INFORMATION FROM THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF THE EDUCATION OMBUDSMAN September 4, 2014Over the past week, you have probably read in the newspaper or received a letter from your school district explaining Washington state’s loss of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver. This waiver is also referred to as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) waiver. As a result of the waiver loss, the majority of school districts were required to issue letters to parents explaining the options they may have if their child attends a school that has not made “adequate yearly progress” or AYP. Parents whose children are assigned to a school that has not met AYP will be offered the option of: 1) staying at their assigned school and receiving Supplemental Education Services, or 2) the option to transfer to a public school of their choice that has met AYP within their district.
The application process for SES or a public school transfer request is very short and requires completion of a written application with a deadline associated with it. In some school districts, this deadline occurs on or before the first day of school. It is very important that parents understand they will not get SES services or be able to request a transfer after the deadline set by their district. For limited-English speaking parents, it is important that they understand they can ask for the instructions and application in a language understood by the parents or guardians. In addition, limited-English speaking parents can and should ask for an interpreter at their child’s school meeting to determine the SES Student Learning Plan if they need language access and assistance.
In an effort to assist parents, students and advocates to understand what some of the changes are, the Office of the Education Ombudsman has developed a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). For more information, please call (206) 748-5613 or 866-297-2597.
The application process for SES or a public school transfer request is very short and requires completion of a written application with a deadline associated with it. In some school districts, this deadline occurs on or before the first day of school. It is very important that parents understand they will not get SES services or be able to request a transfer after the deadline set by their district. For limited-English speaking parents, it is important that they understand they can ask for the instructions and application in a language understood by the parents or guardians. In addition, limited-English speaking parents can and should ask for an interpreter at their child’s school meeting to determine the SES Student Learning Plan if they need language access and assistance.
In an effort to assist parents, students and advocates to understand what some of the changes are, the Office of the Education Ombudsman has developed a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). For more information, please call (206) 748-5613 or 866-297-2597.
PTA FOUNDER’S DAY: FEBRUARY 17
The idea for this organization was conceived by Alice McLellan Birney and on February 17, 1897, her idea became a reality. Her first supporter was Phoebe Apperson Hearst, the 55-year-old widow of the Senator from California and mother of one son who already was a prominent newspaper publisher on the West Coast. Phoebe Hearst insisted that the Congress be open to fathers, as well as mothers, and was responsible for establishing and supporting the first free kindergarten in the nation. Abby Williams Hill, a railway artist from Tacoma, started the work of the Congress in the state of Washington in 1905. As a railway artist, she traveled all over the Northwest, painting scenic pictures for railroad companies to use in advertisements to draw tourists west. During her travels, she often spoke to local women’s groups about beginning the work of the Congress in their towns.
On-Line Resources for Accredited Colleges and Universities
http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.org/
Complete Directory of Top Accredited Online Schools, Online Colleges and Online Universities of 2014
Welcome to AccreditedOnlineColleges.org, where we aim to offer the web’s best resource for finding online accredited colleges and universities. Attending college online can seem risky, and online degree accreditation is confusing when you’re just starting out in pursuing a degree. We are proud to host a searchable directory of online colleges and universities to let you find the online accredited colleges that fit your own educational needs.
http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.org/washington-state/
A list of available accredited online programs in Washington is included in the directory below. Filter by criteria like size, location, degree levels, campus setting, and type of school to find the best program to fit your needs.
http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.org/
Complete Directory of Top Accredited Online Schools, Online Colleges and Online Universities of 2014
Welcome to AccreditedOnlineColleges.org, where we aim to offer the web’s best resource for finding online accredited colleges and universities. Attending college online can seem risky, and online degree accreditation is confusing when you’re just starting out in pursuing a degree. We are proud to host a searchable directory of online colleges and universities to let you find the online accredited colleges that fit your own educational needs.
http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.org/washington-state/
A list of available accredited online programs in Washington is included in the directory below. Filter by criteria like size, location, degree levels, campus setting, and type of school to find the best program to fit your needs.
How To Choose A Bank
How to choose a bank As a non-profit organization, you can expect a lot from your bank. Assuming your account is in good standing and you follow best practices, you should be able to find a bank that will give you great service and not charge you at all for it! The most important piece of advice here is: Shop Around. Identify the services that are important to you, and then look for a bank that will provide them free of charge.
Don’t be dazzled by interest rates! A difference of a half a percent on your savings may bring in an extra $10 or $50 or $100 a year depending on how much you have stashed away. But if it means poor service or inconvenient locations or monthly service fees, your interest advantage will be eaten up very quickly.
Here are some banking services that should be considered
Karen L Albers
Vice President
Washington State PTA
everychild. onevoice.
509.375.5356
Don’t be dazzled by interest rates! A difference of a half a percent on your savings may bring in an extra $10 or $50 or $100 a year depending on how much you have stashed away. But if it means poor service or inconvenient locations or monthly service fees, your interest advantage will be eaten up very quickly.
Here are some banking services that should be considered
- Convenient Hours (some are open late, some even on Saturday and Sunday)
- Convenient Locations (probably in the area where most of your money collecting will be taking place)
- Night Drop (so you don’t have to take the bingo receipts home with you)
- Ask how night deposits arehandled. How many bank employees open the deposit bag/envelope, and process thecontents? Can the bank hold the deposit so that a PTA member can witness the transaction process?
- Safe Location (you don’t want to be depositing large sums of money late at night in an area where you don’t feel safe)
- No fees for your Checking or Savings accounts
- No fees for NSF checks (Not yours of course, because you won’t have any; we mean checks that people give you that bounce. Your bank should not charge you for this.)
- Online viewing of statements. (Transparency helps protect your organization from fraud. Many banks allow online viewing of banking information by authorized users without allowing them online access to the money – very important!)
- Request that you get check images returned with bank statement. If someone is trying to steal from you, and your bank does not return your checks (common with credit unions), that makes the theft easier. If your bank returns checks with your statement, that questionable check may still get “lost”. But if you get a page of check images (these are little photocopies of your checks – about 15 to a page or so) it is very difficult for someone to hide who the check was actually made out to.
- Look for bank statements that give you a Total for Deposits, a Total for Withdrawals and a count for each. This makes your treasurer’s job of reconciling the account far easier. And we all want to keep our treasurers happy.
Karen L Albers
Vice President
Washington State PTA
everychild. onevoice.
509.375.5356
ADVOCATING FOR SCHOOL SAFETY
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Advocating for School Safety When tragedy like the Sandy Hook school shooting strikes, PTA members want to know how to help, then they start looking for solutions. It’s the core of what we do. Here is a collection of resources for members and local PTA leaders.
HOW TO HELP:
PTA position on gun violence:National PTA believes school safety is a critical priority and that every attempt must be made to reduce violence, especially incidents involving use of firearms. PTA advocates for gun-free schools and works to ensure schools have effective emergency plans. PTA also strongly supports increased access to mental health treatment.
Please read on for resources and details on PTA positions taken
Read more »
Ramona Hattendorf
Government relations coordinator
Washington State PTA
Advocating for School Safety When tragedy like the Sandy Hook school shooting strikes, PTA members want to know how to help, then they start looking for solutions. It’s the core of what we do. Here is a collection of resources for members and local PTA leaders.
HOW TO HELP:
- Snowflakes needed to welcome children to new school
- Where to send monetary donations
- Details, mailing address here
PTA position on gun violence:National PTA believes school safety is a critical priority and that every attempt must be made to reduce violence, especially incidents involving use of firearms. PTA advocates for gun-free schools and works to ensure schools have effective emergency plans. PTA also strongly supports increased access to mental health treatment.
Please read on for resources and details on PTA positions taken
Read more »
Ramona Hattendorf
Government relations coordinator
Washington State PTA
100 WAYS TO HELP YOUR CHILD & SCHOOL SUCCEED
Part 3: Parenting
Council leaders: 1) Share this information with your LUs so that they can better serve the parents in their schools.2) Compile the lists into a brochure or flyer and make them available to your LUs. 3)Compile the lists into a brochure or flyer and place them at your school district office, in the public library, at the YMCA or Boys & Girls Club.4) Post the information to your website or publish in your e-newsletters.5) Host a roundtable to exchange &/orexpand the list of ideas. 6) Create a community event for parents on how they can help their childand school succeed.
- Meet your child’s friends and get to know their parents.
- Take advantage of family programs and resources offered at the school.
- Work with others to establish a parent resource center at the school.
- Help create a school toy/book lending library and visit it regularly.
- Assist in developing parent support programs/groups.
- Arrange to visit your child’s classroom or have lunch with your child at the school.
- Seek out classes or information on child development, learning styles, discipline, etc.
- Attend parent education fairs and other special events at school.
- Start a parent book club to discuss current publications.
- Help create and/or contribute to a school newsletter on parenting.
- Promote and volunteer for before- and after-school programs.
- Build an at-home child I.D. file including items such as medical records, pictures and fingerprints.
- Make donations and/or offer to work at clothing drives and food banks to benefit economically-disadvantaged families in the community.
- Ask teachers or school counselors about how to talk with your child about tough topics.
Karen L Albers
Vice President
Washington State PTA
everychild. onevoice.
509.375.5356
TRAINING BYLAW REQUIREMENTS CLARIFIED
At the 2011 Washington State Convention the delegates approved an amendment to the Uniform Bylaws requiring that all elected executive committee members of each PTA and Council attend training during the PTA year. The amendment required that at least one member of the executive committee attend PTA & the Law, and that all others attend at least one training that “could include, but not be limited to” several specified WSPTA trainings routinely scheduled each year. When the WSPTA Board of Directors discussed this topic at its meeting last weekend some points about the latter requirement were raised that haven’t been widely disseminated. First, training offered through National PTA – including its online offerings availablehere—can count toward satisfaction of the requirement, if the participant submits evidence of having completed the training. In addition, because of the “not limited to” language, PTA or Council officers who have taken training during the current PTA year that they believe is relevant to their PTA positions can submit information about such training to their respective region directors for a determination whether such training satisfies both the letter and spirit of the training bylaw. Of course a number of local units have received onsite training from their region directors and/or service delivery team members, and that training counts as well. Please contact your region director if you have any questions about the Bylaw and your PTA’s compliance.
NEW ONLINE NEWSLETTER IS A VALUABLE RESOURCE FOR BOTH TEACHERS AND PARENTS
Washington State’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) this week announced the debut of an online newsletter called “TEACH.” According to OSPI, the newsletter will highlight opportunities for educators and schools, events and trainings, teaching and learning resources, and features on implementing the Common Core State Standards in Washington classrooms. Even though its focus is on teachers, a review of the first edition indicates that this will also be a valuable resource for parents as well, especially those who want to learn about resources that may be available to their children’s school or school district. For example, the inaugural issue highlights the release of a recently created online resource on dyslexia, with information that is useful to both teachers and parents. You can review the initial issue of the newsletter here, and subscribe to receive it regularly here.
tacoma_gang_project_fact_sheet_2011x.pdf | |
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community_parents_survey_final.pdf | |
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Ideas for A Successful Year
from Karen L. Albers Vice President Washington State PTA September 2011
Here are some ideas that may help you have a successful year:
* Membership Roundtables - invite LU membership chairs:
* sharing and training to promote membership efforts in your council
* invite the region outreach chair to discuss ideas to promote/increase culture diversity, increase male, student & teacher involvement, etc
* Advocacy Roundtable - invite LU legislative chairs
* for sharing and training to promote advocacy efforts in your council
* Legislative Assembly issues Q&A
* Candidate Forums - invite all candidates for school board &/or city council
* Region Director elections: hold a candidate forum in the event multiple candidates run for the position of Region Director.
* Legislative Roundtables
* after Legislative Assembly, invite your legislators to discuss the WSPTA top priorities issues
* invite the community to attend
* IRS/WA tax document training - invite LU treasurers
* hold a '990 party' to assist in completion of documents
* Book Fairs/Fundraisers - share successes & lessons learned
* Reflections Roundtable - invite LU Reflections' chairs
* discuss rule changes, share ideas, plan Council Reflections Program
* Programs & Awards
* discuss, encourage, promote WSPTA and NPTA awards
* hold an 'Honor Unit' &/or 'Standards of Excellence' night- encourage and assist LUs participation
* make it fun, creative, advertise as a scrapbooking party, provide examples of previous award recipients.
* Training - examples are endless...
* Nominating Committee, JITLs, NPTAs e-Learning courses, Boardsmanship, Conflict Management, Cultural Competency, Grant Writing
* assist region director to ensure all LU officers receive the applicable training in accordance with WSPTA Uniform Bylaws Article 5 Section 2(a)
* Websites - host a night to create LU websites
* invite a web designer to provide assistance on creating & maintaining a website
* NOTE: there are many free web hosting services (e.g., wix, weebly, google, etc)
* Levy & Bond Workshops
* discuss how LUs can be involved in promoting school levy and bond
* Annual Convention Preparation
* discuss classes, proposed bylaw amendments, resolutions, and WSPTA Nominating Committee Report (this year nominations will include: Finance Officer, Secretary, Leadership Director, Programs Director and three at-large nominating committee members).
* End of Year Awards Ceremony
* Recognize and celebrate LU and Council volunteers for their commitment to children
* Hold the ceremony during a school board meeting
* Community Involvement - Parent/Community Educations
* Invite school district superintendent & school board
* Curriculum
* Levy & Bond Info
* How state budget cuts affect your school district
* Parent/Teacher conferences
* Invite local law enforcement to discuss:
* Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Awareness
* Sexting - What it means? What's the law?
* Gang Violence & Awareness
* Texting & Driving
* Invite local health department:
* Food Handling Card class
* STDs, Teen Pregnancy, HIV/AIDS Awareness
* Virus & Bacteria: Flu, Meningitis, Pneumonia, Whooping Cough, TB, etc
* Head Injuries: Football Concussions &/or Bicycle Helmets, etc
* Healthy Lifestyles - Nutrition & Fitness
What does your council do to engage local units? How do you engage your community? Please share your ideas and programs online. I would like to collect as many ideas as possible to include on the WSPTA website.
Have a terrific year!
Karen L. Albers
Vice President
Washington State PTA
everychild. onevoice.
509.375.5356
"It is important to remember that we cannot become what
we need to be by remaining what we are. We must do
everything we can do as both leaders and members."
* Membership Roundtables - invite LU membership chairs:
* sharing and training to promote membership efforts in your council
* invite the region outreach chair to discuss ideas to promote/increase culture diversity, increase male, student & teacher involvement, etc
* Advocacy Roundtable - invite LU legislative chairs
* for sharing and training to promote advocacy efforts in your council
* Legislative Assembly issues Q&A
* Candidate Forums - invite all candidates for school board &/or city council
* Region Director elections: hold a candidate forum in the event multiple candidates run for the position of Region Director.
* Legislative Roundtables
* after Legislative Assembly, invite your legislators to discuss the WSPTA top priorities issues
* invite the community to attend
* IRS/WA tax document training - invite LU treasurers
* hold a '990 party' to assist in completion of documents
* Book Fairs/Fundraisers - share successes & lessons learned
* Reflections Roundtable - invite LU Reflections' chairs
* discuss rule changes, share ideas, plan Council Reflections Program
* Programs & Awards
* discuss, encourage, promote WSPTA and NPTA awards
* hold an 'Honor Unit' &/or 'Standards of Excellence' night- encourage and assist LUs participation
* make it fun, creative, advertise as a scrapbooking party, provide examples of previous award recipients.
* Training - examples are endless...
* Nominating Committee, JITLs, NPTAs e-Learning courses, Boardsmanship, Conflict Management, Cultural Competency, Grant Writing
* assist region director to ensure all LU officers receive the applicable training in accordance with WSPTA Uniform Bylaws Article 5 Section 2(a)
* Websites - host a night to create LU websites
* invite a web designer to provide assistance on creating & maintaining a website
* NOTE: there are many free web hosting services (e.g., wix, weebly, google, etc)
* Levy & Bond Workshops
* discuss how LUs can be involved in promoting school levy and bond
* Annual Convention Preparation
* discuss classes, proposed bylaw amendments, resolutions, and WSPTA Nominating Committee Report (this year nominations will include: Finance Officer, Secretary, Leadership Director, Programs Director and three at-large nominating committee members).
* End of Year Awards Ceremony
* Recognize and celebrate LU and Council volunteers for their commitment to children
* Hold the ceremony during a school board meeting
* Community Involvement - Parent/Community Educations
* Invite school district superintendent & school board
* Curriculum
* Levy & Bond Info
* How state budget cuts affect your school district
* Parent/Teacher conferences
* Invite local law enforcement to discuss:
* Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Awareness
* Sexting - What it means? What's the law?
* Gang Violence & Awareness
* Texting & Driving
* Invite local health department:
* Food Handling Card class
* STDs, Teen Pregnancy, HIV/AIDS Awareness
* Virus & Bacteria: Flu, Meningitis, Pneumonia, Whooping Cough, TB, etc
* Head Injuries: Football Concussions &/or Bicycle Helmets, etc
* Healthy Lifestyles - Nutrition & Fitness
What does your council do to engage local units? How do you engage your community? Please share your ideas and programs online. I would like to collect as many ideas as possible to include on the WSPTA website.
Have a terrific year!
Karen L. Albers
Vice President
Washington State PTA
everychild. onevoice.
509.375.5356
"It is important to remember that we cannot become what
we need to be by remaining what we are. We must do
everything we can do as both leaders and members."