WASHINGTON STATE PTA
Founded in 1905, the Washington State PTA is the largest volunteer organization in Washington, with more than 132,000 members in 900 local units across the state. In addition to providing training and assistance to local units, WSPTA is an active voice for children in pursuit of PTA’s vision that every child’s potential becomes a reality. More information about WSPTA can be found on our website at www.wastatepta.org .
o0 local units across the state. In addition to providing Washington State PTA
1304 South Fawcett Avenue
Suite 300
Tacoma, Washington 98402
253-214-7410 in5, the Washington State PTA is the largest volunteer organization in Washington, with more than 132,000 members in 900 local units across the state. In addition to providing training and assistance to local units, WSPT for children in pWSursuit of PTA’s /pages/Washington-State-PTA/31189776924
Founded in 1905, the Washington State PTA is the largest volunteer organization in Washington, with more than 132,000 members in 900 local units across the state. In addition to providing training and assistance to local units, WSPTA is an active voice for children in pursuit of PTA’s vision that every child’s potential becomes a reality. More information about WSPTA can be found on our website at www.wastatepta.org .
o0 local units across the state. In addition to providing Washington State PTA
1304 South Fawcett Avenue
Suite 300
Tacoma, Washington 98402
253-214-7410 in5, the Washington State PTA is the largest volunteer organization in Washington, with more than 132,000 members in 900 local units across the state. In addition to providing training and assistance to local units, WSPT for children in pWSursuit of PTA’s /pages/Washington-State-PTA/31189776924
DO NOT CALL THE WSPTA’S OLD 800 NUMBER
The WSPTA no longer has an active 800 number. We have recently been notified by a PTA member that our old 800 number is now being used by telemarketers who attempt to gather information from the caller. Please note that the only phone number that the WSPTA currently uses is 253-214-7410.
The WSPTA no longer has an active 800 number. We have recently been notified by a PTA member that our old 800 number is now being used by telemarketers who attempt to gather information from the caller. Please note that the only phone number that the WSPTA currently uses is 253-214-7410.
WSPTA NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT Feb 18, 2015The 2014-2015 Washington State PTA Nominating Committee places the following names in nomination:
Secretary – Julie Haase
Legislative Director – Brooke Valentine
Click here to view the Nominating Committee report.
Secretary – Julie Haase
Legislative Director – Brooke Valentine
Click here to view the Nominating Committee report.
STATE PTA OFFICER NOMINATIONS OPEN
At the 2015 WSPTA Convention on April 17-19, 2015, at the Bellevue Hyatt Hotel, four statewide PTA officers (President, Vice President, Legislative Director and Membership Director) and three Nominating Committee at-large members will be elected. Nominations are now being accepted for these positions here. The deadline date for nominating individuals for these statewide positions is November 8, 2014.
WASHINGTON STATE PTA RECOGNIZED WITH TWO TOP NATIONAL PTA AWARDS
The Washington State PTA, was the recipient of the very prestigious Jan Harp Domene Diversity and Inclusion Award and was awarded with the President’s Exceptional Business Practices Award at the National PTA Convention in Austin, Texas on June 19-22, 2014.
The Jan Harp Domene Diversity and Inclusion Award recognizes only one state, council, district, or local PTA, nation-wide, who works diligently to understand and embrace the diversity of all individuals, understands the differences yet commonalities in their communities, and to work to foster outstanding achievement in the areas of diversity and inclusion.
The National PTA President’s Exceptional Business Practices Award is not an award that is solicited for by state PTAs, but is given in acknowledgement of what has been seen and witnessed by NPTA. On stage National President Otha Thornton told the other state congresses, “Washington State is a role model for all other states to follow.”
The WSPTA worked to make best business decisions available to ensure that its resources do the most good for members, schools, communities and children; focused on sustaining the association through family engagement/outreach, membership, local and state advocacy, programs, more partnerships with communities, businesses, advocacy partners and state-level partnerships; and created leadership education opportunities to provide an upward mobility training platform.
“This award is a testament of WSPTA’s approach towards transformational leadership this year -- making hard decisions, pulling together as a team to keep our mission in focus, strengthening our association and moving forward to be a strong resource for our leaders and a powerful voice for kids,” said WSPTA President Heather Gillette.
August 12, 2014 WSPTA Member Connection
The Washington State PTA, was the recipient of the very prestigious Jan Harp Domene Diversity and Inclusion Award and was awarded with the President’s Exceptional Business Practices Award at the National PTA Convention in Austin, Texas on June 19-22, 2014.
The Jan Harp Domene Diversity and Inclusion Award recognizes only one state, council, district, or local PTA, nation-wide, who works diligently to understand and embrace the diversity of all individuals, understands the differences yet commonalities in their communities, and to work to foster outstanding achievement in the areas of diversity and inclusion.
The National PTA President’s Exceptional Business Practices Award is not an award that is solicited for by state PTAs, but is given in acknowledgement of what has been seen and witnessed by NPTA. On stage National President Otha Thornton told the other state congresses, “Washington State is a role model for all other states to follow.”
The WSPTA worked to make best business decisions available to ensure that its resources do the most good for members, schools, communities and children; focused on sustaining the association through family engagement/outreach, membership, local and state advocacy, programs, more partnerships with communities, businesses, advocacy partners and state-level partnerships; and created leadership education opportunities to provide an upward mobility training platform.
“This award is a testament of WSPTA’s approach towards transformational leadership this year -- making hard decisions, pulling together as a team to keep our mission in focus, strengthening our association and moving forward to be a strong resource for our leaders and a powerful voice for kids,” said WSPTA President Heather Gillette.
August 12, 2014 WSPTA Member Connection
RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS http://www.wastatepta.org/resources/teacher/index.html
A new “teacher resource” tab is now available on the WSPTA website and was designed especially for those “T” members of our PTA! Click here to view this new feature. If you have teacher resource suggestions for this new webpage, please email them to [email protected].
PTA MEN ESSAY CONTEST FOR STUDENTS
This program recognizes the significant and different contribution that men make in children’s lives and their education. All men involved in a youngster’s life—fathers, uncles, grandpas, brothers, step-fathers, mentors, neighbors, pastors and friends— impact the children they care about. Washington State PTA sponsors a statewide essay contest—open to any student from kindergarten through 12th
grade—to explore this vital relationship. For more information or to enter a student’s piece, go to http://www.wastatepta.org/programs/PTA_mens/
deadline March 1, 2014.
A new video you can play during PTA events to tell
parents why they should join their local PTA. Really the question is, WHY WOULDN'T YOU JOIN??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnF0tXCya4A&list=PLCDACE8ACB366E311
parents why they should join their local PTA. Really the question is, WHY WOULDN'T YOU JOIN??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnF0tXCya4A&list=PLCDACE8ACB366E311
Message from WSPTA Executive Director Katherine Hobbs
July 26, 2013
Dear WSPTA Members:
As you may have heard, WSPTA took action this week to align our staffing and expenditures with our
mission. In particular, WSPTA eliminated three positions on our staff, and made other spending plan changes to align our actions with our mission. We acknowledge these changes will be difficult for the three employees who have left us and for those of you who had meaningful relationships with them. We wish those affected the very best in the future. I want to explain why we took the
staffing and cost realignment actions and what we can expect in the future as a result of these changes.
As the WSPTA Executive Director, I understand that “everything we do is for kids.” Every dollar we receive from a member must be spent on our mission. Members must be supported with the tools they need. I was hired by the Board to ensure the organization’s current and future sustainability. When they hired me, the Board sought to supplement membership dues with grants and other resources. Also, the Board wanted better communications with membership. My first action was to direct a complete review of all operations. This included all staff positions for current and future contribution to our mission requirements. No position, including my own, was
exempt from the review. It included consideration of new potential positions. More on that later.
The Board had already begun an assessment of the IT infrastructure and our database. Recently we completed this work. We determined that the organization was better served by outsourcing most IT functions. As a result of the decision, the database administrator position was eliminated, at a substantial budget savings. We expect service levels to rise significantly and will hold our database vendor accountable. This will provide the best service to our members, board and staff.
Also, we eliminated the governmental relations position. The present Board seeks to return the organization to the grassroots efforts for which we have been known historically. Our greatest impact has and will come in the future from parents, teachers and students, passionately testifying before the legislators. We will not leave those who take up our cause unsupported or unprepared. WSPTA will engage lobbyists as needed to prepare our members and staff to testify and lobby our agenda. This may take many different forms in the future.
Finally we eliminated an administrative position, primarily with bookkeeping
functions. Our remaining staff is now asked to absorb additional functions and we will supplement with outsourcing as needed. These staffing changes alone will allow us to devote about $120,000 each year to our core mission at a time more critical than ever for Washington’s schoolchildren.
Our review did not involve only staffing. We scrutinized expenditures and budget as well. We reduced the cost of board and other meetings. Some Board members, have elected to donate meeting expense reimbursements as an additional contribution. All these changes are expected to result in savings of about $100,000 per year. This is again, more money for our mission-critical actions.
Our great organization cannot survive or sustain itself without making tough decisions. We acknowledge they are painful for those affected. But we must move forward together. We truly believe that these changes will drive forward our mission, ensuring that every child has the education and tools they need to be successful in life.
Thank you for your support! If you have questions, please communicate with us. I promise we will return every phone call and email on these issues.
Kathryn Hobbs, Executive Director, WSPTA
As you may have heard, WSPTA took action this week to align our staffing and expenditures with our
mission. In particular, WSPTA eliminated three positions on our staff, and made other spending plan changes to align our actions with our mission. We acknowledge these changes will be difficult for the three employees who have left us and for those of you who had meaningful relationships with them. We wish those affected the very best in the future. I want to explain why we took the
staffing and cost realignment actions and what we can expect in the future as a result of these changes.
As the WSPTA Executive Director, I understand that “everything we do is for kids.” Every dollar we receive from a member must be spent on our mission. Members must be supported with the tools they need. I was hired by the Board to ensure the organization’s current and future sustainability. When they hired me, the Board sought to supplement membership dues with grants and other resources. Also, the Board wanted better communications with membership. My first action was to direct a complete review of all operations. This included all staff positions for current and future contribution to our mission requirements. No position, including my own, was
exempt from the review. It included consideration of new potential positions. More on that later.
The Board had already begun an assessment of the IT infrastructure and our database. Recently we completed this work. We determined that the organization was better served by outsourcing most IT functions. As a result of the decision, the database administrator position was eliminated, at a substantial budget savings. We expect service levels to rise significantly and will hold our database vendor accountable. This will provide the best service to our members, board and staff.
Also, we eliminated the governmental relations position. The present Board seeks to return the organization to the grassroots efforts for which we have been known historically. Our greatest impact has and will come in the future from parents, teachers and students, passionately testifying before the legislators. We will not leave those who take up our cause unsupported or unprepared. WSPTA will engage lobbyists as needed to prepare our members and staff to testify and lobby our agenda. This may take many different forms in the future.
Finally we eliminated an administrative position, primarily with bookkeeping
functions. Our remaining staff is now asked to absorb additional functions and we will supplement with outsourcing as needed. These staffing changes alone will allow us to devote about $120,000 each year to our core mission at a time more critical than ever for Washington’s schoolchildren.
Our review did not involve only staffing. We scrutinized expenditures and budget as well. We reduced the cost of board and other meetings. Some Board members, have elected to donate meeting expense reimbursements as an additional contribution. All these changes are expected to result in savings of about $100,000 per year. This is again, more money for our mission-critical actions.
Our great organization cannot survive or sustain itself without making tough decisions. We acknowledge they are painful for those affected. But we must move forward together. We truly believe that these changes will drive forward our mission, ensuring that every child has the education and tools they need to be successful in life.
Thank you for your support! If you have questions, please communicate with us. I promise we will return every phone call and email on these issues.
Kathryn Hobbs, Executive Director, WSPTA