Author: CAPTA IT

Mid-Year Membership Campaign Tips

Posted on by CAPTA IT

WOW, we are hearing great things about how easy mid-year membership campaigns are using electronic membership links. Here are some tips from our experts (leaders like you):

  • Send out a designated email about PTA membership to your whole school community. Share what your PTA/PTSA has done and what you plan to do and include a link to join
  • Add a join button to all your electronic newsletters
  • Ask your principal to include the PTA/PTSA membership link in your schools communications
  • Create a great poster sharing what your PTA does and include a QR code so everyone can easily join when they see the poster
  • Remind your community at every PTA event that they can join — then follow that up with a membership table in the room or a link or QR code so they can join
  • Include your join link on all e-blasts, fliers and other electronic communication and include a QR code on paper programs, flyers and posters.

You can modify the ideas if you’re not using e-membership or you can connect your PTA to the TOTEM system and take advantage of the perks. Learn more at www.capta.org/join.

 

New Year’s Resolutions for Membership

Posted on by CAPTA IT

The great thing about the new year is that you get a fresh start. No matter what you forgot to do, meant to do or thought you should do – now you can. Here are five resolutions that will increase PTA membership, and leave you less stressed in 2019.

  • Get some help. Everything is more fun with a friend (or several). If you don’t already have a membership committee, form one now. Ask your PTA president to appoint new committee members. More members equals more ideas and more people to share the fun (and work), plus a bigger pool of volunteers to spread the word
  • Ask again. January is the perfect time to revitalize your membership drive. Include PTA membership join links on your website, in social media posts and in your newsletter. Ask in person and remind your principal, teachers and other PTA volunteers to invite everyone to join. No one wants to be left out
  • Go electronic. If you are not yet on the e-membership system, powered by TOTEM, find out more and learn how you can get on-board. It’s really easy. If you are on, send out an e-blast reminding everyone in your community they are invited to join PTA. Ask your school site administrator to include your PTA join link in information sent to parents and the community
  • Let us help. We have great resources just waiting for you. Check out our customizable fliers (in 6 languages), goal setting worksheets, membership marketing templates and so much more at www.capta.org/building-membership

Learn about PTA. You are part of the largest, oldest, child advocacy association in the nation. Just by joining PTA, you are telling your children you value their education and well-being. You are doing great things at your school and you are a voice for children’s education, health and overall success. You are making a difference. To find our more about PTAs legacy and your part in it, visit www.capta.org/whatwestandfor.

Youth Mental Health Awareness

Posted on by CAPTA IT

Mental health affects the way our children think, feel, relate to others and behave. Like physical health, mental health can and does evolve throughout life.

Symptoms of mental health conditions are often invisible and can be easy to miss.  It may be difficult to distinguish age-appropriate thoughts, feelings and behaviors from those that may be signs for concern and warrant professional intervention.

If you are concerned about your child’s mental health, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Intensity – How intense are your child’s behaviors, thoughts or emotions?
  • Frequency – How often does your child feel or behave this way?
  • Duration – How long do these individual episodes or periods last?
  • Functionality – Most of all, how well is your child functioning at home, at school or with friends?

Emotions or behaviors that are more intense, frequent or longer lasting than most other children your child’s age and that are causing difficulties in their daily functioning may be signs for concern and might warrant a discussion with your pediatrician or a mental health professional.

Teach your children that mental health is as important as physical health by modeling that there is nothing wrong with seeking help when there are signs for concern.  The earlier you intervene, the more likely your child can receive the help they need and prevent a larger issue down the road.

For more information on healthy developmental markers in children and youth and signs for concern, see the booklet from The Youth Mental Health Project at Youth Mental Health | Mental Health America (mhanational.org).

Promoting Good Nutrition

Posted on by CAPTA IT

Take a look around your school building or campus. How does your school promote good nutrition?

Take Action 

Nutrition promotion should happen in multiple settings throughout the school building. Reinforce nutrition messages to students by using these strategies from Action For Healthy Kids:

  • Hang posters in classrooms, hallways, the office and the cafeteria that promote healthy eating. Get approval from your school administration to ensure posters will not be removed
  • Host a taste test. A taste test is a great way to promote healthy options and garner enthusiasm around trying new foods
  • Plan a fun and interactive family event around nutrition promotion. Take advantage of events like parent-teacher conferences, when you have a built-in audience, to provide healthy snacks and nutrition tips
  • Plan a health & wellness fairto bring in community partners to provide nutrition resources
  • Infuse nutrition messages into all school communication channels when possible
  • If your school does not have a school newsletter, create a wellness-focused one to promote healthy eating and physical activity to families
  • Share short nutrition and physical activity tips during the morning announcements.
  • Allow students to visit the water fountain throughout the school day and to carry water bottles in class. Send a letter home to parents to encourage them to participate in this practice
  • Promote a healthy topic each month on a healthy bulletin board in the main office
  • Spruce up your cafeteria with murals, artwork, posters and table tents to promote good nutrition during breakfast and lunch.

Tips

  • Be a healthy role model for your kids
  • Be consistent. Make sure celebrations, rewards and family events promote healthy or non-food options
  • Children learn best when they receive information through multiple communication channels. At a minimum, promote nutrition in the classroom, cafeteria and at home
  • If displaying posters, make sure messages are age appropriate so all students can understand
  • Work with your school’s art teacher to create posters, signs and other artwork that reinforce healthy eating messages. Display the art all around your school building
  • Consider dedicating a student group to promoting healthy eating throughout the school.
  • If creating materials from scratch, contact local community artists, graphic designers and/or high school/college students to help design and develop materials.

Additional Resources

Free, printable healthy bulletin board templates (Iowa Department of Education)

Team Nutrition: Free nutrition curricula, posters and other resources (United States Department of Agriculture)

Tips for Teachers to Promote Healthy Eating and Physical Activity (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)

Nibbles for Health: A free nutrition newsletter than can be printed and mailed home to parents (United States Department of Agriculture)

 

PTA Store Holiday Gift Guide

Posted on by CAPTA IT

Check out the PTA Store’s special holiday gift shop with new items and old favorites, plus new holiday cards! Beat the crowds and get your holiday shopping done from the comfort of your own home.

Shop online for: 

   

Homework: How Much is Enough?

Posted on by CAPTA IT

Is it fine for your kindergartener to spend an hour after school on homework? Does your high school student never crack a book or do an assignment at home?

As parents, we would likely find both of these scenarios concerning. But do you feel confident about how much homework your student should be doing? Luckily, there is some research-based guidance available and also some suggestions from California State PTA regarding how to have that conversation with teachers, principals and school district officials about the policies in your local schools.

First, here is a bit of research information, from a recent article in EdWeek.

“Studies by researchers including Harris Cooper, a Duke University psychology and neuroscience professor who wrote The Battle Over Homework, have consistently shown that homework has minimal academic benefits for children in the early-elementary years.

“Instead, both the National Education Association and the National PTA endorse Cooper’s so-called 10-minute rule, which calls for roughly 10 minutes of homework a night per grade level beginning in 1st grade. So children in 2nd grade would have 20 minutes, those in 3rd grade would have 30 minutes, and so on. In high school, students may exceed that recommendation depending on the difficulty of the courses they choose.”

In 2014, California State PTA passed a resolution titled “Homework: Quality Over Quantity.” All of our resolutions (which are posted on the California State PTA website at www.capta.org/resolutions) include a research summary and a commitment to take action. This homework resolution acknowledges that homework can be “a valuable aid” to student learning, calls for assignments to be high quality, and spotlights that too much homework, too soon, can actually hurt students’ academic progress. It also raises concerns that it can create inequities and contribute to the achievement gap if it does not account for the diversity of family situations.

So what should you do if you are uneasy about the amount and/or quality of your child’s homework? You can start by finding out what your local school and district’s homework policies are (your school principal should be able to help). Do they address quality, quantity and equity concerns based on current research? Are they being followed at your school? Is this a worry other parents share?

If you see cause for concern, you can ask to have the issue on the agenda at your next PTA meeting. Your principal should be informed and invites, and perhaps invite teachers to specifically discuss their perspectives.

Reducing Smoke Exposure

Posted on by CAPTA IT

Wildfire smoke includes particles from not only burning trees and grasses but also chemicals from buildings mixed with gases. So if your eyes feel like they’re stinging, smoke exposure could also be inflicting other damage as particles could be getting into your respiratory system.

Keep indoor air as clean as possible by keeping windows and doors shut. Air conditioners that re-circulate air within the home can help filter out harmful particles.

Avoid using air conditioning units that only draw in outside air or that do not have a re-circulating option. Check air conditioner filters and replace them regularly. Indoor air filtration devices with HEPA filters can reduce the level of particles that circulate indoors.

Take steps to decrease your risk from wildfire smoke:

  • Check local air quality reports. Listen and watch for news or health warnings about smoke. Find out if your community provides reports about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index (AQI) or check the report at www.airnow.gov
  • Keep indoor air as clean as possible if you are advised to stay indoors. Keep windows and doors closed. Run an air conditioner, but keep the fresh-air intake closed and the filter clean to prevent outdoor smoke from getting inside. If you do not have an air conditioner and it is too warm to stay inside with the windows closed, seek shelter in a designated evacuation center or away from the affected area. Learn more about reducing your smoke exposure indoors
  • Follow the advice of your doctor or other healthcare provider about medicines and about your respiratory management plan if you have asthma or another lung disease. Consider evacuating if you are having trouble breathing. Call your doctor for advice if your symptoms worsen
  • Do not rely on dust masks for protection. Paper “comfort” or “dust” masks commonly found at hardware stores are designed to trap large particles, such as sawdust. These masks will not protect your lungs from the small particles found in wildfire smoke. Read more on choosing and using respirators to protect your lungs from smoke and ash
  • Remove all ash and debris before bringing your child back to home or back to school. Read more from the EPA.

Being an Involved Parent

Posted on by CAPTA IT

We’ve been hearing a bunch lately that parental involvement matters more for educational performance of our kids than even the lessons in school.  Study after study tells us that parents matter.  But what does this really mean and how can I do that and still keep up with my house, my job and myself?  As a full-time working mom I struggle daily, like so many of us, to find that balance and fear that my kid’s future is getting worse because I can’t be in the classroom (or even want to be) 24/7.

It took me awhile to learn that I was not failing my kids if I couldn’t sign up for every in-class opportunity made available. I couldn’t sleep for days as I pondered the effects on my kids but then I thought about how much time my kids actually spend at school versus the rest of the week with me.  On average my kids surprisingly spend less than 20 percent of their time in school.  It’s not to say that school isn’t important, but it does highlight how important parents are in their kids learning since 80 percent of the time parents are their teacher.

But now comes the tougher question. How do I stay involved so they can learn more and be smarter?

For me parent involvement has become far more than just going to a PTA meeting or paying my yearly dues.  (Of course those are both important but not directly helping kids in the ways all the studies talk about.)  What I think it really means to be an involved parent is listening to my kid’s stories as soon as they open their mouths.  I strive each day to look at their homework and discuss what they did at school that day. I also always give them one unexpected question about their school day like “who had the silliest socks” or “if you could have traded lunches with anyone today who would it have been?”  These types of questions have allowed me to get my kids to talk more about their day without becoming a total interrogation.  It also shows them that I truly am interested in what they did and it’s not just about me checking in on them.

Although I don’t have the schedule that allows me to volunteer in the classroom each week, I do strongly believe being included in different parts of the education process at my kid’s schools has been critical.  I have been a member of some strong PTAs that have thankfully found ways to invite parents into the classroom setting without disrupting the school day or forcing me to choose between a paycheck and being at the school.  These PTAs have hosted various events or activities that brought parents and families into the school and encouraged parents to establish good educational routines with their kids.

This is where PTAs can really make effective change.  Some examples that I have been part of include:

  1. Educational family nights with themes like “Science Blast” or “Family Spelling Bee.”
  2. Family Reading Night” or “Family Reading Month” where parents are asked to bring a book to read to the class. It can take as little as five minutes to read a book.
  3. “Three For Me” Project where parents pledge on “Back To School Night” to volunteer three hours to help their child’s class. This can mean cutting out art projects at home, washing desks or being a “Junior Achievement” mentor. Regardless of the task, it encourages ALL parents to volunteer so each child can see their parent helping.  (This is also one of my favorites because too many times, three moms hog all the volunteer spots and although great helpers they take away from other kids in the class seeing their parents help.)
  4. “Family Performance Night” where parents and students receive roles for the school play and are part of the drama club or talent show.
  5. “Show & Tell Moments” but instead of material items students bring in a parent or guardian to show off.

Each day, I learn with my kids but honestly the more I talk with my kids and listen, the more I learn about CA curriculum and where they may need my help to fill in the voids.

Studies on Benefits of Parent Involvement:

 

Talking to Children About School and Community Shootings

Posted on by CAPTA IT

Just like adults, children and teenagers are better able to cope with upsetting news when they understand more about an event and how it might impact them. Often what children and teens need the most is to have someone they trust listen to their questions and concerns, accept their feelings, and be there for them.

Tips from the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement on how to talk to your child:

  • Don’t worry about knowing the perfect thing to say
  • Listen to your child’s thoughts and concerns
  • Answer their questions with simple direct and honest responses. Remember that answers and reassurance should be at the level of the child’s understanding
  • Provide appropriate reassurance and support
  • Know when to seek outside help such as when your child continues to be upset for several days or seems unable to recover from their fears or is having trouble in school or home or with their friends.

 

Impact of Heat on Student Health and Performance

Posted on by CAPTA IT

It may technically be autumn, but many communities in California are still experiencing a heatwave, and the number and severity of extreme heat events is increasing. Poorly maintained and older HVAC systems in schools may not be able to respond to higher outdoor temperatures, putting our kid’s health and school performance at risk.

Children are more sensitive to the effects of heat, according to a bulletin from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Children have:

  • Higher physical activity levels
  • Higher core body temperatures
  • Higher metabolic rates
  • Larger surface to body mass ratings

These factors can increase a child’s chance of experiencing heat stress. High temperatures and humidity can have adverse impacts on physical education by triggering coughs and asthma. Heat impacts cognitive function including reaction time, information processing, memory and reasoning, effecting a child’s performance in school.

Cooling the air during extreme heat events can be limited by aging infrastructure and high energy bills on tight school budgets!  Here are some other things schools can do to reduce indoor temperatures:

  • Use shades to block direct sunlight from heating indoor spaces.
  • Reduce indoor heat sources such as artificial lighting and machinery.
  • Limit outdoor activity during peak temperatures.
  • Provide clean drinking water to keep students hydrated during extreme heat events
  • Build a green roof or paint the roofs white to reduce thermal gain.
  • Use plants along south facing windows to provide shade and reduce direct sunlight.
  • Keep air vents clear of blockage and maintain HVAC systems to reduce energy usage.
  • Use cool pavement in your school parking lot to reflect more solar energy.

EPA Bulletin: How Temperature Impacts Students