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PTA Applauds Guidelines to Improve Services for Students with Dyslexia

August 25, 2017

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PTA President Applauds State Schools Chief’s Release of New State Guidelines to Improve Services for Students with Dyslexia

 

SACRAMENTO – New guidelines were released this week to assist teachers and parents in identifying students with dyslexia and to plan, provide, evaluate and improve education services. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin and is characterized by difficulties with accurate word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. California State PTA President Dianna MacDonald issued the following statement:

“California State PTA is pleased State Superintendent Torlakson has released groundbreaking guidelines to assist an estimated 20 percent of the general population representing more than 1 million students in California public schools with this challenging learning disability.

I know firsthand how critically important early detection, planning and improving education services is to our students through California. I am dyslexic. I understand the struggles — but also the successes — that can be realized with strong public-school and family support.”

In 2016, California State PTA delegates adopted a comprehensive resolution supporting teacher/staff training necessary to improve the understanding of dyslexia as well as early screening for signs and symptoms of dyslexia in kindergarten through third grade. California State PTA will be sharing these important guidelines with our members statewide.

Parent Guide to State Tests

The California Department of Education, in collaboration with Smarter Balanced and Educational Testing Service (ETS), have launched two new websites for parents called “Starting Smarter” for the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) and the English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC).

These family-focused websites provide resources to facilitate parents’/guardians’ understanding of the scores presented on their child’s Student Score Reports. Using these websites, families can learn more about the performance areas in each subject and grade, see sample test questions, prepare for parent-teacher conferences with a useful downloadable guide, and access high-quality resources to support learning at home. The websites are also available in Spanish.

Visit ca.startingsmarter.org and elpac.startingsmarter.org to learn more.

Generations of School Success

PTA member Elizabeth Chavez is making a difference at the elementary school she attended as a child and making sure her children reach their potential at the same school – Centinela Elementary School in Inglewood (Thirty-Third District PTA).

“When I first got involved with PTA, I didn’t really understand what it was. Like many parents, I thought the purpose was just to raise money. But PTA has opened my eyes and helped me understand what it is that we as parents can do for our children’s school,” said Chavez.

Chavez joined the PTA five years ago when her oldest child started kindergarten at Centinela Elementary. In the past two years of her PTA involvement, Chavez committed herself to getting to know the majority of the children at the elementary school, which enrollment was over 650 students at the time. From her interactions with the students at Centinela Elementary, Chavez found inspiration when she learned that most of them wanted their school to offer fun programs and activities to keep the students motivated.

“It really broke my heart because I realized we didn’t have any of those things at our school. I made sure I continued to have conversations with the students to let them know that PTA was there to listen to them and that we would try to make those changes happen at our school,” said Chavez.

Centinela Elementary School held their first school dance in February for children in all grades, from pre-K through sixth grade, called the Friendship Dance.

“The kids had an amazing time. As I saw the little ones dancing with the bigger kids, it made me smile. It was only a one-day event, but the memory will forever stay in my heart,” said Chavez.

Chavez also helped organize a program called “A Day With the PTA”, where three students from each class at all grade levels had the opportunity to come and spend time with the PTA once a month. The members had snacks, board games, hula hoops and other activities available for the children to participate in and interact as a group and connect with the PTA.

“Being involved with PTA has made me understand that our children want to attend school and want to do better, but sometimes they need someone to tell them that things will be okay. That’s why I love being part of PTA – you get to have that connection with them and understand them a little better,” said Chavez.

PTA Resolutions Guide

This guide will help you in preparing a resolution for potential review, vote and adoption by delegates to the California State PTA Annual Convention.

Resolutions call attention to a problem and a need for action on a particular issue. They are a major source of policy for the California State PTA and its units, councils and districts. If a problem or situation has statewide implications affecting children and youth and warrants PTA action, a convention resolution is one way to authorize action.

Download the guide.

Toolkit for Educators to Support Undocumented Students and Families

California Equity Leadership Alliance Launches New Toolkit for Educators to Support Undocumented Students and Families

California State PTA along with other members of the California Equity Leadership Alliance, comprised of eight organizations, have created a new toolkit designed for educators to better support undocumented students and their families.

The California Equity Leadership Alliance also issued the following statement on California’s undocumented students and their families:

California is a state sustained and enriched by immigrants in a nation founded by immigrants. As such, the California Equity Leadership Alliance (CELA) wholeheartedly supports the fundamental right for all children – regardless of their immigration status or the status of their family members – to receive a strong, equitable education. This commitment not only reinforces the legal right to education, it is in the best interest of California and our continued leadership as a state at the forefront of innovation, industry, and progress.

Our roles as leaders in education – from administrators and educators to parents and policy advocates – compel us to reaffirm our dedication to these students and offer guidance for a more equitable California. We believe this means not only supporting efforts to keep our students safe, but also ensuring we do all we can to offer them the best chance to graduate prepared for college, a career, leadership, and life.

For too long, the arena of education advocacy has been siloed from the arena of immigrant rights advocacy. It is imperative that education organizations such as ours bridge this divide and do all we can to support the educators, administrators, and advocates who work with these students and their families every day. As such, we have launched a new initiative to provide resources, support, and stewardship for educators in order to understand our undocumented student community.

Collectively, we ask that the California State Legislature promote and use this toolkit as a resource when working with educators, school district leaders, and community members to support the unique needs of undocumented students and their families. We also ask that greater attention be paid to creating professional development opportunities for entire school communities to understand the resources that exist to support immigrant families.

Living our values as Californians means standing up – and standing with – the hundreds of thousands of undocumented students in our schools and the 1 in 8 California P-12 students who have an undocumented parent. Our students deserve nothing less than our steadfast support.

The California Equity Leadership Alliance (CELA), is an action-oriented group committed to the educational success of all California students. California State PTA is proud to take part in this effort to support the educational success of Latino, African American, Asian Pacific Islander, Native American, and English Language Learner students as well as at-risk students, low-income students, and students with disabilities.

CELA thanks all the organizations, institutions, and groups who have published the resources and materials within our toolkit. This toolkit was created in consultation with various groups and organizations and it is not meant to be comprehensive. Within the toolkit one can find classroom tools and strategies, fact sheets, guides and legal resources, sample resolutions, and social/emotional support resources. We hope this toolkit will help educators, school support staff, administrators, school board members, and other education stakeholders better understand, talk about, and support our state’s undocumented students and families.

California State PTA Announces 2017–2019 Board of Directors

July 1, 2017

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Longtime PTA volunteer is new president of California’s largest child-advocacy organization

SACRAMENTO – Dianna MacDonald, a resident of Sonoma County, is the new president of California State PTA, leading the association of nearly 800,000 members in advocating for the education, health and welfare of California’s 9 million children.

MacDonald was elected to the 2017 – 2019 term of office, which begins July 1. In her new role, MacDonald will serve as chief executive officer of California State PTA and chairman of the Board of Directors. California State PTA is the nation’s largest and highest profile child-advocacy organization and strives to connect families, schools and communities.

MacDonald is a strong believer in the importance of family engagement and early-childhood education. She looks forward to working with stakeholders and members of the Education Coalition, as well as strengthening outreach to young Californians and their families.

“As the California State PTA’s new president, I will devote my time to supporting the PTA mission – to make a positive impact on the lives of all children and their families. Since 1897, PTA has been a crucial advocate for every single child, and I’m proud to be part of such an important organization,” said MacDonald.

MacDonald has served the PTA at the local, regional, and state levels in many roles, including family engagement advocate, leadership mentor and vice president for education. Her work with PTA has been focused on closing the achievement gap, early childhood education and supporting military families.

She and her husband Mike have three sons, and she credits PTA with teaching her how to be an advocate for her own children which led her to become an advocate for all children in California.

“I have seen first-hand the impact we make with changing laws to support children and families in California, and that’s powerful for me,” said MacDonald. “If it can change my life and my family’s, it can change others’ as well.”

California State PTA has a long tradition of speaking up and speaking out on behalf of all children and families at national, state, regional and local levels.  Joining your local PTA is a great way to support your child’s education. Contact your local school or principal to sign up.

2017 – 2019 California State PTA Board of Directors

  • Dianna MacDonald, President
  • Celia Jaffe, President-elect
  • Tom Horn, Vice President for Leadership Services
  • Carol Green, Vice President for Membership Services
  • Brad Waller, Vice President for Communications
  • Julie Redmond, Vice President for Special Events
  • Shereen Walter, Vice President for Health & Community Concerns
  • Mary Perry, Vice President for Education
  • Lynn Miyamoto, Vice President for Family Engagement
  • Deborah Johnson, Secretary
  • Kathy Corzine, Treasurer
  • Maggie Steel, Parliamentarian
  • Lea Darrah, Director of Legislation
  • Martha Deutsch, Chair of the District Presidents
  • Sherry Skelly Griffith, Executive Director

Six Ways to Engage Families in ESSA

Parents and their children are the consumers of our nation’s public education system, and parents have always been essential partners in education. However, they haven’t always been included at the decision-making table. This has caused confusion, mistrust and backlash when new initiatives — whether at the federal, state or local level—have been considered and implemented.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides a unique opportunity for parents and families to give their input and to hold states and districts accountable for their children’s educational experience.

National PTA has identified six critical ways states, school districts and schools should be engaging parents and families as part of ESSA or any new education initiative. Use the rubric on the back to evaluate how your state, school district and school are doing!

Social Media Advocacy Chart

Advocating is easy with the new social media chart. Tweet, post and share any items in the green column. Think twice before sharing items in the yellow section, and do not share items in the red column from a PTA account.

Download the resource in English or Spanish.