PTA Takes Action

September 8, 2016

New Poll Shows the Importance of Family Engagement in Education The annual Phi Delta Kappa International (PDK) poll on the public’s attitude towards education was released last month. The poll found mixed views on the overall purpose of education but showed a strong relationship between school satisfaction and strong family-school partnerships. The survey found that a school’s ability to effectively communicate with families and provide frequent opportunities for input greatly influenced the parent’s opinion of the school’s performance. Read more about the poll on National PTA’s One Voice blog.

National PTA Endorses the Get the Lead Out of Schools Act National PTA recently endorsed the Get the Lead Out of Schools Act (H.R. 5833) introduced by Representative Tammy Duckworth (D-IL-08). The bill ensures that schools across the country are periodically tested and consistently monitored for unhealthy lead and copper levels. The bill also establishes a grant program for districts that voluntarily test for lead and provides funding to help replace outdated plumbing with new lead-free plumbing. Read the full text of the bill. 5 Things You to Know About ESSA The start of the new school year is a busy time for many families as they juggle hectic schedules with homework, extracurricular activities and meeting new learning goals. However, the school year is not the only big event to begin this fall. Parts of the new education law, theEvery Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), will begin to take effect and it is important for parents to know how this law effects their child in the new school year. Read National PTA’s Our Children Magazine article to learn the five things you need to know about ESSA before the school year is in full swing. Learning First Alliance Issues Back-to-School Tools The Learning First Alliance recently released a resource to help educators communicate with their parents and communities.  Entitled "Working Together for Student Success: A Back-to-School Communications Toolkit," the toolkit contains advice for local school leaders and other educators to help publicize and explain their successes in implementing college- and career-ready standards. Check out the toolkit at LearningFirst.org. Advocate of the Month Arkansas PTA created a bus safety public service announcement which was shown at their Summer Leadership Conference in July. They also successfully advocated to get the video shown as a preview in movie theaters around the state. Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner Johnny Key recognized Arkansas PTA’s work on this important safety issue and appointed Keli Gill, President of Arkansas PTA, to the ESSA implementation taskforce in their state. Check out the video.  Tools & Resources Department of Education’s 9 Back-to-School Tips for Parents Learning Hero’s Super 5 Power Moves for Back-to-School Data Quality Campaign ESSA Summer Playlist Webinar Series: Privacy and Effective Data Use Go Hand in Hand On the Blog A New School Year, a New Education Law Does Your Child’s Education Honor Their Uniqueness?

Career and Technical Education Improves Student Achievement Did you know that students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) courses are more likely to develop problem-solving, time-management and communication skills than other students? Check out this infographic—from National PTA and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE)—that demonstrates how CTE can help every child develop the 21st century skills they need to reach their full potential in college and career. Download infographic.

Webinars

School Fundraising Policies and Practices: A Shifting Landscape Sept. 9 at 11 a.m. EDT Register now Join Healthy Eating Research, Boise State University and the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods project for a webinar that will present results from a new report on healthy school fundraising. Building Your Advocacy Family Tree: A Genealogy Approach to Advocacy Networking Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. EDT Register now The Congressional Management Foundation will explore how to coach local leaders to recruit allies in their communities.