Membership Award Recipients!

Janice Wanko  (Membership Chair) says, “KUDOS and Congratulations to our Membership Award Recipients.”

Staff and Community Are Key

Region 1: Avon Lake HS PTA  Bay Village EC PTA  Berea Midpark HS PTSA  Birch Primary PTA  Brook Park El PTSA  Chapman El PTA  Chestnut Int PTA  Eastview El PTA  Elmhurst El PTA  Erie Shores EC PTA  Falls-Lenox/ ECC Primary PTA  Garfield MS PTSA  Grant El PTA  Grindstone El PTA  Keystone El PTA  Lakewood EC PTA  Lakewood HS PTA  Lincoln PTA  Lee Burneson MS PTA  Lorain Cty JVS PTA  Maple Int PTA  Midview Middies PTA  North Ridgeville EC PTA  North Ridgeville ECLC PTA  Olmsted EC PTA  Olmsted Falls MS PTA  Olmsted Falls HS PTA  Olmsted Falls Int PTA  Pine Int PTA  Redwood El PTA  Rocky R. Goldwood Primary PTA  Roosevelt El PTA  Stranahan El PTA  Strongsville EL PTA  Westlake EC PTA  Westlake El PTA and Whitney El PTA   

Region 2: Amelia El PTA  Beavertown El PTA  Bobbie Fairfax El PTA  Cheviot El PTA  Colerain MS PTA  Colerain HS PTA  Greenville HS PTSA  Jane Chance El PTA  Kilgour El PTA  Lagonda El PTA  Loveland El PTA  Loveland M/INT  PTSA  Mark Twain PTA  Monfort Hts El PTA  Mound El PTA  Northwest HS PTSA  Pleasant Run El PTA  Pleasant Run MS PTA  Rapid Run MS PTA  Silverton PTA  Springmyer Mem El PTA  White Oak MS PTA  and Williams Ave El E PTA 

Region 3:  Annehurst El PTA  Bluffsview El PTA  Bolton Crossing El PTA  Buckeye Woods El PTA  Central Crossing El PTA  Cherrington El PTA  Darby Woods El PTA  Finland El PTA  Finland MS  PTA  Franklin Hts HS PTA  Friends Of CAHS PTA  Gables El PTA  Galloway Ridge El PTA  Genoa MS PTA  Grandby El PTA  Hayes El PTA  Hayes Int PTA  Heritage MS PTSA  Hillview El PTA  Indian Springs El PTA  Jackson MS PTSA  James A. Harmon El PTA  Kilbourne MS PTSA  McCord MS PTA  Metro PTSA  Monterey El PTA  Park Street Int PTA  Pleasant View MS PTA  Royal Manor El PTA  Somerset El PTA  South-Western Career Acad PTA  South-Western Preschool PTA  Thornville El PTA  West Franklin El PTA  Westerville Special Needs PTA Westland HS PTSA  Worthington Estates El PTA  Wilder El PTA  Worthington Estates El PTA  Worthington Hills El PTA  and Worthingway  El PTA 

Region 4: A.C.E.S. Center for Education PTA  Adrian El PTA  Bellflower El PTA  Boulevard El PTA  Buckeye El PTA  Charles F Brush HS PTSA  Dentzler El PTA  Dorothy E. Lewis El PTA  Euclid Central MS PTA  Euclid HS PTSA  Fairfax El PTA – Mentor Field HS PTSA  First Step EC  PTA  Green Valley El PTA  Greenbriar MS  PTA  Greenview Upper El PTA  Hillside MS  PTA  Hopkins El PTA  John Muir El PTA   Kingsville PTA  Longfellow El PTA  Memorial Junior HS PTSA  Mentor HS PTSA  Noble El PTA  North Royalton EC PTA  North Royalton El PTA  North Royalton MS PTA  Orange HS PTA  Orchard MS PTA  Oxford El PTA  Parma EC PTA  Parkside El PTA  Perry El/Jr/Sr HS PTA Pleasant Valley El PTA  Ridge El PTA  Riverside Campus PTA  Roxbury El PTA  Shiloh MS PTA  Shore MS PTSA  Solon EC PTA  Sterling Morton El PTA  Streetsboro Comm PTA  Sunview El PTA and Thoreau Park El PTA

Region 5:   Akron Early College HS PTA  Arrowhead Primary Sch PTA  Austintown El  PTA  Austintown MS PTSA  Austintown Int PTA  AF Falcons PTSA  Barberton Int Sch PTA  Barberton MS PTSA  Canfield PTA  Copley HS PTSA  Copley-Fairlawn MS PTA Echo Hills El PTA  Fishcreek El PTA  George G Dodge Int Sch PTA  Green HS PTSA  Green MS PTSA  Herberich El PTA  Jackson-Milton El PTA  John R Buchtel El CLC PTA  Judith A. Resnik El PTA  Kimpton MS PTSA  LaCroft El PTA  Lakeview Int PTA  Ledgeview El PTA  Lee Eaton El PTA  Lincoln El PTA  Miller-South Perf Arts El PTA  NIHF Stem MS PTA  NIHF Stem HS PTSA  Nordonia HS PTSA  Nordonia MS PTA  Northfield El PTA  RBC & Twinsburg HS PTA  Samuel Bissel El Sch PTA             Stow-Munroe Falls HS PTSA  Tallmadge MS PTA  and Wilcox Primary PTA

 

Awesome Alumni

Region 1: Birch Primary PTA  Chestnut Int PTA  Fairview M & HS PTA  Falls-Lenox/ECC Primary PTA  Garfield MS PTSA  Gilles-Sweet El PTA Grindstone El PTA  Harding MS PTSA  Horace Mann El PTA  Kensington Int PTA  Keystone El PTA  Lakewood HS PTA  Learwood MS PTA  North Olmsted EC PTA  Olmsted EC PTA Olmsted Falls MS PTA  Olmsted Falls HS PTA  Olmsted Falls Int PTA  and Troy Int PTA

Region 2: Covedale El PTA  Greenville El PTA  and Oak Hills HS PTA

Region 3:  Alcott El PTA  Bolton Crossing El PTA  Clinton El PTA  Bright El PTA  Colonial Hills El PTA       Grove City HS PTA  Shady Lane El PTA  and Worthington Pk El PTA 

Region 4: Bellflower El PTA  Euclid EL Village PTA  First Step EC PTA  John Muir El PTA  Justin E. Rowland El PTA  North Royalton MS PTA  Roxboro El PTA  and Smart Start EC PTA    

Region 5:  Akron Early College HS PTA  Anne T Case El PTA  Copley-Fairlawn MS PTA  Green Int PTA  Revere HS PTSA  Tallmadge El PTA  and Windemere Comm LC PTA

 

LASTING LEGACY AWARDS

Reg 1: Chestnut Int PTA  Grant El PTA  Horace Mann El PTA  Maple Int PTA and Redwood El PTA 

Reg 2:  Cheviot El PTA  Greenville El PTA  Monfort Hts El PTA  Rapid Run MS PTA  White Oak MS PTA and Winton Woods Community PTA

Reg 3: Bluffsview El PTA  Galloway Ridge PTA  Genoa MS PTA  Park Street Int PTA  and Whetstone HS PTA

Reg 4: Orchard MS PTA  Oxford El PTA  Ridge El PTA  Rootstown El PTA and Sterling Morton El PTA

Reg 5:  Boardman Glenwood MS PTA  Green Int PTA  Jackson-Milton El PTA and Nordonia MS PTA

February Ohio PTA Office Hours via Zoom

 

Middleburg Heights / National PTA Honors Outstanding Advocacy Efforts

 

National PTA Honors Outstanding Advocacy Efforts

 

Honorees to be recognized during association’s 2024 Legislative Conference

 

ALEXANDRIA, Va., (Feb. 8, 2024)—National PTA is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2024 Outstanding Advocacy Awards, which honor state, local and individual PTA advocates for taking action to make a difference for the education, health, safety and well-being of every child. The honorees will be recognized during the association’s 2024 Legislative Conference, Wednesday, March 6, at The Westin Alexandria Old Town in Alexandria, Va.

 

This year’s recipients are: 

 

• Outstanding State PTA Advocacy Award—Washington State PTA

For multiple legislative sessions, Washington State PTA has focused their advocacy efforts on supporting legislation and policies that will help prevent and reduce gun violence and suicide, including: (1) addressing the disproportionate impact on BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth; (2) funding community-based prevention and intervention programs; (3) promoting safe storage of medication and firearms; and (4) prohibiting the sale or transfer of military-style assault weapons. As part of their efforts, Washington State PTA Advocacy and Resolutions Committee members have been meeting and discussing bills with legislators and offering improvements and feedback; preparing and delivering testimony; and using methods and communication vehicles including events, action alerts, their website, newsletters, blog posts and social media to impact change. Thanks to their efforts, legislation was passed and signed into law during the 2023 legislative session to prohibit assault weapons (with a few exceptions), promote safe storage of firearms and medication, provide funding for community prevention programs and more. So much progress was made during the 2023 legislative session that Washington State PTA has added new goals for the 2024 legislative session, including expanding existing law to prohibit firearms where families and youth congregate in public places and restoring local government authority to enhance state firearm regulations to protect children and youth.

 

• Outstanding Local PTA Advocacy Award—Thirty-Third District PTA (California)

In 2023, Thirty-Third District PTA worked on five resolutions—the first resolutions that the PTA had supported in over 10 years. The resolutions included Equitable Literacy for All, Cannabis and Youth Health and Safety, Inclusive Education for Children with Cognitive Disabilities, Restorative Justice, and Synthetic and Non-Tobacco Derived Nicotine Products. The makers of the resolutions for Thirty-Third District PTA conducted a “Resolution Maker Roadshow” to increase understanding among local, regional and state PTA membership regarding the resolution process and the importance of resolutions for PTA advocacy, as well as bring awareness to important issues facing their children and communities. The process allowed Thirty-Third District PTA to not only engage their membership and reinforce the primary role of PTA as an advocacy organization, but it also instilled a sense of pride among their membership for impacting advocacy. Through their work on the resolutions, Thirty-Third District PTA has become known for their advocacy.

 

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advocacy Award—Matrice Perry, Big Creek PTA (Middleburg Heights, Ohio)

After noticing that some children’s needs weren't being met at their events, Big Creek PTA, under the leadership of their president Matrice Perry, set a goal to create more accessible and inclusive events for children and families in their school and community. They added a vice president of advocacy position on their Board and worked to engage parents of special needs children within their PTA and school community, provide equity and access to all students and make sure that all their PTA-sponsored events—both during the school day and after school hours—included a sensory friendly time with the appropriate accommodations. Big Creek PTA has taken their ideas to their council PTA for the practice of hosting more accessible and inclusive events to become a districtwide priority.

 

• Shirley Igo Advocate of the Year Award—Rachel Burke (Hoosier PTA, Indiana)  

Rachel Burke continuously strives to improve the lives of children and youth; fund, improve and protect the public school system; improve public health; and advocate for all children. She is a consistent and recognized voice for children and youth at the Indiana General Assembly, and she has worked to strengthen the position of Indiana PTA as the “voice of the parent” in the legislature and among the media in Indiana. Throughout the 2023 legislative session, Burke testified numerous times before the education, health, elections and fiscal committees. Specifically, she has worked to eliminate textbook rental fees; protect the rights of transgender children in the classroom and in healthcare settings; increase funding to Indiana's public schools; stop the banning of books in public school libraries; strengthen anti-bullying legislation; strengthen "family-friendly" school designations; fight anti-critical race theory legislation; establish and fund Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program in Indiana; and stop SNAP eligibility from being significantly limited, among many other efforts. Burke’s advocacy and her determination has led to Indiana PTA to being consistently part of the narrative on education and youth in Indiana.

 

• Outstanding Youth Advocate of the Year Award—Maurits Acosta (Hialeah-Miami Lakes PTSA, Florida)

Maurits Acosta strongly believes that one must be the change they want to see in the world, and he understands that involving students in government is key to making sure our country grows and flourishes. He is focused on increasing civic literacy and civic engagement among high school students across the country and increasing student representation in local government and PTA leadership in Florida. Acosta launched the Miami-Dade County Student Engagement Committee where he meets with students across Miami on a regular basis to empower student leaders in PTA. He has also motivated local PTAs to add student representatives to their local units and has been advocating for the creation of student engagement committees for county councils and state PTAs. Additionally, Acosta started Virtutem Populo, Inc., a student-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting civic engagement and community involvement among youth in Miami-Dade County. Further, he successfully lobbied his mayor to add a student representative to the Town of Miami Lakes Education Advisory Board, which he now serves on as its inaugural office holder. Acosta’s efforts have positively affected change, and he exemplifies the qualities of creativity, leadership and dedication to the cause he champions.

 

“Washington State PTA, Thirty-Third District PTA, Big Creek PTA, Rachel and Maurits exemplify what it means to take action and speak for every child with one voice, which is what our association does best,” said Yvonne Johnson, president of National PTA. “I always say to never underestimate the power of a parent’s voice, and we are thrilled to recognize the efforts of Washington State PTA, Thirty-Third District PTA, Big Creek PTA, Rachel and Maurits with our 2024 Outstanding Advocacy Awards.”

 

The Outstanding Advocacy Award recipients are selected by National PTA’s Legislation Committee. Washington State PTA will receive a $1,000 award to further their work and Thirty-Third District PTA will receive a $500 award. The Shirley Igo Advocate of the Year Award is named after past National PTA President (2001-2003) Shirley Igo, who was an impassioned and compassionate leader, dedicated to moving PTA forward and committed to ensuring that others would follow. The Outstanding Youth Advocate of the Year Award is supported by PTA Proud National Sponsor Uber.

 

Every year, National PTA’s Legislative Conference or LegCon brings together PTA leaders and advocates from across the country to take action on the association’s advocacy priorities. During the conference, attendees will hear from speakers and participate in workshops to get an update on issues impacting children, families and schools and grow their advocacy skills. Attendees will also amplify their voices by meeting with their members of Congress, Wednesday, March 8. The theme for this year’s conference is Share Power for Every Child.

 

“Raising our voices and ensuring power is shared—among families, educators, administrators, policymakers—is so important to helping every child reach their full potential,” said Nathan R. Monell, CAE, National PTA executive director. “At PTA, we remain steadfast in our mission to make every child’s potential a reality, and we will never stop speaking loudly and demanding more to ensure all children have the support they need to thrive.”

 

About National PTA

National PTA® comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who wants to be involved and make a difference for the education, health and welfare of children and youth. For more information, visit PTA.org.