D34 BPACs + PTAs
Summary of Meeting on March 1, 2023
Meeting Discussion Points
PTA Background Information
Our meeting began with a suggestion from Alan to explain what PTA is and how it works in district 34 specifically.
- What is PTA?
- PTA stands for Parent Teacher Association. Every PTA is part of the National PTA, which has the following mission: "To make every child's potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children."
- PTA is run by parent volunteers
- PTA seeks to enhance the school community through social events and programming, such as assemblies, book fairs, international nights, and more. Generally we have two kinds of events: community events (free and open to everyone, including non-pta members) and fundraising events (at a cost, intended to earn money to support our organization). As a non-profit organization we rely on fundraising as our money source. We fundraise primarily through 1) membership 2) one yearly fundraising event and 3) passive fundraising such as setting up a give-back night at a restaurant where our PTA earns a percent of sales.
- How many PTAs are in school district 34?
- There are 4 PTAs in D34:
- Henking & Hoffman PTA (He/Ho PTA)
- Westbrook & Glen Grove PTA (WB/GG PTA)
- Lyon & Pleasant Ridge PTA (LY/PR PTA)
- LY/PR PTA Website
- LY/PR PTA Facebook Page
- LY/PR Sign Up For PTA Newsletter
- LY/PR Online Family Directory
- Springman & Attea PTA (SP/AT PTA)
- SP/AT Website
- SP/AT Facebook Page and Instagram
- SP/AT Sign Up For PTA Newsletter: email spatpta@gmail.com
- SP/AT Online Family Directory
- How does PTA membership work?
- All of the PTAs hold membership drives during the fall, in August and September. Purchasing a membership is a way to show support for the organization and its mission to serve the school community. Members are not required to volunteer, though they are invited to do so if they would like and PTA is a volunteer-run organization. Members can vote at meetings if the need arises. We appreciate having as many members as possible because the small membership fee adds up and greatly helps to support the PTAs efforts.
- Who is invited to PTA meetings and events?
- Anyone can attend PTA meetings and events. Only members can vote if there is a need to vote, however, this need does not occur often. Each PTA also has a board (made up of a few parents) that oversees the organization. All board members must also be members of the PTA according to the PTA bylaws.
- Volunteers
- PTA is run by parent volunteers! We appreciate EVERYONE's help, always.
Things To Note About BPAC vs. PTA Structure
While most of our questions focused on PTA sharing its structure, one important structure inconsistency between our D34 PTAs and D34 BPACs is the following:
- Mongolian and Spanish BPACS each serve K-8th across the district
- Our 4 PTAs are divided into clusters and serve different age groups: HE/HO (K-5), LY/PR (K-5), WB/GG (PreK-5), SP/AT (6-8)
- Additionally there is a preschool housed at Westbrook that serves all of D34
- It would be interesting to think about ideas for cross-cluster connection and bringing our community together across buildings...
PTAs and BPACs Working Together
All of the D34 PTAs were eager to meet with the bilingual parents groups so that we can begin building an even more connected community.
During our meeting we discussed the following points -- please email ptapresident.wbgg@gmail.com if you have additional points to add here!
- Beginning of School Year Event -- looking ahead to 2023-24, what are opportunities for BPACs and PTAs to connect with families TOGETHER at the beginning of the school year?
- Bilingual Representation at Monthly PTA Meetings -- All of the PTAs have monthly meetings. It would be ideal for all of the PTAs to have a BPAC representative at as many monthly PTA meetings as possible. If a parent representative is not available, would Alan or Raquel or Sylvia be open to attending?
- A Regularly Occurring BPAC/PTA Shared Communication -- we discussed the idea of having a digital flyer (perhaps monthly?) that could highlight information from PTAs and BPACs all in one place.
- Community Connection Committee That Meets Regularly -- we discussed the idea of having a committee that meets periodically to develop ideas for connecting the D34 community. This committee could include both BPAC and PTA representatives.
- Before we meet again think about the following questions:
- In what ways could PTAs create better communication with bilingual families?
- In what ways could PTAs best help to welcome new bilingual families to the district?
- What are other ways that PTAs and bilingual parents can generate connections across D34?
Next Steps
Jenny Jarosick, our PTA Council President, is the person who initially suggested the BPAC/PTA meeting. Thank you Jenny! While she was unexpectedly not able to attend last week's meeting she looks forward to continuing the conversation we started.
Please look for follow up from Jenny soon!
PTA Communications Team
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