Author: Ray Kinyon

PTA Contracts Require Thoughtful Consideration

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by California State PTA Leadership Services Commission

Your PTA’s efforts to provide programs for students and to support your schools often require that you contract with individuals or companies to fundraise or provide services. California State PTA recommends a number of ways you can assure that the PTA, its members, its funds, its students, and its reputation are protected when you enter into these kinds of contracts. 

Secure Approvals in Advance

PTA’s process includes:

  • Association advance approval of the event/program, 
  • Approval of the budget, and release of funds, and 
  • Authorization to sign contracts by the president and one other elected officer. 

Following these initial steps, the executive board can then direct a committee chair to present a plan for executive board approval. Following approval of that plan, the executive board approves and authorizes payments up to the released or budgeted fund amount. 

Should the full payment request from the service provider exceed the association’s budgeted amount or funds released, payment can only be made for the released amount. Then the remaining amount is approved by the association through a budget amendment, release of funds, and authorization for payment of the remaining balance. 

Check Your Insurance Coverage

PTA executive board leaders should confer with AIM Insurance before a contract for services is considered. It is important to know if PTA insurance will cover the activity, if additional insurance is required, or if the activity is prohibited by PTA or PTA insurance. When activities become an annual tradition, PTAs should still consult with AIM because insurance coverage may have changed. It is important to be very clear with AIM when discussing the proposed activity as failure to disclose something can affect the insurance.

Make Sure PTA Remains in Charge

When a PTA contracts for services, PTA leaders must assure that the PTA maintains responsibility for all the decisions and supervision related to the activity and for the payments to the vendors. When PTA members make payments to vendors using their own personal finances, they do so at personal risk because they may then officially become the “employer,” instead of the PTA.

Follow Government Insurance Rules

PTAs must report individuals hired to perform a service correctly on the required annual PTA Worker Compensation report in December/January and determine if IRS 1099s must be filed in January. California law requires businesses with more than one employee (including the owner) to carry their own workers’ compensation insurance. The PTA chair, contract signers, and treasurer should determine if the individual has workers’ compensation coverage when any contract is signed. If an individual does not have workers’ compensation insurance on their own, the PTA must provide it for them as their “employer.” Their own personal liability insurance is not the same as workers’ compensation.

The vendor’s provided insurance declaration sheet includes the insurance coverage types, including but not limited to automobile, liability, product liability, and/or workers’ compensation. That declaration should name PTA as an additional insured, and show coverage is evident for the date of the activity. When coverage expires before the event is held, PTA must request an updated declaration proof of insurance. Check with your school district to see what their requirements are for vendors. 

Work With Your School District

When contracting with individuals who provide services to students during the instructional day, and on an ongoing basis, PTAs should donate funds to school districts’ school site accounts. Fiduciary agreements are required. These positions may include instructional assistants, certificated teachers, computer technicians, playground supervisors, etc. Some school districts require payments for assembly presenters be handled similarly. All employment through a school district is short term and there is no guarantee of funding/rehiring from year to year. The current board cannot encumber a future board by entering into a multi-year contract. PTAs must also follow school districts’ safety requirements for individuals on campuses.

Pay Attention to Conflicts of Interest

All elected and appointed PTA executive board members are required to fill out a conflict/whistleblower form each year. This is an IRS requirement of all non-profits. 

A board member can provide a paid service for the PTA through their own business but they must disclose the business on the form. In addition, your PTA must get at least three bids for the job, including the board member’s. They are not allowed to see the other bids because that would be giving them an unfair advantage over the other bidders. The board member must excuse themselves during the discussions of the bids and they can’t be in the room when the board votes on which bid to take. The board should be taking the best bid even if that means they will disappoint the board member.

When in Doubt, Ask

PTA’s business practices are in place to protect our leaders and the association as a whole. That includes fiduciary responsibility regarding contracts, insurance, and payments. Whenever you have questions you can refer to the California State PTA Toolkit, the PTA Insurance Guide and insurance provider, and contact PTA leaders through channels.  

How Your PTA Can Easily and Safely Collect Payments

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

In our personal lives everyone is using apps to make payments, and folks are asking “Can PTAs use Venmo?” “What about Cash App?” The answer is no.

These types of apps are peer-to-peer (P2P)  platforms which aren’t developed to serve groups, especially nonprofits like PTAs. A P2P platform’s primary role is exactly that — transactions between two individuals for personal means, like paying a friend back for dinner. Great for individuals, but not for PTAs.

Cheddar Up offers an alternative. And is proud to be a California State PTA sponsor. In full transparency: We’re very clearly #TeamOnlinePayments. To dig deeper into the technology side, check out this blog post.

5 Key Reasons you don’t want to Use P2P Platforms for PTA Funding

  1. P2P’s don’t allow nonprofit usage. It’s right on their websites: “Venmo’s peer-to-peer experience cannot be used to solicit or collect charitable contributions…” A P2P company can exercise their right to freeze your account based on sheer suspicion, which leaves access to your funds entirely up to their discretion. Funding is a lifeline for PTAs, so not only could the loss jeopardize your organization, but also parents who trust you to steward their money. 
  2. P2P’s don’t provide tax receipts. The IRS requires nonprofits to send a receipt for all donations above $250, and donors need printed or emailed confirmation of a charitable contribution to claim it. Failure to comply can compromise your 501(c)(3) status. Although a P2P records transaction history, it doesn’t include IRS-required information. (We’ll refer you to the experts for details on all of the above.) 
  3. P2P’s have accounts connected to one individual. To sign up, you need a phone number, email address, and bank account. P2Ps do not allow nonprofit usage. This means P2Ps have individual account holders – you’ll  have only one person with the account credentials and access to your money, which is contrary to the PTA rules and lacks the transparency that PTAs require. Not to mention, PTA boards rotate, so your point-person won’t always be your point person. The consistent sharing of login credentials could invite fraudulent activity. P2Ps such as Venmo do have business accounts, but even those must be created under one personal profile, leaving the same concerns at play.
  4. P2P’s have weekly spending limits and withdrawals. In general, people can spend only $299.99 per week* on P2P apps. Even if that seems more than enough for your PTA, it may limit the types of fundraisers you can conduct. In addition, the max you can transfer out of Venmo, for example, to your bank account is $999.99 per week.* If you verify your identity, that increases to $19,999 per week.* But if you receive significant contributions, this could impact your accounting. 

*Amounts as of August 2022

  1. Tracking and reporting payments are cumbersome. P2P’s endless-scroll “feed” interface means sifting through each payment to attempt to categorize them. It’s easy to miss, or mistype, payments this way. And you may not even be able to identify all the payments. Think: a check’s blank memo line. You can ask people to include payment details on these apps, but inevitably, some forget. As a nonprofit, it’s critical to account for every dollar received to help prevent concerns over unrelated business income.

PTAs should not use Person to Person apps for PTA business – period.

Why Cheddar Up Is an Ideal Alternative to P2P Platforms for PTAs

One key distinction: We created Cheddar Up specifically with parent groups in mind. From the start, we’ve developed our platform with your needs (and minimal time) in mind. We also do not impose any limits on how much you can collect or withdraw. Below are just a few features that stand out.

  1. Cheddar Up sends customizable receipts after every transaction. We automatically email a confirmation after every payment received on our platform — but you can customize the message. Include the IRS-required tax receipt information in the text box, and you’ve saved your team a follow-up step.
  2. We offer fundraising-specific features. You can choose to post a fundraising goal progress bar, which adjusts to reflect how much you’ve received on your collection (which is what we call the free web page you create to accept donations), so that donors can see how much more you need. (It may encourage them!) For more details, click here. 
  3. Payers don’t need to create a Cheddar Up account and have multiple payment options. We think this is one of our true points of distinction! People can choose to pay without creating an account, which means donating is truly as simple as click and pay. Cheddar Up also allows payers to pay via debit, credit, echeck, or cash and check payments. More options typically provide parents more convenience and freedom to give. Bonus: You can also set up recurring payments to encourage regular donations. 
  4. The fees are flexible too. We give your PTA the option to absorb fees or pass the fees to the payer — plus, on a case-by-case basis. Because you operate on funding, we recognize that sometimes you may want to take on smaller fees to encourage more giving, but other times, like in the event of high-dollar campaigns, you can’t afford to. More about our fee structure here.
  5. Oversight is a breeze. Not only does Cheddar Up automatically sort and track every payment received, you can also access and download a summary of your entire Cheddar Up history in a few simple clicks. On our Team Plan, you can also add/remove managers and assign them permissions they need, each under their own personal login. (No password sharing!)

We’re truly just scratching the surface. For a deeper dive into how Cheddar Up serves PTAs — rave reviews included — click here.

California State PTA is a nonprofit and non-commercial volunteer organization and does not endorse any product, publication, or business associated with sponsorship partners.

College Essay Writing

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

Family Engagement Friday for September 2022by California State PTA Vice President for Family Engagement, Heather Ippolito

As many families with high school students know, fall is not just the beginning of the school year. For a high school senior planning to continue their education at a four-year college or university, it’s also time to prepare applications for college admission. That often includes writing an application essay.

The University of Chicago recently held a webinar entitled The Search for the Perfect Application Essay.  The night was full of important items for a student to keep in mind when completing their personal statement or writing application essays for colleges or scholarships. Here are a few takeaways that high school PTAs can share with their student members and families:

Colleges want to hear about you.  They read essays from thousands, even hundreds of thousands of applicants. They are looking for how you are unique and a good fit for their educational institution.  

Admissions offices want to hear about who you are today, not the five year old you once were.  If you do need to give background from your past, make sure that it leads to who you are now.  While many applicants write about their families, their grandmother who inspired them to work hard or their father who sacrificed everything for his family, remember that you are the one applying for admission.  Try to focus on yourself humbly and graciously, and not on your extended family or friends. 

Take your time. Writing an essay like this will take a good amount of time.  You should take some time to pre-plan what you are going to say, write a rough draft (or two or three), and have trusted advisors assist you in editing.  

Some college bound students who write daily for their academic classes think that their college application will be an easy task to complete.  They sit down at the computer close to the deadline and think they can bang out a killer essay.  Sadly, this often isn’t the case. The readers can tell which essays had lots of time invested into them and which were more like afterthoughts.  

Ask your counselor, English teacher, or another advisor for edits.  While they shouldn’t be writing your essay for you, they can give you honest feedback about the content and tone of your essay.  Remember that the essay should sound like it came from you, not a thesaurus.  

Details matter.  Another tip mentioned was oftentimes, students will use their essays for more than one school. If you do this and you mention the university as part of the essay, be sure you have edited it for the correct school.  A scholarship reader for UCLA shared that they often got applications stating how excited they were to attend Brown University or UC Davis.  Those applications quickly went into the reject pile because the students couldn’t be bothered to update the essay for the correct school. 

For more information about college and career readiness visit the California State PTA website or search “college and career” on our blog.

 

Attendance & Why It Matters

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by California State PTA Family Engagement Commissioner, Shannon Jaeger

Family Engagement Friday for September 2022

As we start off another school year, we know that local PTA leaders are excited to see students returning and eager to welcome parents and students alike to the school campus and all that it entails. After some difficult times, we start this school year with renewed optimism, hopeful we will all have a healthy and successful year.

One critical ingredient for realizing that hope is good student attendance.  Attendance Works, a national nonprofit organization, cites extensive research documenting the connection between student attendance and success.

We all know that sometimes circumstances are beyond a family’s control, but your PTA can encourage families to do all they can to make regular school attendance a top priority every day.

Keeping Count of Attendance is Important

The Attendance Ladder shown here is an image you can share to help families keep on track, guiding them toward a goal of perfect or near perfect attendance. It combines descriptions of attendance rates and their impact from Attendance Works and international sources.

Attendance It Matters

Attendance matters across all grade levels from K to 12. Students’ attendance rates, the percent of school days that they are in class, make a true difference:

  • 100% – Children are highly likely to achieve and do very well in school
  • 98%-96% – Children are also going to achieve and do well. However, they are still missing 4 – 7 days per school year.
  • 95%- Kids might struggle a little as they are missing 9 days out of the year. In a handout for elementary age parents, Attendance Works characterizes missing 9 or fewer days of school as satisfactory attendance.
  • 94%- Children are going towards more risk as they have now missed 10 or more days at school per year.  They still can improve, but they may be struggling more academically. Attendance Works considers missing 10 to 17 days as a warning that attendance needs attention.
  • 90% and Below- Kids are in the ‘Danger Zone’. They have missed at least 18 days (and sometimes as much as two months) of school. They are not only going to struggle academically, they are at heightened risk of dropping out and incarceration. Attendance Works counts this as Chronic Absence.

Addressing Absenteeism Differs by Child and Community

Last year, a lot of missed school was pandemic-related. Today, we all are anxious to get our lives back to normal. In the rush, we may need to address some kids’ anxiety about being back in the classroom.

  • For some students, depression or other mental health issues may be affecting attendance. Missing too much school can be a red flag signaling these kinds of serious issues. Does your school have a plan in place for helping students out and creating a safe space for them?
  • Family circumstances, such as homelessness, can also be a contributing factor in being absent. Making sure families know about local resources, and have numbers to call, is helpful but often not sufficient. Sometimes, you may need that mobile clinic on the school site or to even get a food-bank truck to come to school to distribute food.
  • Making services available to families on campus often happens at community schools and often in unexpected ways. For example, in Newark, New Jersey, a high school principal saw a rise in attendance after he installed a washer and a dryer in the school, so students could wash their clothes and have clean clothes to attend school. Because some did this after school, he went a step further and provided homework and tutoring during the week. Friday night was game night and basketball happened as the washing machines worked.

So often, improving student attendance is about seeing a need and addressing the issues head on. Make the resources available. According to a former child welfare attendance clerk at an elementary school in Hayward, they had the goal of bringing attendance up by one to two percent each year. She created a clothes closet; she did perfect attendance awards and a movie night. She also advocated for a washer and dryer in the school as well to help make sure everyone, including homeless and foster youth, had access to clean clothes, shoes, and toiletries to boost her attendance goals. She is now working in Family Engagement for the district to help do more outreach districtwide. These are the kinds of steps PTAs can support and encourage school leaders to take.

Here’s to seeing everyone in school and having a great school year!

Knowing your family’s rights: Students have rights, too

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by California State PTA Family Engagement Commission Consultant, Kathleen Fay

As events and programs for the new school year get underway, your PTA will be more successful and your plans will go more smoothly if your leaders have a solid understanding of some basic laws that govern schools in California. It’s particularly helpful to be familiar with fairly recent laws related to student rights.

Sharing this information with parents generally also makes sense. Parents who understand students’ rights can be more effective advocates for their children.  

A safe, secure environment conducive to learning

 Students have a right not to be subjected to harassment, sexual harassment, bullying or discrimination, indignity, injury, or violence.  California students are protected from discrimination or harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identification, according to state law.  California law further states that everyone in public schools should have “equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state.” (California Education Code Section 200.)

 Since 2014, California law has also specified that “a pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.” (California Education Code Section 221.5(f) )

No student fees to participate in educational activities

The California Constitution provides for a free school system. Based on California Education Code that means a pupil enrolled in a public school shall not be required to pay a pupil fee for participation in an educational activity.  What does this rule include?

…even for extracurriculars – 

Schools cannot require students (or their parents) to pay a fee to participate in an educational activity that is a fundamental part of their education, including both curricular and extracurricular activities, and regardless of whether the class or activity is elective or compulsory, or is for credit.  

…even for materials/equipment – 

Pupils cannot be required to pay a security deposit, or other payment, to obtain a lock, locker, book, class apparatus, musical instrument, uniform, or other materials or equipment; nor may a pupil be required to make a purchase to obtain materials, supplies, equipment, or uniforms associated with an educational activity.  A fee waiver policy shall not make a pupil fee permissible. 

…even for supplies – 

All school supplies, materials, and equipment needed to participate in educational activities shall be provided to pupils free of charge.  This includes materials for art classes, cloth for sewing classes, wood for carpentry, gym suits for physical education, and any bluebooks or special paper used for exams or reports.  A fee cannot be charged for a cap and gown to participate in the high school graduation ceremony.

In short, parents cannot be required to pay a fee or perform service hours as a condition of their child’s participation in educational activities.

Some charges are allowed

The law does allow schools to charge fees for some activities, which are specifically defined: 

  • Reimbursement for direct costs of materials provided to a pupil for property the pupil has fabricated from such materials to take home for his/her own possession and use, such as wood shop, art, or sewing projects kept by the pupil (although materials necessary for class participation must be provided)
  • Charges for safety glasses, for a pupil to keep (except those used in specified courses or activities involving the use of hazardous substances likely to cause injury to the eyes)
  • Certain technology equipment not used as an essential part of the educational program
  • Food that is not part of the free and reduced-price meal program
  • Replacement costs for school district property that is lost or willfully damaged
  • Field trips, so long as no pupil is prevented from making the field trip or excursion because of lack of sufficient funds
  • After-school education and safety program fees, so long as fees are waived for homeless youth, foster youth, or pupils eligible for free or reduced-price meals
  • Fees for outdoor science school camp programs, so long as no pupil is denied the opportunity to participate because of non-payment of the fee
  • Athletic team insurance, so long as there is a waiver for financial hardship
  • Test fees for certain specialized examinations
  • Adult education class fees, as specified

A number of federal laws also protect students’ rights

  • Section 504 requires that school districts provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to qualified students in their jurisdictions who have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
  • Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in the assignment of students to schools or classes.  It also prohibits discrimination in ability grouping or tracking students.
  • Title IX protects against discrimination based on sex (including sexual harassment). In addition, Title IX protects transgender students and students who do not conform to gender stereotypes. State law also prohibits discrimination based on gender (sex), gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

The Federal civil rights laws that the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) enforces, including Title VI, Title IX, Section 504, and Title II, make it unlawful to interfere with any right or privilege secured by these laws. This means that a school or school district must not retaliate against someone who has brought civil rights concerns to a school’s attention, including by making a formal or informal complaint, testifying, or participating in an OCR investigation.

Knowing students’ rights, and making sure families know them as well, is an important way PTA can help to ensure that every child obtains a free and fair public education in California. It’s part of the PTA mission and supports the well-being of all children and families.

California State PTA Supports Prop 28: Art & Music in Public Schools

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by California State PTA Legislation Team

For almost thirty five years, California State PTA has strongly and actively advocated for a full curriculum that includes the arts. Arts education supports all kids. In the past, many schools have cut arts education even though studies show that the arts keep students in school, increase the graduation rate, increase academic performance, and add to students’ ability to create, collaborate, think critically, and communicate.

Based on our long standing advocacy in this area,  a study of the measure, and the strength of relevant organizational authorities, our Board of Managers voted to support Proposition 28.  California State PTA is formally supporting and actively advocating for Proposition 28 – the Art and Music in Public Schools Measure. The measure is on the ballot of California’s statewide election on November 8.

How Proposition 28 Supports Arts Education

The passage of Proposition 28 is expected to generate more than $900 million a year in dedicated new funding for arts and music education for all public schools across California – without raising taxes. The measure provides extra funding for schools serving students in low-income communities, who are predominantly students of color, thus addressing current inequities in students’ access to arts and music education. This funding would be in addition to the state’s Proposition 98 minimum funding guarantee. 

The majority of the funding is to be used to hire new teachers and staff (80 percent). That represents about a 50 percent increase in arts and music educators in classrooms in California. Besides traditional Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) programs, funds will be used to pay for instruction in computer graphics, animation, coding, and costume design. The measure helps address cuts to arts education which have occurred in many California school districts. 

The initiative also includes strong accountability and transparency measures. It requires school districts to submit annual, public reports to verify the funds are spent as intended, to directly benefit students.

Local PTAs Can Use Their Organizational Voice to Lend Support

When there is an officially adopted California State PTA position on a ballot measure, such as Proposition 28, local PTAs can use that as their authority for their own local advocacy. Many PTAs in California already actively advocate for arts education, for equity, and for strong education funding. This measure has all three!

Local PTAs can use your regular local meetings, social media channels, newsletters and other communications platforms to encourage your community to Vote Yes on Proposition 28. California State PTA will also be putting together social media messages for your convenience. 

Remind families (and students!) to register to vote. And don’t forget to encourage everyone to vote in the November 8 election.

Individual action and advocacy is also important. The official Yes on Prop 28 campaign website encourages individuals to join the campaign and has a sign-up for volunteers.

A Wealth of Education and Arts Organizations Support Proposition 28.

California State PTA is not alone in supporting Proposition 28. A growing list of organizations in the Arts, Education, and many other fields have signed on to the coalition. You’ll find the full coalition list on the campaign website.

California State PTA Supports Prop 31: Prohibit Sale of Flavored Tobacco Products

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by California State PTA Legislative Action Committee

With flavors like “cotton candy,” “mango slushy,” and “chocolate,” vaping tobacco products have become increasingly popular among youth as young as 4th grade. A 2020 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that approximately one in five high school students and one in 20 middle school students used e-cigarettes. The report directly ties the sale of flavored tobacco products, including candy-flavored vaping liquids, to a sharp increase in tobacco usage among our young people. The tobacco industry is targeting children.

That’s why California State PTA and the majority of California legislators supported Senate Bill (SB) 793, which was signed into law in 2020. The law would have prohibited the sale of flavored tobacco products.  

Opponents of SB 793 Put Proposition 31 on the November Ballot

Proposition 31 is a referendum that asks if voters agree with that law. As explained by the Secretary of State, the California Constitution provides for this type of referendum, enabling voters to approve or reject laws such as SB 793.

Since the passage of SB 793 in 2020, corporations that manufacture tobacco products like Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds have spent millions to delay the law, with the goal of stopping it permanently. 

Proposition 31 asks voters whether they want to approve or reject the law regarding flavored tobacco products that was already passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor. A YES vote means that you approve SB 793 and want to keep it. 

In other words, if approved/supported by the voters (YES votes) this proposition would allow SB 793 to go into effect and make it illegal to sell flavored tobacco products in the state of California. A law that would protect the children and families of California.

If this proposition is rejected by voters (NO votes), SB 793 would not be able to move forward and the tobacco industry would be able to continue to target young people and sell candy flavored tobacco products.

We need every parent, educator, and child advocate to affirm the 2020 law by supporting Proposition 31, in the process defeating the opponents of SB 793 who put Proposition 31 on the ballot. 

Local PTAs Can Use Their Organizational Voice to Lend Support and Protect Our Kids

California State PTA urges all parents, teachers, members, advocates, and citizens to support Prop 31. Because the California State PTA has already adopted a YES position on Proposition 31, local PTAs can use that as their authority for their own local advocacy. 

Local units and councils can use this opportunity to share the harmful effects of tobacco on growing children as well as long term harmful effects on the society. Some resources can be found here  https://www.voteyeson31.com/get-the-facts .

You can use your regular local meetings, social media channels, and other communications strategies to encourage your community to support Proposition 31. California State PTA will also be putting together social media messages for your convenience. And don’t forget to encourage everyone to vote in the November 8 election.

Individual action and advocacy is also important. In particular, the Vote Yes on 31 campaign is asking for proponents to share their reasons for supporting Proposition 31 and provides this link for doing so. 

A Wealth of Health, Environmental, and Equity Organizations Support Proposition 31

California State PTA is not alone in supporting Proposition 31. The American Cancer Society, American Lung Association in California, and the American Heart Association are among a growing list of supporters of Prop 31.  The full list of local, statewide, and national organizations is available on the Yes on 31 website.

Committees Help Your PTA Get Things Done

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by California State PTA Leadership Services Commission

Are you wondering how your executive board can possibly plan, promote, and implement all the activities you hope to have? Are you looking for ways to engage new PTA members or those with limited time to volunteer? 

Effective PTA leaders know the answer to both of these questions is to form committees!

Committees expand the opportunities for meaningful contribution and build a leadership pipeline by including more volunteers in small but important roles that can engage and excite them to continue with PTA. Well structured committees can also dramatically increase your PTA’s capacity to get things done. When committees work on the details and are ready to recommend actions to the executive board and association, it can also help reduce the length of association and executive board meetings. 

Considerations when forming a committee:

  • You’ll find a useful list of potential committees in the California State PTA Toolkit.
  • Bylaws describe committee appointments and membership. 
    • The president appoints committee chairs which are ratified by the executive board. 
    • Committee chairs are voting members of the executive board unless otherwise designated. 
    • Committees may be recruited and appointed throughout the year. 
    • Chairs may serve for no more than two terms.
    • Committee chairs and members are members of the PTA. 
    • The quorum for a committee is a simple majority of the members serving on that committee. 
  • Standing committees are listed in your bylaws’ standing rules.
    • A standing committee performs a continuing function and is permanent. 
    • Its duties are performed throughout the year, e.g., membership committee. 
    • Standing committees may be chaired by an officer. 
  • A special committee has a definite purpose and is subject to the directives of the membership. It exists until the duty assigned to it is accomplished, unless discharged sooner, and it ceases to exist as soon as the association receives its final report. Examples include Founders Day or Staff Appreciation Week Committees. 
  • You’ll find job descriptions for many typical committee chairs here.

PTA committees should follow some general rules

The responsibilities and goals of the committee need to be clearly defined in order for the committee to be successful. The committee members should know if funds have been allocated for the committee’s use and what records or resources are available to them. The committee should also have a timeline for scheduled meetings, the completion of specific tasks, and the presentation of the final report to the president and executive board.

Committee members should understand that:

  • Committees do not function as independent groups but are part of the association and operate within the framework of PTA bylaws, policies, and procedures;
  • Committees make recommendations, not decisions. The executive board approves committee plans and expenditures;
  • The executive board and the association need to approve all projects and activities in advance, before action is taken; and
  • All money raised or derived from committee activities is deposited in the PTA treasury and shall not be expended by any chair or committee without the approval of the executive board and association.

PTAs Throughout State Receive Grants to Support Their Programs

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by California State PTA Scholarships and Grants Committee

A dozen local PTAs have received the extra resources they need to turn great program ideas into reality in 2022. Thanks to our California State PTA Scholarships and Grants program, these local units will be creating new programs that uniquely serve their communities. The 2021 grant amounts ranged from $800 to $2,000 dollars, based on the application each school submitted last year. 

Your PTA can apply now! We hope the descriptions below give your PTA some great ideas for your own work and that they encourage you to apply for a Program Grant yourselves. You’ll find all the information you need for doing so on leaders.capta.org and on our website. The application deadline is October 15th. 

Outreach & Translation

RL Stevenson Elementary 

Burbank – 1st District PTA – Received $1,000 Grant 

The PTA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee plans to translate all email correspondence for non-English speaking families at Stevenson. Currently, translation is needed in Spanish, Armenian, Russian and Vietnamese. Additional languages will be added as needed.

Our goals are to embrace and welcome non-English speaking families and to give them greater access to school programs and events that they may not be aware of due to a language barrier.

Del Paso Manor Elementary 

Sacramento – 3rd District PTA – Received $1,953 Grant 

Our goals with this grant are threefold – to improve student safety during drop-off and pick-up, to create a better sense of community for all, and to educate families and our community on the benefits of having a PTA. 

We wanted something lasting that could be re-used for years. We created signs and notices containing basic phrases and statements in the four primary languages spoken at our school – English, Pashto, Dari/Farsi1 and Spanish.

Our PTA is ever present at school events but unfortunately, it is not readily apparent to a non-English speaker that the PTA is the event host.  We created a “hosted by” sign, in the schools’ four primary languages, to be displayed at every PTA event.  This sign serves as a simple way to educate the community on the benefit PTA provides their family.  

Parent Education 

Dunsmore Elementary 

La Crescenta – 1st District PTA – Received $800 Grant   

At Dunsmore Elementary School, the newly-formed Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) states that its mission is to “engage and educate our school community to recognize racism and discrimination in all forms (including, but not limited to gender, sexuality, culture, class, religion, and ability) and possess the tools and confidence to confront it productively.”

With this mission in mind, the ARC started a Speaker Series over Zoom to help educate our school community on the complex issues of our time including topics of gender diversity, neurodiversity, and racism, and how best to support our children. Understanding that these issues require a multi-pronged approach and that it takes time and persistence to internalize the concepts, this Speaker Series is just one of the many activities and strategies we have planned at Dunsmore Elementary School.  

Healthy Lifestyles

Deerfield Elementary 

Irvine – 4th District PTA – Received $800 Grant

The project that the Deerfield Elementary PTA plans to implement promotes healthy lifestyle choices for Deerfield students and their families. Our program is called “Falcons Move n’ Groove”. We plan to serve all 620 Deerfield students and their families by providing seven months of opportunity for movement and togetherness. The purpose and the goals of this program include encouraging physical and mental fitness for Deerfield students and families, encouraging community engagement, togetherness, and socialization amongst the Deerfield community, and supporting mental health through exercise and socialization. As a PTA we hope that by providing these opportunities to our students and families we will build school spirit, support positivity through fitness, and build a stronger community school-wide by bringing families together.

El Carmelo Elementary 

Palo Alto – 6th District PTA – Received $2,000 Grant 

The aim of ‘Operation Healthy Shift’ is to improve the overall health and safety of students at El Carmelo Elementary by creating and supporting school commuting programs that facilitate a healthy non-sedentary lifestyle. 

We have taken a multi-tiered approach to solving the problem of how to get students moving. Dubbed ‘Operation Healthy Shift’ we look to move the needle within our diverse community – encouraging a safe commute to school through three components:

SAFETY AND INCLUSION:  We will update materials and route maps into Spanish and Mandarin, encouraging all of our families to get moving and safely commute, integrating more kid friendly graphics, and adding a digital component in the form of a QR code that would point to preferred routes that greatly increase safety.

HEALTHY COMPETITION: Classes would collect stickers for the number of commuters in the class for each day they walk/roll or share transport to school. The class earning the most will be rewarded at the end of term.

THOUGHTFUL REMINDERS:  Bike lights that could clip onto backpacks are essential in allowing us to roll out the program safety.  Able to be branded with ‘El Carmelo,’ the aim is to increase school pride and visibility.

Abraham Lincoln High School 

San Jose – 6th District PTA – Received $900 Grant

The proposed healthy lifestyle project is a series of community yoga classes to introduce students to the relaxation and strengthening aspects of yoga, and create community among students, staff and families from Lincoln High School. 

 The program will provide yoga classes for students, staff and family members, with recorded classes continuing to impact Lincoln community members into the future.

Marguerite Montgomery Elementary 

Davis – 3rd District PTA – Received $800 Grant 

We will purchase a “9 square in the air” set for the students to play during recess and physical education. The playground aides and teachers have noticed, that likely as a result of COVID-related school closure, many of the younger students are reluctant to join in and play traditional playground games, such as wall ball, tether ball, and basketball. It seems to be challenging for the kids to initiate a game that requires a specific number of participants. As a result, more students are sitting around during recess, rather than getting much needed exercise. 9 square is an ideal game, as it allows many participants to cycle through the game, with no student being responsible for organizing a game. We anticipate that most, if not all of our 410 enrolled students will be able to enjoy this equipment. 

Phoebe Apperson Hearst Elementary 

Pleasanton – 99th / Peralta District PTA – Received $1,500 Grant 

Hearst Elementary school has an onsite garden with a 13-year history of building, through collaboration, a program whose primary purpose evolved from environmental education to include nutritional literacy. Hearst Elementary’s garden nutritional education program will enable our approximately 600 students, staff and families to experience the steps involved in growing enough food to share and through the process, gain greater understanding of: food systems, connection of food to culture and community, agriculture principles, and the influence of food on health and social justice. The program will also provide opportunities for character building in accordance with the Monarch Way.

Cultural Arts

Cadman Elementary 

San Diego – 9th District PTA – Received $1,500 Grant

As a STAR Arts school Cadman Elementary is committed to providing a diverse arts experience to our entire student body. Cadman Elementary’s P.E./Dance Coach, Coach Waldron, has created an exceptional Cultural Dance program for all of our 163 scholars to learn and perform this school year.

Project #1 – Samba Dance

Country Studied: Brazil

Equipment Needed: Maracas, Tambourines

Project #2 – Tinikling Dance

Country Studied: The Philippines

Equipment Needed: Tinikling Sticks

The purpose of these two dance projects is twofold. First, to expose scholars to new forms of dance and second to enhance appreciation of cultural arts. The overall goal of these projects is to use Samba and Tinikling dances to further broaden the minds of the Cadman student body, while simultaneously creating a welcome and safe environment for all students to learn.

Florence Bixby Elementary 

Long Beach – 33rd District PTA – Received $1,500 Grant 

The purpose of this project is to expand our students’ cultural awareness, creativity, and knowledge of the Khmer Community. Long Beach, CA is home to the largest Cambodian community in the nation. Bixby PTA would like to invite a local nonprofit onto our campus to share the rich culture and traditions in the Cambodian community. Khmer Arts Academy, located in Long Beach, CA will teach a Cambodian Dance Workshop – This is a dance workshop that teaches our elementary students classical Cambodian dance or ballet. This project will reach most of our 460+ elementary school students ranging from TK-5th grade. We hope that by the end of this project the voices and rich culture of the Cambodian community can be elevated and showcased. By doing this, our current Khmer students and their peers have an opportunity to relate, learn and expand their creativity.

Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts (California Creative Learning Academy) 

Los Angeles – 10th District PTA – Received $2,000 Grant

California Indigenous Culture Bearer Residency Program: At California Creative Learning Academy (CalCreative) we strive to interconnect our students with our local ancestry, promoting learning of our indigenous ancestors and respect to our land. This program is designed to instrumentalize the school’s commitments expressed in our school’s land acknowledgement statement, created with Gabrieleno culture bearer Lazaro Arvizu in 2020, and to weave those commitments into our TK-8 (700 students) curriculum and teacher training. 

The program would become a resource for our educators to build their knowledge base with regards to Indigenous peoples’ history, wisdom, knowledge, cultural practice, and contemporary contributions. We will Transform our school garden into a CA native plant garden. Our native plant garden will connect to our work in STEAM, community building and social-emotional learning. The native garden will create stewardship and connections to our science, music, and visual arts programs. We’ll invest in the professional development with teachers and staff and create art assemblies for all grade levels.

Marguerite Montgomery Elementary

Davis – 3rd District PTA – Received $2,000 Grant  

Ballet Folklorico is an enrichment program that reflects our school’s cultural background in a way that conventional programs haven’t.

Marguerite Montgomery Elementary is a Two-Way Bilingual Immersion school which places great value on its heritage as a multicultural school. 37.7% of the student body are English Language Learners, the vast majority (97.6%) of whom come from Spanish-speaking households. Our community’s diversity is one of our greatest assets, and we are always looking for activities that reflect our school’s multicultural identity.

We expect our 120 second and third graders to be served by this program.

We want this program to become a tradition for our students, and to possibly grow to include additional grades in the future.

We hope that by offering this form of cultural art, we can encourage a deeper understanding of our own cultural heritage, as well as an opportunity to share the heritages of others.

Learn, Share Grow: Ideas for Family/Caregiver Elementary School Events

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by California State PTA Family Engagement Commission

Elementary school is many families’ first interaction with the school system. When your PTA finds ways to engage families early in the year it can have lasting impacts on your campus, your PTA, and those families. Engaged parents not only help their own children to succeed, but they often volunteer with the PTA to help all children have an amazing school experience.  

More than 100 participants from across the state shared their best family engagement tips, tricks, and ideas at the 2022 California State PTA Convention, during a workshop called “Learn, Share, Grow.”  

Below are their best suggestions for elementary school engagement (be sure to read our previous post for more ideas on general Family Engagement Events to bring to your school community):

(Reminder: approve all events with your membership and check with your school and the PTA insurance guide before you start planning.)

  • Family Fridays– Family members come to class for the first 15 minutes of the day to read with children or play games on the yard before school.  If appropriate, invite families to a regular event such as the morning assembly at the flagpole once a week so that families can see some of the morning routines their students do. If weekly is too much, try it once a month. Wrap up the event with coffee and a PTA meet and greet (or your association meeting) to begin building relationships with these families.   
  • Have a monthly photo stop– Every month on a specified day set up a photo spot for families to take pictures in. This is a great PR thing for your PTA, because you can brand it and remind families to share with you on your social media accounts (note that if your PTA wishes to post directly, they need to have a photo release).  Families can help fill your yearbook pages with these photos– and who doesn’t love getting photos of their child? 
  • Bike rodeo– This is a great event to help students and families understand bike safety. Ask your local police or fire department to help you host the event to collaborate with your community. Students can bring their bikes and helmets to school to share, but you could also have tire filling stations or safety checks.  You could even extend the event with a BMX bike assembly!
  • Author visits– Many bookstores or libraries have author visits or find a local author who is willing to share their book with the families at a family literacy event. If their book is meant for older audiences, they could read their favorite book from when they were in elementary school. If you do this multiple times in a year, have the students make autograph books that they can fill with the authors’ signatures. 
  • Drive-in movies– In last month’s blog post we already talked a little about movie nights but this spin on it is fun, especially if your school district is nervous about having lots of people on campus. Families drive onto campus and stay in their cars for a movie night. You will need to have a large screen and good sound system, but most families enjoy this old-timey experience. Offer families the chance to pre-purchase snack packs that are then bundled and delivered to the cars by volunteers.  
  • STEAM night– STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. California State PTA has a STEAM night program already available for you to adapt as you need it. Families greatly enjoy coming together for a night of exploration together. There are also different assembly companies, local colleges, or museums who would be happy to work with you on your very own STEAM night.  
  • Multicultural night– Having families share their culture with others is a fantastic way to grow community within our schools. Sharing food, music, dance, photographs, stories, and sports with children helps them to see the world without ever leaving your campus. Your PTA could create a passport that students can get stamped or signed at each booth to encourage them to visit as many booths as they are able. It’s also a fun item for the scrapbook!  

We want to share your great family engagement ideas with other PTAs across California. Please take a moment to fill out this simple form and share your family events with us.