Author: Ray Kinyon

Tips to Celebrate Student Success: Graduations, Promotions and Proms

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

By California State PTA Leadership Services Commission

Each year, PTAs are asked to sponsor various graduation and celebration events in May and June. These events may be for high school seniors or for eighth and fifth/sixth grader advancement to the next school level. They can be elaborate or simple, ranging from all-night celebrations such as Grad Nights, to a family reception on the school lawn or an ice cream social on the playground. During the pandemic, drive-throughs in the school parking lot and parades through school communities were popular.

California State PTA has developed a webpage, PTA Funded Celebrations, where you’ll find a wealth of tools for safe and successful event planning. Whatever the event, PTAs need to follow our organization’s guidelines, school policies, and local agency requirements to ensure the safety of students, chaperones, and volunteers, and to safeguard the assets and reputation of the sponsors. Our goal is to help you take the right steps to fulfill those responsibilities and stage a successful event, including:

  • Advance planning and coordination;
  • Proper accounting for donations (including gift cards);
  • Involvement of the executive board; and
  • Assuring the event is safe and accessible to all students.

The job of the California State PTA Leadership Commission is to help your local PTA succeed and improve the lives of all children and families. As you plan for year-end events, please contact your council or district PTA with any questions. If you’ve tried your local support options, additional help can also be found by emailing leadership@capta.org with questions or issues you need help with. We’re here to help make your end-of-the-school-year celebration a great event for everyone!

Family Engagement is an Education Priority for California

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

By Kathleen Fay, California State PTA Family Engagement Commission Consultant

Springtime brings warmer weather, a week off, and preparations for the future. As school districts tackle budget planning to get ready for the next school year, families are a critical part of that decision-making process.  

Thanks to legislation sponsored by California State PTA and included in California law in 2018,  districts are also required to report on their meaningful Family Engagement efforts as part of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). This article briefly explains what the LCFF is and how it obliges school districts to reach out to parents and families for their input in decision-making and to strengthen participation in the education process.

LCFF Overview

The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is hallmark legislation that fundamentally changed how all local educational agencies (LEAs – usually school districts) in the state are funded, how they are held accountable for the services and supports they provide to enable all students to succeed to their greatest potential, and the assistance they receive from the state of California to do so. At the state level, these are the key components and their function:

  • Inform:  The California Accountability Model and School Dashboard provides the community, including families, with information about how LEAs and schools are meeting the needs of California’s diverse student population based on a concise set of measures.
  • Assist:  LCFF Support and Assistance is offered to local educational agencies at the level that they need – either general resources and assistance, differentiated assistance, or intensive intervention.
  • Plan:  The Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) is a tool for LEAs to use to set goals, plan actions, and leverage resources to meet those goals to improve student outcomes. LEAs must explicitly address the needs of consistently low-performing student groups as well as low-performing schools within the LEA.
  • Fund:  Schools are funded through a combination of local property taxes and state funding. The  LCFF is the primary source of an LEA’s general-purpose funding. Funds are also allocated for   Special Education and several other programs. The “Principal Apportionment” is a series of calculations that adjust the flow of state funds throughout the fiscal year as further information becomes known. (Click here for more information.)

California’s Education Priorities 

The way that a school district plans to spend its funds to achieve its goals is documented in its Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). The governing board of each school district adopts their LCAP to be effective for three years, updated annually, to address these California education priorities:

  • Conditions of Learning – Basic Services, Implementation of State Standards, and Course Access
  • Pupil Outcomes – Student Achievement and Student Outcomes
  • Engagement – Parent Involvement, Student Engagement, and School Climate

Note:  County Offices of Education also address the needs of Expelled Pupils and Foster Youth.

(For further details, click here.)

Parent Involvement:  A State Priority 

Every school district’s local control and accountability plan (LCAP) must address Parent Involvement as a state priority. In California Law, Education Code (52060) states:

(3) (A) Parental involvement and family engagement, including efforts the school district makes to seek parent input in making decisions for the school district and each individual school site, and including how the school district will promote parental participation in programs for unduplicated pupils* and individuals with exceptional needs.

* “Unduplicated pupils” are counted only once (for purposes of additional funding) even if the pupil meets more than one of these criteria: English learner, foster youth, or qualifying for free- or reduced-price lunch.

(B) Family engagement may include, but need not be limited to, efforts by the school district and each individual school site to apply research-based practices, such as welcoming all families into the school community, engaging in effective two-way communication, supporting pupil success, and empowering families to advocate for equity and access. Family engagement may include, but need not be limited to, treating families as partners to inform, influence, and create practices and programs that support pupil success and collaboration with families and the broader community, expand pupil learning opportunities and community services, and promote civic participation.

Why is this a state priority?

Family and community engagement greatly increases the likelihood that students will learn and thrive.  Students are more prepared for school, more likely to achieve, and more likely to graduate when they are supported by schools, families, and communities working together in a coordinated manner. Schools will be more effective at engaging families and communities when they move toward systemic, integrated, and sustained engagement. Thus, school districts must undertake efforts to seek parent input in decision-making and promote family participation in the education process for all students.

(Click here for more information on the importance of Family Engagement to student success.)

During this important time of year, make sure that YOUR family’s input becomes part of your school district’s budget planning and LCAP development process!

California State PTA Supports AB 1703: California Indian Education Act

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

By Beth Meyerhoff, California State PTA Education Advocate

Assembly Bill 1703 (Ramos)

California State PTA supports Assembly Bill 1703 (Ramos). This bill would change California’s education code to encourage school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to establish a California Indian TaskForces with California Tribes local to their region or historically located in their region to discuss and update a high-quality curriculum around Indian education. 

The current curriculum on Native American history may be inaccurate or misleading. By partnering with local California Tribes, schools can ensure that the curriculum educates California students on their local tribes and culture. 

The bill would also require the California Department of Education to submit a report to the education committees of both houses of the legislature regarding narrowing the achievement gap and adoption of the curriculum.

Accurate and culturally relatable California Indian history will help make the school curriculum relevant for Indian students and help all students become informed about their local California Tribes.

Summary of the CAAASA Conference

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by Family Engagement Commission

The California State PTA is proud to partner with the California Association of African-American Superintendents and Administrators (CAAASA) to support its statewide professional development summit titled: An Equitable Approach to Aligning Education and Health for the Success of African American and Other Students of Color.

As a sponsor of this event we are pleased to share the valuable information and resources, below, that you can use to build equity, support students, and create family engagement in your PTA and school community:

  • The Equity Blueprint for Action, created by the San Diego County Office of Education over the past few years with the aid of students, parents, teachers, staff, and district administrators. 
    • The blueprint is tied into Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) priorities and could be a model for other districts to look at as they are thinking about their own equity work. Additionally, their website is full of great information that PTAs, as well as schools and school districts, can use in this important work of making everyone feel welcomed.
  • Best Practices for Facilitating College Success for African American Students, by Marlene Garcia the Executive Director of the California Student Aid Commission  
    • New legislation requires all high school seniors in our state to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This document helps students see a few things that are important in determining whether or not they can afford college: 
      •  Gives their family’s expected contribution (FEC) — which is the amount that colleges or universities will expect their families to pay toward college 
      •  Shows how much funding they will receive in the form of grants or loans that they will qualify for 
      • Your PTA can support students and families by sharing how to complete the form and/or having a clinic where they can use school or library computers to fill in the form
  • The Palmdale Promise is a document created by the Palmdale School District over the span of a decade, to help their K-8 district ensure that every African American student is successful. 
    • They looked at their testing data and noticed that their African American students were not scoring well in the areas of language arts or mathematics. This document is being used on school campuses to inform their LCAPs and is shared with parents and community members to help them focus on these students and the support they need. 
  • Three experts in the field of early childhood learning spoke about universal pre-K that will finally be fully implemented for all four year old children in the 2025-2026 school year and how that will have a huge impact on Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) children. They also shared with us the state’s Master Plan for Early Learning and Care which helps schools, communities and families understand just how critical early learning can be for the success of children. 
  • The conference closed with an extraordinary Plenary Session: Addressing Misinformation and Educational Concerns in Communities of Color Due to COVID19.  Panelists: California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, President of Voice of Our Fathers, Lillie Tyson Head, a legacy foundation founded by the descendants of the African American men who were victims in the Tuskegee Study, and Camila Chavez Executive Director of the Dolores Huerta Foundation along with her mom Dolores Huerta, Co-founder of the United Farm Workers Association. 
  • The speakers explained the importance of factual educational information around COVID19 especially in communities with significant historical abuse and medical experimentation. The discussion started by acknowledging that as recently as between 1997 and 2014, over 1,000 women were forcibly sterilized in California prisons, most of them Black. There is a reason for mistrust of medicine in communities of color.
    • Superintendent Thurmond shared how the state is partnering with local education agencies to help increase awareness about vaccinations and COVID 19 safety protocols.  
    • Chavez explained how her organization worked to help Latinx families gain access to Covid-19 vaccines and how they worked to ensure front line workers including farm workers were among the first to be eligible for the vaccines. And she pointed out that a recently 
    • Tyson Head explained some of the history of mistrust among African American families.  Especially toward the medical profession because they have been mistreated and abused throughout history. Voice of our Fathers was formed by descendants of the 623 African American uninformed men from Tuskegee/Macon County, Alabama who were victims of physical and social abuse in the United States Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee and Macon County, Alabama. Her father was one of the men that was used in this experiment for years without his knowledge or consent. Thanks to the advocacy of families such as hers, we now have to complete medical consent forms before any medical procedure.  
  • The panelists all agreed that addressing and acknowledging our history is important as we inform and educate the public about health policies. 

California State PTA is proud to partner with CAAASA. There are great, free, resources, tools, and virtual programming for anyone to enjoy on their website. 

Celebrating Arts in Education Month at Home

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by California State PTA Family Engagement Commission and Arts Committee

March is Arts in Education month.  Here are some resources and tips to help you celebrate:

Here are five reasons to make art a part of your family time: 

  1. Art is something that all ages can enjoy together! The entire family, from grandparents to babies, can participate together in song and dance (even if you are holding little ones as you move). Once a child reaches preschool-age they begin to enjoy forms of visual arts including coloring and painting, which are great activities for the entire family. 
  2. Art is calming.  When frustration or stress runs high, participating in a form of the arts can be calming. Taking a moment to listen to a song, write a poem, color a picture, or sculpt something out of clay gives your brain a distraction from its normal thoughts and can lower tension. 
  3. Art can help you express your thoughts. As children grow, they are constantly experiencing new feelings, emotions, events, and situations that can be confusing or overwhelming. When you see your child might be feeling overwhelmed, take a break to paint, play an instrument, write, draw or dance. This allows them to express these new feelings in a way that is developmentally appropriate. This can also be helpful for adults who are dealing with the challenges of loss, grief, or sadness. 
  4. Art builds confidence.  As children take an idea and turn it into a finished product they gain skills of problem-solving, resilience, and confidence. Art allows us to think out of the box — we can turn a toilet paper roll into a car or use crayons to make a  color we want to use— all skills that are so beneficial to our children in life. There are no rules in creating art.  
  5. Art makes us happy! Think back to the pandemic —when we were locked down and isolated —where did we turn?  TO THE ARTS!  We watched movies, found new hobbies like baking, photography, or painting. We played our instruments or sang along to our favorite music — experiencing art can evoke joy. Incorporating art into your family routine can increase your family’s happiness, too. 

Arts can include:

  • visual art including drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, architecture
  • performing arts including singing, dancing, drama, playing an instrument
  • culinary arts
  • digital/media arts including filmmaking, digital photography, graphic design
  • literary art including poetry, literature

Now that you know how much value the arts can bring to your family, here are some suggestions on how to make art a part of your family’s regular schedule:

  • Have art supplies readily available. Paper, crayons, paper towel tubes, etc. If you have supplies in an easily accessible spot for you, as the parent, creativity doesn’t have to be a chore.
  • Schedule time to do something artistic. Take twenty minutes each day to stop what you are doing and participate in an art activity. Take photos during your evening walk, listen to music and dance, draw a picture, or bake something fun — all of these count as artistic activities. To avoid distractions, turn off your phone (or place it in silent mode) so you can be in the moment with your family.  
  • Allow everyone’s creativity to flow. Use this time to free your mind and let go of the rules you adhere to the rest of the day. Try not to say no, or give too many directions/instructions. If an activity is messy —move it outdoors, put on old T-shirts as smocks, and leave your shoes inside.  Do your best to remove all barriers that might pull you away from your art time. 

For more ideas on making art a part of your family time, including some fun activities, visit the California State PTA Resource Library. 

 

 

Keeping Family School Partnerships Strong as COVID Challenges Continue

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by By Kathleen Fay, California State PTA Family Engagement Commission Consultant

When families are involved in their children’s education they have better outcomes and when families and schools are partners all children do better.  That’s the findings of more than 20 years of research on family engagement.  But the trick is how do you get families involved and keep them involved?  

Keeping families engaged with schools can be difficult even in the best of times, add in a worldwide pandemic and the challenge increases. COVID-19 upended the usual families engagement activities and school district  rules about who can be on school campuses and when. Yet the pandemic also underscored the importance of families and schools working together. 

In Orange County, a forum hosted by Fourth District PTA, included a panel of school district superintendents discussing how their districts are handling family engagement challenges as the pandemic continues. Here are some of their suggestions:

  • Utilize Surveys – Inviting direct input from parents is critical in helping to insightfully determine spending priorities and learn how to meet student and family needs.
  • Adjust – Remain flexible to “meet parents where they are” (such as adjusting schedules, offering virtual options, or providing outdoor meeting alternatives).
  • Reach out to those families we don’t normally see – This is an important time to offer outreach to segments of the school community who face challenges staying in touch with their schools (due to language barriers, technology gaps, or work/childcare time limitations, for example).
  • Offer communication from leaders – As the stress of COVID continues, it’s important for parents to hear from their school community leaders more often and in greater detail than usual, including information on available resources and how to access them.
  • Tech tools – use all available.  Many schools experienced an astonishing increase in participation when parent-teacher conferences went virtual, and PTAs saw big boosts in attendance when meetings and presentations were offered on Zoom or via webinar.  Leveraging technology allows you to reach families in new ways.  Parents appreciate being able to engage in school activities without having to take the day off work.  It’s likely that many schools will keep new technologies that have proven useful even after the pandemic ends.
  • Listen to parents.  It’s important to remember that parents are children’s primary educators:  Listen to them when they advocate for what students truly need.  The voice of the parent is central to all education efforts; parents must be engaged as authentic partners in education.
  • Encourage two-way communication.  Many families are used to having information flow to them from school leaders; promote feedback by encouraging the use of email, for example, to stimulate direct back-and-forth interactions between school leaders and parents.
  • Be patient, kind, and show love when dealing with families during this stressful time.

PTA leaders can encourage their schools, districts, and members to work together, using these ideas,  to ensure that parents and schools remain partners in education. Decades of  research shows when families and schools work together students succeed.

 

Take Your Family-to-School Week: Strengthening Family-School Ties

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by Family Engagement Commission

Take Your Family to School Week. This statewide event, created by the National PTA In 2006, gives families a chance to see what happens on their child’s school campus. Help families, teachers, and school staff connect by holding events both on campus and virtually.  

Here are some resources to help your school or PTA celebrate this occasion:

  • Four different programs are offered that you can implement as part of your week-long activities. Grab the Toolkit from National PTA. This tool kit does much of the planning for you and even have some items to help you promote the program, including invitations and social media posts in English and Spanish.
  • Visit our new Take Your Family to School Week webpage. This dedicated page has activities you can use from schools across California. If you would like to share another idea with us please use this form. We will be updating the page with more ideas from you throughout the year.
  • The California State PTA Resource Library has many ideas for Family Engagement programs you can host at school during this week or any time that works.  There are resources for Family Math or Language Arts Night and even a way to host a fully virtual STEAM Night!

 

Any way you choose to celebrate- be sure to use the hashtags #TakeYourFamilyToSchoolWeek ands #PTA4Kids so other PTAs in California can see your good work.

Promote Safer Internet Day & Start Planning Future Membership Drives

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by Membership Services Commission

MEMBERSHIP TIP:  HOW TO PROMOTE SAFER INTERNET USAGE

The pandemic has forced students and educators across all levels of education to rapidly adapt to online learning. Safer Internet Day is February 9th and PTAs can build awareness and support schools and families by sharing National PTA resources. Help members  BE INTERNET AWESOME!  Use the following tools to encourage your students and communities to be good digital citizens, to prevent cyberbullying, and to teach best practices for their safety as they grow up in this digital world.

Check out the Google + National PTA Workshops

YouTube Kids Digital Parenting Workshop

Learn how to set up and download the YouTube Kids app, activate the parent tools, and discover examples of unique programming available.

#ItsCoolToBeKind Workshop

National PTA and Google teamed up for National Bullying Prevention Month to share tools and resources for families to help teach kids to be safer, smart, and kind online with the Be Internet Awesome program.

Google Kids Space Workshop

As we spend more time at home, Google created this workshop to share tools for PTA parents that help manage kids’ screen time, from Family Link parental controls to finding quality content on the new Google Kids Space tablets. 

START PLANNING FUTURE MEMBERSHIP DRIVES

As we start thinking about elections and transition, remember you can still make a big impact this school year.  Because this has been such an unusual year, parents and families may have forgotten to join the PTA– February is the perfect time to send out a reminder note!

And it’s never too early to start looking ahead to next fall and your efforts to increase membership in the coming school year. Here are a couple of things you may want to consider: 

  • Evaluate what worked well for you this year and what might need some fine tuning:  Maybe there’s something that you and your team found really successful that can be used for next year or during the rest of this year. Was there something you tried that didn’t quite deliver the results you wanted? Now is a great time to evaluate.
  • Plan early: Whether you’re a returning leader of your local PTA, or a newly elected officer, it’s not too early to start thinking about the upcoming year. There will be multiple training opportunities available at the council, district, and state levels. Take advantage of these opportunities to get a jump start on next year’s membership campaign. 
  • Make a plan to reach out to everyone: Everyone belongs in PTA. Take a good hard look at the current makeup of your PTA board and members to see if there’s anyone from your school community that isn’t represented and develop a plan to reach out to those potential members.

GET EXCITED AND START PLANNING & BUDGETING FOR FOUNDERS’ DAY

If you have plans for Founders’ Day 2022– We would love to hear about them.  Please share your success on social media and tag us.  We want to celebrate with you.  If you haven’t started planning a PTA Founders’ Day event–feel free to hold your celebration later in the year.  Yes, PTA was founded on February 17, 1897, but we can celebrate all year. Take the time now to form a committee to start planning. You can even start planning for next year. 

Why PTA? We’re so glad you asked. Share this flier with your parents and community in six languages!

WE STAND FOR ALL CHILDREN! PTA is part of the fabric of the United States’ public-education system and a trusted partner to millions of parents, families, educators and community members, as it advocates for the education, welfare, health and safety of all children. PTA has been instrumental in establishing programs and services to improve children’s lives.

More from the California State PTA

FIND LOW-COST (OR FREE) INTERNET AND COMPUTERS THROUGH CETF

Get Connected ImageCalifornia State PTA has partnered with the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) to help those in need access the technology that can help their children succeed.

CETF is a non-profit organization that can connect you with a wide range of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and device providers that feature affordable computers and internet solutions, and now, they can even help connect you with internet providers offering free service (for a limited time).  Click here to read CETF’s flier in English or Spanish to get more information about how to qualify, and who to contact. Click here to visit CETF’s website to find providers in your area.

Membership Monday: Spread Warmth and Grow Your PTA

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by Membership Services Commission

MEMBERSHIP TIP: GROWING MEMBERSHIP CAN BE AS EASY AS A CUP OF HOT CHOCOLATE

Today is National Hot Chocolate Day! Spreading a little warmth and joy can help you build community and grow your PTA membership. Offering a cup of warm cocoa or coffee/tea can be a great conversation starter as you continue to meet new parents (parents with students in different grades and staff). Set up a membership table if you can and serve coffee or hot chocolate as a way to remind your parents and students of the support and work your PTA is doing on their behalf. Try a virtual coffee or cocoa chat if the in-person table is not possible at your school.

Throughout February, there are many celebrations that can give you ideas on how to connect to your community. Every time you have an event you can use it to encourage membership! 

For more ideas, be sure to read Ways to Increase PTA Membership on the California State PTA website.

February Can Be A Membership Cultural Celebration

Connecting to your community is essential to increase membership in PTA and will help your PTA  recruit members in a way that is inclusive of all of our families and students. February is a time to celebrate Lunar New Year, African American Heritage Month, and Black History Month. See what your school and community are doing and sponsor or plan events to support these causes. In the process, your PTA can also build educational awareness and learning around these cultural celebrations.

Boost Membership With Healthy Lifestyle Awareness

February is also National Children’s Dental Health Month, National Bake for Family Fun Month, and National Snack Food Month. Remind your membership that healthy and active lifestyles are a part of PTA values and give them ideas of what they can do as classes, a PTA, or a community whether in person or virtual. Encourage families to be diligent about dental health for their children and find ways to do easy baking ideas that bring the family together to do constructive and team building activities. Virtual cooking (baking) classes have been a big hit in some communities.

Celebrate all PTA has to offer by honoring PTA’s founding. See all the ways PTA has been advocating for children and families for 125 years and is still relevant today.  You are part of the PTA legacy. Share your story with us! Learn more ways you can celebrate PTA’s founding.

Building Relationships Starts With Trust

Posted on by Ray Kinyon

by California State PTA Family Engagement Commission

Relationships are at the core of high-quality family engagement. As a PTA leader, you must take the time to build trusting, authentic relationships with families on your campus before they buy into attending your events, participating in your PTA meetings, or serving on your PTA board. The PTA National Standard for Family-School Partnerships begin with “Welcoming All Families” and “Communicating Effectively” for a reason — it is where our work begins. 

Eyal Bergman, a Harvard doctoral candidate who worked with Dr. Karen Mapp, created a relational trust matrix to help us as we embark on this work. He describes four key elements of relational trust: respect, competence, integrity, and personal regard. While this list was originally intended for educators, we think there are some great lessons for PTA leaders.  As your PTA embarks on its family engagement work to help ensure that everyone feels included and welcomed on your school campuses, you will do well to understand these four elements.

Respect:  “Am I seeking input and listening carefully to what ALL families have to say?”  

As PTA leaders we need to not only seek out all families but also listen to what they are telling us. We need to remember that not all communication is verbal and that not everyone speaks the same language. Offering multiple opportunities and modes for feedback and input can go a long way to helping everyone feel that their opinion is valued.

Competence:  “Am I demonstrating to families that I am competent AND that I am honoring their roles as good caretakers?” Cultural competency is something that PTA leaders constantly need to work on. In many ways, it is easier to understand people from within our own culture, but understanding other cultures takes time and practice. We all parent differently, but we all love our children and want the best for them. Our common denominator of wanting what’s best for our children should help unite us and help as we build cultural competence over time.  

Integrity:  “Do I keep my word with families?”  Our PTA leaders need to make sure that we are being honest, open, and transparent with the families on our campuses. During the past few years, we have had to pivot our activities to comply with pandemic complications, but so long as we communicate those changes in a timely manner with our families they feel our integrity. As long as we keep the mission of the California State PTA (“To positively impact the lives of all children and families”) at the heart of all we do, our families can feel confident that they can trust us. 

Personal Regard:  “Do I show families that I value and care about them as people versus objects?”  The families on our campus are not fundraising machines or a number of tickets sold for an event — they are parents, caregivers, siblings, and children who want to feel connected to the school.  As PTA leaders, we need to make sure that we think of them and treat them as such.  

The work to build relationships begins as soon as you step into your PTA role, and continues every day afterward!  Make sure you extend the invitation to all families to be a part of your PTA, to attend your family engagement events, to connect with your campus, and to join your PTA in the work you do on behalf of children and families.  

It is up to each of us to establish these relationships for the benefit of all of our children.