copy of the PTA unit or council bylaws and standing rules.
A copy of the budget adopted by the organization.
Receipt book to acknowledge money received by the treasurer.
Checkbook and saving account records.
Treasurers account book or ledger in which to keep the financial
records of the organization.
Permanent IRS Identification Number (EIN), copies of filed Form
990, 990-EZ,
or 990-N, any other required IRS forms, and records of Attorney
Generals office registration.
Current membership list.
The Ohio PTA Legal and Financial Management Handbook as well as
financial
information from National PTA.
Refer to Records Retention Schedule for recommended retention of
PTA legal
and financial records.
Past three years of budgets.
Sharon Urig
Ohio PTA Secretary/Treasurer
-
The Ohio PTA Voice Page 20 May 2015
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Director Reports
DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY REPORT
According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the
definition of advocacy is
the act of or process of supporting a cause or proposal. While
no member of a PTA may be surprised to learn that, many may be
surprised at the depth and breadth of PTA
advocacy work around Ohio and in Washington, D. C. to help
children and youth.
PTA advocates bring critical issues that affect the education,
health and welfare of
children and youth before the public, policy makers and elected
officials. Ohio PTAs communication and collaboration among state
directors, council and unit presidents
through action alerts, new articles and conference calls have
expanded our ability to
reach our members. Furthermore, Ohio PTA keeps advocacy relevant
through
workshops, lobbying legislative leaders in Washington and
Columbus, working on
public education concerns, and building our advocacy capacity.
On behalf of every
child, we take action, provide resources, and initiate programs
for parents and PTA
leaders to advocate for public education success within their
community.
As we review the year, Ohio PTA advocacy focused on empowering
members to
become better advocates for every child. With one voice, we
started the summer
helping promote advocacy concerns around the nation. Many Ohio
PTA members
supported several National PTA requests to contact national
leaders about pending
legislation and co-sponsorship of new proposals. Furthermore,
the National PTAs 2015 Public Policy Agenda continues to address
public education priorities for every
child. The executive summary outlines four key priorities:
Education Equity,
Educational Funding, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention, Child Nutrition
and School Safety and is available on its website. Among the
National PTA initiatives,
family engagement language in laws; safe, healthy, and
technologically advanced
schools; and equal opportunity for children, regardless of
socioeconomic background
dominate the advocacy efforts around the United States.
Likewise, national education
measures must be advanced to ensure every child, no matter what,
has the opportunity
to receive a public education. PTA lobbying efforts were
realized when members of
Congress reintroduced the reauthorization of the Elementary and
Secondary Education
Act (ESEA) in February. At the National PTA Legislative
Conference in March, three
of Ohio PTA leaders, Lisa Mack, Sheila Ragland, and Debbie
Tidwell attended
various workshops and spent a day visiting all 18 Ohio
Congressional offices to share
the valuable work Ohio PTA offers. While managing public
education continues to be
a local matter, a national commitment to a thorough and
efficient common educational
system requires vigilant state and local advocacy for the
children using it.
Over three decades of research constantly reminds us that family
engagement in
education is the key underpinning of not only individual student
achievement but also
whole school improvement. With that in mind, and a little closer
to home, Ohio PTA
advocacy work was two-pronged this year. First, monthly
reminders were given to
members of how easy it is to advocate regularly. Second, Ohio
PTA leaders conducted
workshops for members, attended several state and national
meetings on education
topics, visited legislators, and participated in webinars and
conference calls on relevant
issues to our members and promote public education.
-
The Ohio PTA Voice Page 21 May 2015
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Ohio PTA
Every month in the advocacy article in the Ohio PTA newsletter,
a segment called
Advocacy in Action was included which offered readers concepts
on advocacy engagement. Simple ideas such as using national themed
months as launching pads for advocacy in a unit or council,
inviting elected officials to schools to understand what
happens in public education, or having stationary at meetings
and writing letters to state
and/or national legislators then personally delivering them to
their local/state offices.
Random acts of advocacy generate curiosity that leads to
involvement. Great leaders
within PTA understand that education and training is not only
for students, but for all of
us as well.
During the summer and into fall, I presented advocacy workshops
at conferences and
workshops training PTA leaders on election participation,
grassroots advocacy, and
meeting with legislators. In addition, Ohio PTA has continued to
build relationships with
various organizations across the state that champion public
education. At the state level,
the Ohio PTA Board of Directors continues to produce outstanding
advocacy endeavors
through involvement. Other directors have participated in
respective coalitions or
fieldwork. Throughout the year, I represented Ohio PTA at
several meetings and on
conference calls from teen safe driving, to juvenile justice
reform to working with your
school board to standards and assessment. On October 6, 2014,
Lisa Mack, Venezuela
Robinson, and I visited the Cleveland office of Senator Portman
to discuss topics from
human trafficking to state standards and assessments to
education and employment
opportunities. My Ohio PTA advocacy work continued by attending
meetings, webinars,
and conference calls with the Ohio Juvenile Justice Coalition,
Ohio Teen Safe Driving
Coalition, Ohio Standards, Educator Leaders Cadre, ODEs
Committee of Practitioners and ODEs Education Equity Stakeholders.
In February, Ohio PTA conducted training webinars on what parents
needed to know about assessments. These webinars allowed
local units and councils to hold parent informational meetings
plus provide resources.
None of this could be possible without the valuable support of
Ohio PTA members.
Many participated in the Ohio PTA state-wide advocacy conference
calls held on
understanding changes to Ohios assessments and engaging with
your school board. The variety of advocacy efforts undertaken by
PTA members reflect the numerous ways
children need to be protected, educated, and sustained in their
formative years.
Ohio PTA members continue to be a powerful voice for the
education and well-being of
every child. We must continue advocating at the local, state,
and national levels on
behalf of all children to ensure a quality and equitable public
education. In closing, I
leave you with this quote from Maya Angelou, The thing to do, it
seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in
somebody else's cloud. Somebody who may
Thank you for this opportunity to be an Ohio PTA leader.
Jackie Arendt
Director of Advocacy
-
The Ohio PTA Voice Page 22 May 2015
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Director of Bylaws and Standing Rules
BYLAWS AND STANDING RULESDont stop reading; dont go to sleep.
Some would say boring, but they are SO necessary for the running of
your PTAs. Some of you may like me or some may want to pull me
aside and have a word with me! I guess it depends on how fast I got
your approved bylaws back to you or if I made you
correct a few things in your bylaws.
Bylaws are an entity of PTA that has no beginning and no end.
There are no deadlines,
such as in Membership, therefore, bylaws can be done ANY time of
year.
Bylaw revisions arent as hard as people make them out to be. It
can be a little time consuming, but not difficult. There are six
simple steps to revising our bylaws:
1. Obtain a copy of your current bylaws and a copy of the
current sample bylaws from
me.
2. Form a committee 3 people is good.
3. Have committee meet and go over the current units bylaws and
the sample bylaws. Make comparisons.
4. Bring your revised bylaws back to your units PTA meeting for
review and discussion.
5. Ask for a vote to approve the new bylaws at your next months
unit meeting.
6. Email them to me and I will check them over and approve or
send them back to you
for a revision.
This whole process can take up to 3 months so plan ahead if you
want to change something in your bylaws by a certain date or
event.
Your unit and council bylaws need to be reviewed every 3
years.
There is a Bylaw and Standing Rules committee for Ohio PTA that
gets together once a
year and has a marathon session to go through the Ohio PTA
bylaws, the unit and
council bylaw samples, and standing rules samples line by line
to update and tweak the wording to better fit your PTAs. So dont be
surprised when there is new wording, a new sentence or even a new
article that needs to be added. I know it is a relief when
your bylaws and approved and you can move on, but your PTAs will
run so smoothly
when your bylaws and standing rules are in order.
In the last year I have approved 72 bylaws and standing rules.
Since becoming your
Director of Bylaws almost four year ago I have also: had
emergency gallbladder surgery,
dealt with losing my mom after finding out she had cancer for
only four weeks, cleaned
out her home of 42 years and sold it, had both knees replaced,
served as council
president and a held a variety of other positions on the unit
level, and raised my 3
children ages 21, 17, and 15, alongside my wonderful husband. I
tell you this not for
your sympathy or praise, but to remind you that all of us are
VOLUNTEERS. We all get
paid the same wage for what we dothe satisfaction that we are
making a difference in the lives of the children in Ohio and
beyond.
I want to thank you for your patience, your hard work, your time
and dedication, and
also for your kind words of sympathy and well wishes during the
past four years.
Continue with your hard work and know that the children of Ohio
are better off because
of what you do!
Linda Read
Director of Bylaws and Standing Rules
-
The Ohio PTA Voice Page 23 May 2015
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Director of Diversity and Inclusion
All director plans and policies were updated in November 2014 to
include diversity
and inclusion in all aspects of PTA leadership plans.
The diversity and inclusion committee, aptly named the MOSAIC
Committee, is the
primary resource for fostering unity within the units in the
state. The term mosaic, from
which the committee name is derived, serves as a reminder that
we want our PTAs to be reflective of the communities that they
serve. Rather than wanting every family to
come in and just blend into our units, we want each familys
culture to be integrated into and embraced by our PTAs.
The committee communicates via conference call and has met eight
times since last
years convention. The MOSAIC Committee produced articles for our
state newsletter, as well as social media postings that align with
National PTA's "Every Child in Focus"
campaign. Our diversity and inclusion committee includes a wide
variety of persons
with varied areas of expertise such as military family programs,
Title I education
aspects, talented and gifted resources, and many others which
allows for a broad
spectrum of collaborative activities. We continue to make
contact and seek
partnerships with other like-minded organizations such as the
O.A.G.C. (Ohio
Association for Gifted Children). To promote diversity and
inclusion practices, the
Ohio PTA is developing a Diversity and Inclusion Digital
Toolkit. This toolkit will help unit and council leaders and
members acquire resources and points of contact
covering a wide array of diversity issues. The concept is to
build and maintain a digital
platform with web hosting that allows easy access for users and
updates easily for the
project administrator and contains tabs that can be updated by
subject-matter experts.
Our Male Involvement Committee continued an essay contest this
year that allows
students to submit an article about a strong male role model in
their life. This contest,
named the M.A.C.K. (Male Actions Changing Kids) Award, was the
subject of an
article that was published in the October 2014 issue of National
PTAs Our Children magazine.
Terry Hickey
Director of Diversity and Inclusion
-
The Ohio PTA Voice Page 24 May 2015
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Director of Education
The subject of education continues to be marked with
controversy, confession and
politics. This year has been no different. Since the
implementation of Common Core,
there have been many changes both good and bad. In 2010-2011 we
saw the
implementation of the new state standards for language arts and
math. The 2014-2015
school year saw the implementation of the new standards for
science, social studies
and the fine arts. Along with the changes in state standards,
there have also been new
testing procedures put in place. PARCC testing began this year.
As the Advocacy
and Common Core Directors can attest, this has caused the most
controversy. U.S.
students still rank 23rd in the world for science, 31st for math
and 17th in reading.
Many of Ohios students go to college unprepared for the demands
of a college curriculum. We must all remember that the new
standards are being put in place to
help our students be prepared for college and future
careers.
Graduation Requirements
Along with the new state standards there are new requirements
for graduation. This
year the class of 2018, which were this years incoming freshman
class, will follow new requirements for graduation based on an 18
point accumulated score. In
September of this year the state school board set the point
system that will be used to
earn the needed accumulated points. Students points will be
determined by seven end-of-course exams. All students will be
required to take end-of-course exams in algebra
and geometry or integrated math I and II; Physical science;
American history and
American government; English I and English II. The end of year
course exams will
replace the OGTs.
Students studying Advanced Placement (AP), International
Baccalaureate (IB) or
taking dual enrollment courses in physical science, American
history or American
government may take assessments aligned to those courses in lieu
of end-of-course
exams to avoid double testing.
Students can also earn a remediation-free score on a
nationally-recognized college admission exam such as ACT or SAT is
another pathway to a diploma. The state of
Ohio will pay for all 11th-grade students in the Class of 2018
and beyond to take the
exam free of charge.
Students may earn a State Board of Education-approved,
industry-recognized
credential or a state-issued license for practice in a career
and achieve a score that
demonstrates workforce readiness and employability on a job
skills assessment.
The State Board of Education will consider more AP exams, dual
enrollment exams
and International Baccalaureate exams in the coming months. When
the test results
from the first exams of the 2014-2015 year have been reported
and compared the
board will release the score crosswalk for assigning graduation
points.
Continued...
-
The Ohio PTA Voice Page 25 May 2015
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Safe Harbor
Safe Harbor has also been implemented as Ohio transitions to new
state tests. Safe harbor gives schools, teachers and students time
to adjust to the new tests. In most cases, there will no longer be
consequences tied to the results of the state tests given in the
2014-2015 school year. The consequences of state tests usually
impact the following school year. Therefore, a safe harbor on tests
given in the 2014-2015 school year will affect consequences in the
2015-2016 school year.
As part of safe harbor, the 2015 Ohio School Report Card (which
is based on 2014-2015 test results) will not have an overall letter
grade or letter grades for the six groupings of measures called
components. All other results and letter grades will be reported on
the 2015 Ohio School Report Card, just like previous years.
Student growth makes up a significant portion of a teachers
evaluation. State tests are one of the ways to calculate this
student growth. Because of the transition to new state tests, House
Bill 487 created an opportunity for a safe harbor for teachers.
Safe harbor for teachers allows school districts and teachers
unions to enter a memorandum of understanding to not include
student growth calculated from state tests when making decisions
regarding dismissal, retention, tenure or compensation. Teachers
covered by safe harbor will still receive a student growth score
and an overall, summative rating. However, the score and rating may
not be used for the employment decisions previously mentioned. It
is up to the school district and teachers union, through the
memorandum of understanding, to determine how the remaining
components will be used for those employment decisions. The rating
of a teacher covered by safe harbor still can be used to trigger
professional development and improvement plan requirements. If
their performance is high enough, these teachers also can be placed
on a modified evaluation schedule in future years.
The General Assembly passed House Bill 7 that outlines several
ways students may not be impacted by the 2014-2015 state tests.
Schools may not use the results from the tests given during the
2014-2015 school year in any decision to grant credit to a student.
The law also ensures that a students score report from these tests
is only released to the school district, the student and the
students family. Finally, schools may not use the results from the
tests given during the 2014-2015 school year as a factor to promote
or deny a students promotion to a higher grade level.
The only exception to this safe harbor provision is the Third
Grade Reading
Guarantee. Students still will be required to reach the
promotion score on the
states reading test or an alternative test if they are not
exempt from retention. It
Third Grade Reading Guarantee
Lastly, the Third Grade Reading Guarantee. This year the minimum
passing
score on the third grade reading assessment was raised from 392,
last year, to
394, this year. Results from the states spring 2014 reading test
show that
25,000 students improved enough between the start of the year
and the end of
the year to move on to the 4th grade. In the 2012-2013 school
year 88.2% of
third graders met the minimum requirements to move on to the 4th
grade.
During the 2013-2014 school year, 95.8% of 4th graders met the
minimum
requirements to move on to the 4th grade. We can see that these
efforts put
forth are paying off.
-
The Ohio PTA Voice Page 26 May 2015
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Step Up To Quality
A cross-agency team began working in May 2012 to develop a new
single framework for quality that the state can apply to all early
learning and development programs. The team includes ODJFS and ODE
staff and key external stakeholders. The Step Up to Quality Program
was implemented to improve early childhood learning standards for
preschool children so that they can be prepared to enter
kindergarten. In order for early learning centers to receive state
funding they must adhere to certain state standards.
The program standards are organized into the following four
domains:
Learning and Development: Is the program using research based
curricula aligned to Ohios new early learning and development
standards for birth to kindergarten entry?
Staff Qualifications and Professional Development: Have
administrators, teachers and assistant teachers obtained required
credentials and ongoing professional development hours?
Administrative and Leadership Practices: To what extent does the
program adhere to an annual continuous improvement process?
Family and Community Partnerships: How well does the program
engage families and community partners to support children and
families while enrolled in the program and as they transition into
and out of the program?
The original Step Up To Quality program contained three levels,
or ratings. Programs had to meet all standards for a given level
before advancing to the next level. A new model has been
implemented that uses a newly designed points approach to create
star ratings that correspond to each level of achievement. A
program in level one will receive one star; a program in level two
will receive two stars; and so forth. Programs must meet all
standards at the lower level before advancing to the next level.
Beyond step level three, programs are awarded points based on their
adherence to step level three requirements and their ability to
achieve additional performance targets. Programs must achieve a
minimum of at least one point in each of the four domains and can
earn extra points for accreditation, lower staff/child ratios, and
group size. A program will be awarded four or five stars depending
on the programs point total.
Verification ODE and ODJFS will cross train staff members to
conduct SUTQ reviews and verify the star rating attained by a
program. Both agencies are working together to develop the review
and verification process and to identify the documentation and
other evidence programs will need to provide.
Before implementing the new quality measures, programs will
receive a guidance document containing details about the review
process and how the state will verify each standard. Legislation in
HB 487 and SB 316 requires all publicly funded early learning and
development programs to participate in Step Up To Quality as a
condition of funding.
Rebecca Gawsyszawski Director of Education
-
The Ohio PTA Voice Page 27 May 2015
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Director of Family-School Partnership
Part 1: Family-School Partnership
The FSP goals for the year were to: 1) determine best practices
and effective ways we
can partner to strengthen the family unit, 2) extend involvement
with PTA families and
schools, and 3) develop new ways to engage the community.
Progress was made
towards these goals through a wide variety of activities that
took place over the past
year.
Our FSP committee members worked very hard to build
family-school partnerships for
student success by promoting programs that link learning to
improved student
outcomes through communication and empowerment. I wish to thank
my committee
for their continued support and commitment to FSP this year:
Lisa Catalano, Hazel
Trinko, Debbie Tidwell, Maria Lang, Lisa Mack and Sheila
Ragland.
Take Your Family To School Week
Our efforts included the promotion of National PTA Family-School
Partnership
programs such as the Phoebe Apperson Hearst and the Take Your
Family to School Awards. The theme this year was prevention of high
school dropouts and took place
February 16-20.
We are very pleased to report that Stiles Elementary School
received the 2014 Take
Your Family to School Week (TYFTSW) Award, and won $1000 for
their program.
They hold the distinction of being the only winner from Ohio,
one of 50 winners across
the US, out of 230 applications. Principal Jessica Cahill wrote
to us about her
commitment to family involvement and two-way communication in
her school. For
their project, families engaged in a writing lesson with their
child and participated in a
read-a-thon. This event was just one of the ways Stiles
Elementary involves families in
being part of student success. For more info on how to promote
TYFTSW, you can go
to pta.org and download the toolkit.
National PTA School of Excellence
Last year, over 300 PTAs participated in National PTA's School
of Excellence
program. Of those participants, National PTA recognized 170
schools as 2014-2016
Bay Village Senior PTSA - BV
Copley-Fairlawn Middle PTSA Copley
Fort Island El PTA- Copley
Green Valley EL PTA -- Parma
Grindstone El - Berea
Normandy El - BV
Westerly El - BV
Congratulations to all!
-
The Ohio PTA Voice Page 28 May 2015
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This year we have 11 (eleven) PTAs that are seeking the National
PTA School of
Excellence Award. They will finish the Award in June. Best
wishes to:
Jefferson Raiders
Brookview Elementary
Forest Park Middle
Westlake High
Bay Middle School
Copley High
Grant Elementary
Schumacher CLC
Bellflower Elementary
Pleasant Valley
Ohio PTA Family-School Partnership
The Ohio PTA Family-School Partnership Certificate Award is now
in its second year.
This is an individual award. First year winners receive a nice
pin, all winners receive a
certificate. The forms are available on the Ohio PTA web page.
This award runs starts
October 1 and runs through September 30. The award highlights
our new way of leading
in Ohio PTA in terms of building family-school partnerships for
student success by
creating programs that link learning to student success,
communication and
empowerment; speaking on behalf of children in ways to protect
and promote their
success, engaging teachers and family members to promote
success, as well as
partnering with community members, businesses, and other
organizations to improve
learning and student achievement. We recently revised the form
to make some edits in
organization, tweaked the point scoring and added a space for to
give you credit for
viewing the new e-learning workshop Family-School
Partnership.
Throughout the past year, local units and districts were
assisted as needed with District
workshops and leadership conferences. We continue to speak on
behalf of children
across the state of Ohio in ways to protect and promote their
learning, engage teachers
and family members in collaboration as well as focus on
programming on issues that
strengthen family and encourage parent leadership as we partner
with the entire school
community for student success.
A State-Wide Conference to help units get started with applying
for the School of
Excellence Award was planned for April 14, 2015. The FSP
committee met in October,
November, January, March and April.
To continue our community outreach, our board of directors
collected school supplies in
the fall and donated to a Columbus metro area school. We
collected shoes that will be
recycled for use in communities of need. We sent the shoes to
Shoebox Recycling, a
company that gives us a donation for the shoes, that we will use
for the Ohio PTA
Scholarship program.
-
The Ohio PTA Voice Page 29 May 2015
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Thanks to all who brought shoes. If you want to continue to
collect them in your
districts and need boxes or someone to pick them up, feel free
to contact me and I will
make arrangements for this.
In the year ahead, we will concentrate our efforts to 1) seek
partnerships with
community members, businesses, and other organizations in
establishing FSP programs
and 2) develop new ideas for promoting FSP with committee
input.
Please send me your success stories and the FSP activities in
your units and how you
are engaging with your schools and communities! I welcome your
ideas and
suggestions.
Part II: Reflections
Our goals for this years Reflections Program are to: 1) promote
the Reflections
Program at local, state and national level. 2) provide
up-to-date information to clarify
issues, address concerns and provide assistance as needed and 3)
seek partnerships with
community members, businesses, and other organizations to help
bring the Reflections
Program to all children across Ohio.
Participation in Reflections speaks on behalf of children in
ways to promote Arts in
Education across the entire state.
Activities to meet these goals included overseeing the
Reflections Program and
incorporating it as an integral part to the Family-School
Partnership Program. I attended
monthly State Reflections team webinars and helped to
disseminate communications
and information from National PTA. Updates were provided on the
Ohio PTA website,
Facebook, newsletter, Twitter and email blasts.
2014-2015 Highlights
While most of our entries continue to be in the visual arts and
photography categories, it
was great to see so many entries in dance, film, literature, and
music and the new
Special Artist Award. We are hoping to continue to grow in
reaching all corners of the
state for even more participation in this program.
This years theme, The world would be a better place if sparked a
great deal of
creativity. The judges commented on the outstanding caliber of
the entries, making the
selection very difficult. We congratulate all that participated
in Reflections at the local
level, those that were advanced to the state level, those that
we advanced to the National
level, and those that won on the National level. The results of
the state judging were
sent to all participating councils and ribbons were sent to all
participants in the program.
National winners are acknowledged at Convention in June
(Charlotte) and are invited to
a special exhibit ceremony in January (Washington DC Dept of
Ed).
Continued...
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 30 May 2015
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Ohio PTA
State Award of Excellence, Award of Outstanding Achievement,
Award of Merit and
Honorable Mentions were displayed at our state convention. The
visual arts and
photography works are on a roadshow and will be displayed at
libraries in Avon Lake, Painesville, Solon and Columbus Public
Library, downtown branch. The works
will remain at Columbus Public Library until September after
which the pieces will be
returned to the artist.
We worked throughout the year to distribute and clarify
information concerning
Reflections across Ohio. This was accomplished through
Reflections roundtables,
workshops, district conferences, Facebook and Twitter
communications, newsletter
articles, phone calls and emails. Two state-wide web conferences
were held in
December to discuss online registration and clarify
concerns.
Theme Search Results
Our Reflections Committee met per phone conference in October,
November,
December, January and April. One of the functions of the
committee is to select five
National PTA selected an entry from Brianna Eisman of Douglas
Anderson PTSA in Jacksonville, Florida: What is your story for the
2016-2017 year. We will hold another Theme Search in the fall and I
hope we will again receive an even
larger number of entries!
Continued...
I did not know I could...
Laila Sitts - Uniontown - Grade 6
If I could have a wish come true it would be...
Madison Harrison- Barberton - Grade 4
In the blink of an eye
Abigail Dumm - Westlake - Grade 6
What lies beyond the rainbow?...
Jenna Steiner- Uniontown - Grade 2
When I close my eyes this is what I see...
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 31 May 2015
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Ohio PTA
General Info
Participation in the Reflections Program is open to any student
in Ohio through a local
PTA/PTSA in good standing. PTAs in good standing pay membership
dues to Ohio
PTA by November 30. Students in grade divisions - Primary:
preschoolgrade 2, Intermediate: grades 35, Middle/Junior: grades 68
and Senior: grades 912 may submit works in any of the six arts
areas: Literature, Musical composition,
Photography, Visual arts, Dance choreography, and Film
production. Special artists
can submit in any category. The Reflections Program is one way
we can speak on
behalf of children to promote diversity and inclusion. New on
the horizon: We are
considering adding 3D art to the competition (submitted
digitally). For now, our 2015-
16 program will be the same as this past year. Reflections
At-A-Glance Forms will be
posted soon on the Ohio PTA website.
I wish to express my sincere thanks to the Reflections
Committee: Gloria Cazan, Sue
Owen, Hazel Trinko, Lis Sobczyk, Dana Paul, JoEllen Weingarten,
Lisa Mack, Sheila
Ragland, and Susan Hans. I also wish to thank those that helped
with processing the
entries, hanging artwork, and other supportive activities: Lynn
LaMore, her daughter
Heather and son-in-law Steve, Sue Owen, Jeri Gookin, Susan Hans
and crew, Sheila
and Robert Ragland.
The Reflections Handbook is undergoing revision and will be
available soon. We will
continue with online registration and will provide information,
workshops, phone
conferences and webinars throughout the year to help your PTA
succeed. The theme
for 2015-2016 is Let your imagination fly...
Pam Bonnett
Director of Family-School Partnership
Director of Health, Welfare & Safety
Parents, schools, and communities share the responsibility for
the health, welfare, and
safety of children. Health is a state of physical and emotional
well-being, not merely
the absence of disease or illness. Welfare pertains to
identifying and helping children
and youth who are neglected, dependent, unwanted, and abused or
in trouble with the
law. Safety relates to identifying the areas of greatest
potential threat to children and
youth and averting these dangers.
Therefore, the Ohio PTA Director of Health, Welfare and Safety
serves as a strong
advocate and resource to PTA members across the state by
coordinating workshops,
providing information, and circulating tools provided by
National PTA and through
other energetic collaborators within these fundamental areas of
concern for all children
and youth.
Our diverse HWS committee held two state-wide conference calls
on Human
Trafficking. The February state-wide call was in collaboration
with the Advocacy area
and Family-School Partnership.
During the first half of this school year we continued to write,
publish, and distribute a monthly eNewsletter about health,
welfare, and safety issues supported by
Ohio PTA programs in partnership or in-sync with other entities
such as Action for
Healthy Kids, Ohio Safe Driving Coalition, National Center for
Safe Routes to
School, Ohio Injury Prevention Partnership, Ohio Department of
Healths Creating Sustainable School Environmental Health in Ohio,
HASH, which is an
acronym for Home and School Health) through the Academy of
Pediatrics, and
The American Heart Association just to name a few.
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 32 May 2015
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Ohio PTA
National PTA has partnered with Safe Routes to School National
Partnership and Kaiser
Permanente on Fire Up Your Feet, a physical activity program
that encourages families
to walk more to and from schooland in daily lifewhile keeping
track of their steps, and raising money for their PTA or school.
Ohio PTA continues to promote this
opportunity for our units and schools. For more information,
visit fireupyourfeet.org.
Ohio PTA continues to work with the American Heart Association
through their Healthy
Voices for Kids initiative to combat obesity through a six-prong
focus smart foods, healthy drinks, unhealthy marketing to kids,
healthy food accessibility in communities,
increasing community active places (which is referred to as
Shared Use), and the 6th area is promoting active kids
out-of-school. With our testimony and others within the
coalition, Shared-Use in now law in the great State of Ohio.
The Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics reminds
children to Put a Lid on It! Protect Before You Pedal. This is a
statewide public awareness campaign. For more information about how
to properly fit a helmet, bike helmet safety events
throughout the state and ongoing safety updates, visit
facebook.com/bikehelmetsafety.
Venezuela Robinson
Director of Health, Welfare, & Safety
Director of Membership
It has been a privilege to serve as your Director of Membership
over the last 5 years.
Every year has been a pivotal move forward to improving
membership communications
and providing valuable information to officers and chairmen
around the state. I am
extremely proud of all the accomplishments our membership
committee has made this
past term. We stand 70,000 members strong in Ohio.
As Ohio PTA membership, we are stillAdvocating in Perfect
Harmony for
Children. Advocating is more than only taking a stand on Capitol
Hill. And being a
part of the PTA experience is even more than just taking a stand
for children. Being a
part of PTA means taking a stand for families. We throw around
the term family
engagement, but what that really means is we want the entirety
of the family unit to be
strong, educated, and healthful. By helping families as a whole,
we are advocating for
every child. Strong families create strong schools and an entire
ripple effect happens,
which positively affects entire communities. This is how we
advocate in perfect
harmony as PTA.
As we finish out this year, we look back at a road paved with
good intentions. We
wanted to reach out further to districts, councils and unit PTAs
through discussions and
best practices in Membership. We wanted to increase the
communication directly in the
field so that the topic of Membership would be on the minds of
PTA leaders throughout
our State. We wanted to encourage councils to reach out to their
PTAs and make
membership a priority by giving more incentives and more
personal contacts. We
continued our statewide calls and opened the door for PTAs to
network and learn from
each other. We continued to provide proven programs like Member
Perks for units as a
guide of how to maintain a strong membership and be rewarded for
each
accomplishment. We increased awareness with The Membership Dues
Review process
which was started last year.
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 33 May 2015
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Ohio PTA
And although we were not successful in growing overall
memberships in Ohio, we
have successfully kept our rate of decline below the national
averages. I believe in
celebrating the small successes and will still hope that one
day, through the leadership
of those who will come after me, that we will be one day
celebrating the big success of
increasing Membership numbers in Ohio!
Let us celebrate those PTAs who earned their Member Perk rewards
for 2013/2014
they are: Fort Island Primary PTA, Olmsted Falls Middle School
PTA, Green Valley
PTA, North Olmsted Early Childhood PTA, and Dexter Drake
Elementary PTA.
Congratulations to these PTAs, for completing the program and
receiving their well-
earned PTA Perks.
The winners of the 2014/2015 Membership Incentive for Councils
and Units were
drawn during our state convention. The Councils represented in
this raffle with one
ticket or more for their units with 15% increases or higher are:
Greenville Council,
Avon Lake Council, North Ridgeville City Council, Marion
Council, Columbus Coun-
cil, South-Western City Schools Council, Worthington Council,
Westerville Council,
Bedford Council, Cleveland Heights Union Heights Council, Euclid
Council, Fair-
view Park Council, Garfield Heights Council, Lakewood Council,
S. Euclid-Lyndhurst
Council, Bay Village Council, Berea Council, North Olmsted
Council, Olmsted Falls
Council, Parma Council, Rocky River Council, Strongsville
Council, Westlake Council,
Akron Council, Barberton Council, Cuyahoga Falls Council,
Nordonia Council, Stow-
Munroe Falls Council, Green Council, Tallmadge Council, Revere
Council, Twinsburg
City Schools Council, Lake County Council, Austintown Council,
Boardman Council,
and Warren Community Council.
Congratulations to all the Councils with Membership growth!
Units were recognized at convention with a drawing for those who
increased members
by 10% or higher, and those with a 50% increase or higher.
Congratulations to our raffle winners!! And to all the
Membership leaders around the
state, thank you for your passion and dedication to PTA
Membership!
Suzie Smith-Rios
Director of Membership
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The Ohio PTA Voice Page 34 May 2015
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Ohio PTA
Your Ohio PTA Board of Directors . . . the field service
team
Your Ohio PTA Directors
Your Ohio PTA Staff
President
Lisa Mack
216-691-2990
[email protected]
President-Elect
Sheila Ragland
614-351-8083
[email protected]
V P of Leadership
Ana Chapman
440-234-2504
[email protected]
V P of Field Service
Cathy Harless
614-877-3673
[email protected]
Secretary/Treasurer
Sharon Urig
440-365-7602
[email protected]
Executive Director
Sue Owen
[email protected]
[email protected]
Administrative Director
Jeri Gookin
[email protected]
Immediate Past President
Gloria Cazan
440-886-1453
Advocacy
Jackie Arendt
440-230-1567
[email protected]
Bylaws & Standing Rules
Linda Read
330-923-7248
bylawsandstand-
[email protected]
Events
Lynn LaMore
440-356-9710
[email protected]
Membership
Suzie Smith-Rios
614-878-3596
member-
[email protected]
Education
Rebecca Gawsyszawski
440-315-9097
[email protected]
Diversity & Inclusion
Terry Hickey
614-870-9570
[email protected]
Family-School
Partnership
Pam Bonnett
440-871-7932
[email protected]
Health Welfare &
Safety
Venezuela Robinson
440-786-9855
[email protected]
Your Ohio PTA District Advisors
Vacant Advisor Positions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10,
11, 19 Assistant Director of Advocacy, Bylaws,
Communications, Education, Health, Welfare &
Safety and Family-School Partnership
If anyone is interested in serving on the Ohio PTA
Board of Directors, contact Ana Chapman at
[email protected]. Job descriptions and
an application are posted on the Ohio PTA website.
Your Ohio PTA Officers
District 7
Susan Hans
440-243-8776
[email protected] District 17
Carol Beasley
216-383-1963
The Mission of the Ohio PTA
CHILD ADVOCACY
PARENT/FAMILY EDUCATION
SERVICE TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
District 13
Lisa Weaver
330-825-8252
District 11Interim
Debbie Tidwell
440-779-7141
District 12
Maria Lang
440-289-9696
District 18
Hazel Trinko
330-896-1694
Communications
Jeanne Groetz-Shockling
330-313-1544