President's Message

PTA Leaders,

Wow! You have done an amazing job this fall! Membership is up over last year and we can’t wait to recognize you at Ohio PTA Convention in April. Keep submitting and meeting those monthly goals so you can receive an Emmy on April 13. In addition to membership efforts, nineteen Ohio units and councils from all over the state won a total of 21 grants from either Ohio PTA or National PTA. Take a look at the FSP article and Ohio PTA Facebook to learn who won. We congratulate all of you and encourage you to share photos and success stories from your grant-funded (or other) events with us at communications@ohiopta.org or on your Standards of Affiliation Checklist.

Thanks for keeping up with your government filings. If you haven’t filed your IRS990 or your Ohio Attorney General Charitable Trust yet, please do so you can remain a unit in good standing. Your first installment of membership dues should have been sent by November 30. Check with your treasurer and submit as soon as possible. If you have questions or need help, please contact your District Advisor or the VP Field Service.

What’s next? It’s time to take a break and reflect on how to make the second half of the year even better for your students and families. Spend some time thinking about how well your unit or council met the needs of your school community by conducting a mid-year unit check up. Ask yourself and your board…

Is membership up?

Are our meetings or events well attended?

Do we have enough volunteers?

Are new families joining or volunteering?

Are we providing opportunities to connect families and staff?

If you can’t answer yes to these questions, ask your staff for suggestions, survey your families and evaluate the events you held. Listening to all the people in your school community is the first step to growing membership. However, the real key to truly serving students, staff and families is responding to and using their feedback. It shows you value them and want them to be part of PTA.

Enjoy winter break as you share this time with family and friends. Thanks for your commitment to PTA and our mission of making every child’s potential a reality. Happy New Year!

Susan

Understanding Each Child, Our Future: Core Principles | Ohio Department of Education

Understanding Each Child, Our Future: Core Principles | Ohio Department of Education

New federal rules impact school meal requirements

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released new rules for school meals. While USDA asserts the new rules “give schools more control over food service decisions and greater ability to offer wholesome and appealing meals that reflect local preferences,” as a partner working with schools on improving nutrition for all students, we believe the new rules reverse many of the gains made in the last several years toward ensuring students are receiving healthy meals at schools.

We work with schools every day to achieve their wellness goals, including around healthier school meals, and we want to help you understand what these new rules mean for schools and children across the country. In particular, the rules address sodium and whole grains as follows:

Sodium—Nine out of ten children consume too much sodium, which can raise blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and adult hypertension. However, the rules will allow schools to continue to exceed sodium levels in food beyond what government nutrition guidelines state as being safe. Schools have been in the process of reducing sodium levels, but this rule will put a seven-year hold on requiring further reductions and eliminates the requirement to eventually meet safe levels.

Whole Grains—Schools have been required to serve whole grain products. In cases where 100% whole wheat products were not commercially available, schools could apply to their state for a waiver. The new rule will require that only half of the weekly grains in the school lunch and breakfast menu be whole grain-rich, thus allowing schools to use fewer products meeting 50% whole wheat.

Many schools have implemented healthy changes to meet the guidelines put in place as a result of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, and we expect many of them will continue in light of the positive benefits and outcomes and despite the flexibility provided under the new USDA rules. We are determined to help schools become healthier places so kids are better prepared to learn and live healthier lives.

Here are many ways you can join us in this effort, including:

• Smarter lunchrooms,
• Smart snacks standards,
• Salad bars,
• Nutrition promotion,
• and more.

Read how a small school in rural Colorado made changes to improve the taste and nutrition of its school meals in a way that surprised everyone and won the hearts and stomachs of its student community.


New federal rules impact school meal requirements

ESSA Resources

PTA Leaders,

We are pleased to share with you two new resources on local implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).  These two documents will live on our www.PTA.org/ESSA webpage. We hope you find them useful!

ESSA provides a unique opportunity for parents and families to give input on their children’s educational experience, and strengthen parent are family engagement.  As school districts and schools implement this new federal education law to improve outcomes for every student, National PTA believes parents should have a seat at the table when decisions are made—and districts and schools should work with parents and families as partners throughout the school year.

The first document, The Parent and Family Guide to Local Implementation of ESSA explains what to expect as the law is implemented in your community. The second one, What to Ask Your District and School Leaders About ESSA provides questions to ask your district and school leaders as you take your seat at the table as an essential partner in education.

Additionally, we have created a social media toolkit for you to use to help promote these two resources throughout your networks. National PTA will be promoting these two new resources over the next few weeks and we greatly appreciate you sharing these as well and retweeting and reposting National PTA’s social.   

You are find the direct links here:

The Parent and Family Guide to Local Implementation of ESSA

What to Ask Your District and School Leaders About ESSA

Thank you for your continued advocacy!