September 8 – International Literacy Day

by Education and Family Engagement Commissions

The website, Raising a Reader, recently shared these statistics about reading and literacy:

  • Less than half of the 16 million U.S. children who live in poverty enter school with the language and reading skills needed for success.
  • 6 out of 10 children in the United States currently fail to read proficiently by grade 4.
  • Low-income children without exposure to books before age 5 enter Kindergarten on average with a 30-million word deficit.
  • Reading under-achievement by grade 4 = long-term academic failure

September 8th is International Literacy Day and California State PTA knows the important role that parents play in helping children cultivate a love of reading.  Here are some resources for you to help your child along their literacy journey:

  • Raising a Reader – California State PTA has great tips for helping children to develop language skills and become lifelong readers.
  • 4 Tips to Boost Literacy Skills – Learn four ways to eliminate a “word gap” for your child.
  • Reading Tips for Families – This website has videos, a daily calendar of literacy activities to do, as well as a reading glossary to help parents increase their child’s reading skills. 
  • Our Resource Library has several tools as well for students from preschool to high school.  Simply search “reading” or “literacy”. You can also search “books” for some great reading lists.

Meet the Family Engagement Commission

by Heather Ippolito, VP Family Engagement

The Family Engagement Commission this term consists of a Vice President, nine members of the CA State PTA Board of Managers (five of whom are District Presidents), and two consultants.  We are located around the state from San Diego to Marin County and represent a wide range of stages of parenthood.

 

Watch the video and Meet the Family Engagement Commission

Meet the Family Engagement Commission Video

 

Our commission of dedicated volunteers is here to serve you in the following ways:

  • Highlighting the amazing work you are doing at your school site in the area of family engagement, (so please take a few minutes to tell us your family engagement stories using this form)
  • Facilitating training and workshops via webinar or in-person at PTA council, district, or state events
  • Planning amazing convention workshops for the California State PTA Convention in Ontario April 29-May 1, 2022
  • Updating the family engagement pages of the website
  • Providing you with updates in the form of blog articles and social media posts
  • Monitoring family engagement legislation
  • Partnering with the School Smarts Committee to educate school districts and PTA Leaders about our award-winning family engagement program School Smarts.