Springfield Council of PTAs Monthly
Volume 3, Issue 8/November 2019
Please Make Every Effort to Attend Our SCPTA General Meeting THIS WEDNESDAY!
Tomorrow's general meeting at Wilson's Creek Intermediate School is also our annual Town Hall meeting. We're looking forward to seeing everyone and having a great turn out for this legislative forum! Please feel free to bring any unit officers and members who would be interested in attending with you!
Please allow for extra time to present your state-issued picture ID for the new Visitor Management System. Thank you!
Wednesday, Nov 6, 2019, 09:30 AM
Wilson's Creek Intermediate School, 4035 W. Weaver Road, Battlefield, MO, 65619
Thank You So Much to Our Elected Officials for Taking Part in Today's Town Hall Meeting
Representative Crystal Quade
Quade is the former director of chapter services at Care to Learn, a nonprofit organization that addresses the health, hunger, and hygiene needs of economically disadvantaged children in several school districts across Missouri.
Representative Steve Helms
In addition to his legislative duties, Rep. Helms is an Insurance Broker. He previously served in the Army and as the Greene County Circuit Clerk.
Representative Curtis Trent
Curtis is an attorney who practiced in administrative law concerning Social Security Disability. He also served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Missouri’s 7th District Congressman Billy Long.
Representative Craig Fishel
In addition to his legislative duties, Fishel is a small business owner. He has owned and operated Fishel Pools for more than 42 years. He also served on the Springfield City Council, where he was first elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2017.
Representative John Black
Prior to joining the legislature, Black worked as an attorney and chemical engineer. He served as General Counsel for City Utilities in Springfield for more than a decade. Black also was the first in-house General Counsel for Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State).
A Letter from Your Council President
By Julia Spiva
Greetings, everyone, on behalf of the SCPTA Board! We are honored today to hear from our elected officials regarding educational issues of great importance to all we members of Missouri PTA. As part of the oldest and largest child advocacy association in America, we put legislation and advocacy first and foremost, and the results have been tremendous. I want to thank our Parliamentarian and Legislative Chair, Donna Petiford, for again preparing for and moderating this year's Town Hall and Q&A session.
I also want to mention that now is an excellent time to start thinking about who to nominate for your unit's Volunteer of the Year--especially since many units do not hold a December or a January meeting. Volunteers are recognized at our annual Founder's Day Banquet, which is Thursday, February 27, at Kickapoo High School. Tickets for the event are $16 per person, and tables accommodate eight guests each.
And one last reminder, we will not hold a General Membership Meeting in December, so happiest of holidays to you and yours!
Why PTA Matters
It’s important to know that school educators do not make many of the decisions that impact children's education. These decisions frequently come from the district, state, or federal officials. According to the 2012 U.S. census, there are 114,991,725 households in the United States, but only 33,763,140 contain children of school age-- meaning less than 30 percent of U.S. households have children in school—and over 70 percent do not.
So, when discussing issues affecting children and schools, families with children need to join forces with teachers and school administrators to be heard, because there is a good chance that the people making the decisions (politicians, school board members, community leaders, etc.) do not live with children.
PTA can use our collective voice to share real-life experiences about what it is like to raise a family today—or go to school—with the critical decision-makers who may not have that perspective. If they don’t live with or know about today’s challenges, how can they see tomorrow’s solutions?
PTA gives parents a united and powerful voice, a seat at the decision-making table, and the tools to influence change that will better the lives of all children.
Unaffiliated parent groups by design do not have this type of influence on their community, region, state, or at the federal level. The ability to speak for every child with one voice is the Power of PTA.
Every Child. One Voice.
PTA's mission is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.
PTA Values
- Collaboration: We will work in partnership with a wide array of individuals and organizations to broaden and enhance our ability to serve and advocate for all children and families.
- Commitment: We are dedicated to children’s educational success, health, and well-being through strong family and community engagement while remaining accountable to the principles upon which our association was founded.
- Diversity: We acknowledge the potential of everyone without regard, including but not limited to: age, culture, economic status, educational background, ethnicity, gender, geographic location, legal status, marital status, mental ability, national origin, organizational position, parental status, physical ability, political philosophy, race, religion, sexual orientation, and work experience.
- Respect: We value the individual contributions of members, employees, volunteers, and partners as we work collaboratively to achieve our association’s goals.
- Accountability: All members, employees, volunteers, and partners have a shared responsibility to align their efforts toward the achievement of our association’s strategic initiatives.
Today's PTA
PTA is the oldest and largest child advocacy association in America. Today’s PTA is comprised of more than 4 million parents, teachers, grandparents, caregivers, foster parents, and other caring adults who share a commitment to improving the education, health, and safety of all children. We speak with one voice for every child.
Today, the issues that affect our children extend beyond their schools. The PTA’s nationwide network provides parents with the forum and tools to collectively influence the decisions that affect children not only at their schools, but also throughout their districts, within their states, and across the nation. This mission is unique to PTA.
Many of the benefits our children receive today, such as universal kindergarten, the National School Lunch Program, and a juvenile justice system were accomplished as a result of the PTA mission.
With PTA, families also have access to essential benefits, including:
- Dozens of national programs, experts, and turnkey resources
- Regular updates and advice in the form of e-newsletters, PTA.org, Our Children magazine, and a robust Local PTA Leader Kit of resources
- Leadership development through webinars and e-learning courses
- Millions of dollars in grants to help build PTA capacity and skills
- Prestigious national awards
- Cost savings from national retailers and other PTA partners
- Invitations to PTA conventions as well as our conferences for emerging minority leaders, male mentors, and advocates
- Support services and staff to help establish and manage your PTA
Tips from The Treasurer
By Leslie Norman
Are you a Unit in Good Standing?
A reminder that for your principal to submit a request for CARE and McBride Scholarships in January, your unit must be a Unit in Good Standing. This means previous year financials must be completed and submitted by December 1, bylaws must be approved, and memberships dues must be sent to MOPTA and SCPTA.
Currently, SCPTA has only 16 units as members. Please check with Leslie at treasurer@scptamo.com if questioning your unit status. PayPal option is still active for membership using the above email address or QR Code on form.
Diversity & Inclusion
By Toi Allen
The Equity and Diversity Advisory Committee has been digging deep by turning over every stone for a relative discussion to offer information to present to the School Board to help form the actions for continued work towards sealing the SPS gaps. This type of dedication provides a road for every student and presents them with tools to become lifelong learners.
There will always be room for all of us to improve. As a district, we should be proud to say we have a group of individuals who are on a quest to make positive things happen. The National PTA, Missouri PTA and Springfield Council of PTAs are proud to share our motto “EVERY CHILD ONE VOICE.”
The work to carry out the plans will continue. The vision for our PTA’s is “ Making every CHILD’S potential a REALITY” this lines up with Springfield Public Schools' vision “ to serve as a catalyst for lifelong learning by equipping students for their futures.”
The Equity and Diversity Advisory Council Committee is working very hard to provide the necessary tools to develop plans to continue closing gaps. We are all in this together.
Lawrence Anderson, or LA, SPS Coordinator/ Equity and Access Department, has been conducting Diversity and Equity Training sessions for all SPS Staff and teachers.
This training is also offered to the Springfield Council of PTA leaders.
Excellent training that units can receive. Let us know if your unit is interested
in joining the quest to be a lifelong learner.
Congratulations to all who strive to embrace a lifelong learning journey. Units, please let the SCPTA board know how we can assist you in reaching your goals.
November Reminder for Unit Presidents
We are still in need of a Parkview feeder pattern representative for the School Crossing Protection Committee!
Spotlight on Wanda Gray PTA's Fundraiser
By Jill Weis, Fundraising Chair
Recently at Wanda Gray Elementary, we utilized the Write-a-Check fundraiser. We choose this fundraiser each year because 100 percent of the proceeds go back to the school, and parents/students do not have to go to neighbors and friends selling items, which then entails picking those items up and delivering at a later date. As we all know, fundraising is an integral part of the success of a PTA. So having a successful fundraiser is essential. Many factors guide the success of the fundraiser. Student incentives, classroom rewards, principal/staff involvement, and family awareness are a few of the ways to make a fundraiser successful.
Students respond positively to incentives and rewards and work to achieve these. We set up three levels for classroom rewards, and students worked together and encouraged one another to reach that classroom goal. Our highest tier was getting to silly string the PE coach. The students were excited about this and motivated to achieve that goal. Our principal, PE coach, and staff were great motivators for our students. When the school met the school-wide monetary goal, Mrs. Carder dyed her hair pink-the color selected by Gray families via a FB poll–and helped celebrate with us at the end-of-fundraiser party. The students love seeing the principal in this relaxed, fun environment, knowing she is also supporting the success of their fundraising efforts.
In addition to classroom and school-wide rewards, we also implemented individual awards. We put student’s names in a raffle for a variety of toys and trinkets if they reached the individual goal of $40 a student. At the end-of-fundraiser party, we drew student names, and they got to come in front of everyone and select their reward. For those students who donated but were unable to reach the $40 goal, we had an additional raffle for Kindle Fires and Echo dots. These larger items were enticing to many.
Lastly, communication via visuals and handouts to the families is key to the success of the fundraiser. Families want to know exactly where and how their donation is spent and how it will directly impact their child. Vague wording or descriptions are not encouraged. We sent flyers home several times during the two-week duration of the fundraiser. We also set up visuals along the carline path that parents could see as they dropped-off and picked-up their children each day. Students also enjoyed these visuals, so they knew what we were raising money for. During the fundraiser, as money came in, we were immediately purchasing items and then posting pictures of these items on the Facebook page. Parents liked seeing that the money was promptly used--it was immediate gratification versus a several month delay.
Implementing all of these factors-incentives and rewards, staff involvement, family awareness-created a successful fundraiser for our school. We were able to raise $2,500 more than our goal. We are using these funds for playground equipment, stencils for the playground surface, rain gear for the teachers during carline duty, a new laminator for the office, attendance incentives to be given out each quarter, shelving for the PE closet, playground carts filled with balls and toys, a mascot rug to be placed by the doors, and tables to be used for the various PTA events held each year. These items help students and staff create a fun, safe, and educationally-strong environment for all to use.
Thank you again Disney & Wanda Gray PTAs for an incredible presentation at the October meeting!
Can We Help?! That's What We're Here For!
Your 2019-2020 SCPTA Officers & Chairs
President: Julia Spiva, president@scptamo.com
VP of Organization and Development: Jennifer Penny, orgdev@scptamo.com
• Bylaws: Tori Sallee, torisallee@gmail.com
• Legislation/Resolutions: Donna Petiford, petiford@sbcglobal.net
• Scholarships: Becky Volz, scholarships@scptamo.com
VP of Health and Public Services: Mandy Mitchell, clothingbank@scptamo.com
VP of Programs: Christi Matthews, programs@scptamo.com
• Reflections: Jessica Rosa, jessica@jrosaphoto.com
• Fourth-Grade Play: Breana Kavanaugh bnkavanaugh@spsmail.org
• RIF: Mary Christiano, mary@christiano.us
Secretary: Sarah Whitten, secretary@scptamo.com
Treasurer: Leslie Norman, treasurer@scptamo.com
Appointed:
Parliamentarian: Donna Petiford, donnapetiford@gmail.com
Diversity & Inclusion Adviser: Toi Allen, taocoach@yahoo.com
Administrative Assistant: Mattie James, Glendale High School
Advisors: Elementary: Stephanie Young, Delaware Elementary
Middle School: Andre Illig, Cherokee Middle School
High School: Chris Hunsaker Kickapoo High School
Superintendent Representative: Dr. Michael Methvin
Board of Education Representative: Gerry Lee lee@mosba.org
MOPTA Representative: Mandy Mitchell, mandym@mopta.org
MOPTA Office: 573-445-4161
National PTA Office: 800-307-4782
Springfield Council of PTAs
Council Goals
- To provide leadership development for local units and council board members
- To serve as a resource for education, parenting information, and legislative issues
- To encourage parent and public involvement in Springfield Public Schools
Email: council@scptamo.com
Website: https://scptamo.com
Location: 1458 East Chestnut Expressway, Springfield, MO, USA
Phone: 417-319-6075
Facebook: facebook.com/SCPTAs
Twitter: @SCPTAMO