Training Tidbits
June is a good month to….
· Attend Council Training!
June 4 Membership, 7 p.m.
June 9 Welcome to PTA, 9:30 a.m.
June 10 Budget Workshop, 7 p.m.
June 13 Standing Rules Wkshp, 9:30 a.m.
· Get a Financial Review committee formed to review your books before the end of the PTA year. Find those people now and get the Financial Review on the calendar so that it doesn’t get lots amid summer vacations and other activities.
· Plan a retreat for your Executive Committee or Board of Directors. Retreat activities can include setting goals and priorities, reviewing the budget, reviewing the Standing Rules, and having a little fun!
· Enter the names of new officers to the State PTA website. Your membership chair has the logon codes you need and so do I. The State By-Laws require that this be done by May 1. I’ll be following up with units who don’t have this finished later in the month.
Lots of questions this month about grants to the District to pay for aides.
While there is no prohibition regarding this practice, the State PTA does not condone it. PTA’s are encouraged instead to put their efforts into advocating for improvements to Education Funding so that no PTA feels the need to raise money to pay for aides.
If you are funding grants that pay for aides there are some things to be aware of:
· Take a look at the Statement of Purpose on your 1023 application. Make sure your actual activities fit under this original application. If they don’t, contact me for the paperwork to update this application. Failure to update this could result in the loss of your non-profit status.
· Be sure that you are setting Goals and Objectives each year, and that paying for aides fits within these Goals and Objectives. For example, if your Goals & Objectives consistently state that you support all students, but you are granting money to pay for an aide that supports a small percentage of students, your grant doesn’t fit within your goals and one of them should be modified. This could be an issue if your PTA is ever audited.
· There is no limit to the amount of money you can grant to the district for this purpose.
· Be sure you know the answers to the hard questions. What happens if fundraising falls short in a given year? What happens if your PTA can’t afford the COLA in a given year?
· Consider talking with your Principal about granting the same amount of money for supplies and other expenses to free up district funds for this aide. Would that be a preferable arrangement for both your PTA and the Principal??
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
May Training Report
Training Tidbits
May is a good month to….
· Prepare next year’s budget! Your unit must have a preliminary budget to operate over the summer. Your Budget Committee’s makeup should be in your Standing Rules. The new Board of Directors can set goals over the summer and can present a budget revised to reflect those goals to the Membership in the fall. But your unit must have an approved budget in order to spend anything during the summer months!!
· Get a Financial Review committee formed to review your books before the end of the PTA year. Find those people now and get the Financial Review on the calendar so that it doesn’t get lots amid summer vacations and other activities.
· Review your Standing Rules. Now that you’ve spent a year in office, you can easily spot inconsistencies. Update them so that your successors can start the year with well written and carefully edited Rules!
· Enter the names of new officers to the State PTA website. Your membership chair has the logon codes you need and so do I. The State By-Laws require that this be done by May 1. I’ll be following up with units who don’t have this finished later in the month.
· Verify that you have paid for all the members you have entered to the Membership database. Connie will provide each President with a list showing the number of paid and enrolled members. If you have more enrolled than paid, then you owe membership fees. If you have more paid than enrolled, then you need to do some data entry. And if you find any duplicate entries, email Melissa Anderson at manderson@wastatpta.org to have them removed.
*****************************************
Kudos to the people from Bellevue who attended Convention! I’m impressed by your commitment to training and hope you had a wonderful time.
Bellevue Council – J Stokes, Dennis Gerlitz
Bennett – Sarah Penrose, Christie Allemand, Vanessa Swanson, Kristin Nash
Cherry Crest – Patrick Rebar
Enatai – Linda Mui
Newport Heights – Hilary Fulton
Phantom Lake - Meg Durwiddie, Rabecca Larson, Krischanna Roberson
Somerset – Audrey Scallon, Karen Ruby, Sue Ung
Stevenson – Carolyn Watson
Tyee – Quanda Evans
Bellevue High – Connie Gerlitz, Mary Austin
Interlake– Kathy Palmer
Newport - Anthony Brocato, Cindy Hastings, Karen Howlett
I gathered feedback from some of those attendees to help you decide to attend next time. One good way to encourage someone from your unit to attend is to make sure your budget includes a line item for your expected voting delegates. Assume they’ll want to attend!!
**********************
I went to a class on recruiting volunteers. A couple of reminders I came away with:
Keep PTA professional yet friendly and inviting, even social
Keep meetings pertinent, on time and constructive
Discourage “cliques” within PTA
People need to be asked, personally, to attend or get involved.
Always follow up with potential volunteers
Keep meetings fun by changing locations, times, themes, speakers and have a little snack there!
Send thank you notes to committee chairs (my own comment)
Recognize and thank volunteers
Have procedure notebooks for people to refer to
*******************************
In this day and age of lawsuits, I learned more about what our local unit can do to minimize liability. There are things every unit can do to protect themselves. The more you deviate from best practices, the greater your chance of AIM Insurance not supporting you when you really need it. EVERY member of the Board should go to PTA and the LAW. Nice 3 hour (2 parts) presentation. I left there wanting another 3 hours…
There were so many things to see in the Recognition room. I loved looking at the exhibits honoring the best newsletters, best local units, looking at new ideas that I could bring back to my school. I found this to be invaluable. No other time will I be able to have this much access to detailed information from a school.
I know our local membership chair has struggled with the question of "Why do we need to pay dues to the National and State PTAs? They don't do anything for us". If you don't know the answer to that, I suggest you go to this convention. I struggled with that same question, and I finally understood why after going to this convention.
********************************
Key take-aways from the Board Development Strategies session: brag more about what we do; visitors should be able to see when they walk into the office that we have a PTA, officers should be easily identifiable (pictures on bulletin board, more name tags), budget should be published so people can see it, board can be reduced to standing committee chairs or to those committee chairs who are able to commit to attending (easier to get a quorum than having all chairs on board). Give volunteers a graceful way out if they need it.
********************************
The workshop on "Transportation for a Better World" was fantastic! We've been encouraging our kids to walk to Phantom Lake, and making connections with the City of Bellevue through a pilot program for the past 2-3 years. They've given us lots of free advice, incentives and motivation. I'm now even more enthusiastic about continuing and expanding what we've done. Overall, my favorite things at Convention had to do with the environment and health--that's what brought me to PTA in the first place and where my passion really is. I think there's a growing group of parents who share this interest.
I'm more confident heading into my first year as solo President with a few more classes under my belt and a little more solid understanding of organizing and running meetings.
Rabecca Larsen – Phantom Lake
May is a good month to….
· Prepare next year’s budget! Your unit must have a preliminary budget to operate over the summer. Your Budget Committee’s makeup should be in your Standing Rules. The new Board of Directors can set goals over the summer and can present a budget revised to reflect those goals to the Membership in the fall. But your unit must have an approved budget in order to spend anything during the summer months!!
· Get a Financial Review committee formed to review your books before the end of the PTA year. Find those people now and get the Financial Review on the calendar so that it doesn’t get lots amid summer vacations and other activities.
· Review your Standing Rules. Now that you’ve spent a year in office, you can easily spot inconsistencies. Update them so that your successors can start the year with well written and carefully edited Rules!
· Enter the names of new officers to the State PTA website. Your membership chair has the logon codes you need and so do I. The State By-Laws require that this be done by May 1. I’ll be following up with units who don’t have this finished later in the month.
· Verify that you have paid for all the members you have entered to the Membership database. Connie will provide each President with a list showing the number of paid and enrolled members. If you have more enrolled than paid, then you owe membership fees. If you have more paid than enrolled, then you need to do some data entry. And if you find any duplicate entries, email Melissa Anderson at manderson@wastatpta.org to have them removed.
*****************************************
Kudos to the people from Bellevue who attended Convention! I’m impressed by your commitment to training and hope you had a wonderful time.
Bellevue Council – J Stokes, Dennis Gerlitz
Bennett – Sarah Penrose, Christie Allemand, Vanessa Swanson, Kristin Nash
Cherry Crest – Patrick Rebar
Enatai – Linda Mui
Newport Heights – Hilary Fulton
Phantom Lake - Meg Durwiddie, Rabecca Larson, Krischanna Roberson
Somerset – Audrey Scallon, Karen Ruby, Sue Ung
Stevenson – Carolyn Watson
Tyee – Quanda Evans
Bellevue High – Connie Gerlitz, Mary Austin
Interlake– Kathy Palmer
Newport - Anthony Brocato, Cindy Hastings, Karen Howlett
I gathered feedback from some of those attendees to help you decide to attend next time. One good way to encourage someone from your unit to attend is to make sure your budget includes a line item for your expected voting delegates. Assume they’ll want to attend!!
**********************
I went to a class on recruiting volunteers. A couple of reminders I came away with:
Keep PTA professional yet friendly and inviting, even social
Keep meetings pertinent, on time and constructive
Discourage “cliques” within PTA
People need to be asked, personally, to attend or get involved.
Always follow up with potential volunteers
Keep meetings fun by changing locations, times, themes, speakers and have a little snack there!
Send thank you notes to committee chairs (my own comment)
Recognize and thank volunteers
Have procedure notebooks for people to refer to
Cindy Hastings – Newport
*******************************
In this day and age of lawsuits, I learned more about what our local unit can do to minimize liability. There are things every unit can do to protect themselves. The more you deviate from best practices, the greater your chance of AIM Insurance not supporting you when you really need it. EVERY member of the Board should go to PTA and the LAW. Nice 3 hour (2 parts) presentation. I left there wanting another 3 hours…
There were so many things to see in the Recognition room. I loved looking at the exhibits honoring the best newsletters, best local units, looking at new ideas that I could bring back to my school. I found this to be invaluable. No other time will I be able to have this much access to detailed information from a school.
I know our local membership chair has struggled with the question of "Why do we need to pay dues to the National and State PTAs? They don't do anything for us". If you don't know the answer to that, I suggest you go to this convention. I struggled with that same question, and I finally understood why after going to this convention.
Linda Mui – Enatai
********************************
Key take-aways from the Board Development Strategies session: brag more about what we do; visitors should be able to see when they walk into the office that we have a PTA, officers should be easily identifiable (pictures on bulletin board, more name tags), budget should be published so people can see it, board can be reduced to standing committee chairs or to those committee chairs who are able to commit to attending (easier to get a quorum than having all chairs on board). Give volunteers a graceful way out if they need it.
Carolyn Watson - Stevenson
********************************
The workshop on "Transportation for a Better World" was fantastic! We've been encouraging our kids to walk to Phantom Lake, and making connections with the City of Bellevue through a pilot program for the past 2-3 years. They've given us lots of free advice, incentives and motivation. I'm now even more enthusiastic about continuing and expanding what we've done. Overall, my favorite things at Convention had to do with the environment and health--that's what brought me to PTA in the first place and where my passion really is. I think there's a growing group of parents who share this interest.
I'm more confident heading into my first year as solo President with a few more classes under my belt and a little more solid understanding of organizing and running meetings.
Rabecca Larsen – Phantom Lake
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
April Training Report
Training Tidbits
April is a good month to….
· Register for Convention! It’s only $120 per person until April 4; after that the price goes up to $145 per person. Your unit can send as many attendees as you can afford to pay for, but the number who can vote depends on the number of members in your unit. See page 23 of the State By-laws. It’s also possible for people to volunteer in exchange for attendance. See the State PTA website for details.
· Encourage attendance at Convention! Be sure you make the opportunity to attend available to all officers and to your Reflections, Legislation, and Membership Chairs. Any Board member who wants to attend should hear about the opportunity to volunteer in exchange for attendance.
o You can get great PTA training – it’s offered by Region Directors and other experts
o We offer parenting classes, too!
o You’ll meet PTA leaders from all over the state!
o You can learn more about the WASL
o PTA & the Law will once again be offered – a rare opportunity!
· Enter the names of new officers to the State PTA website. Your membership chair has the logon codes you need and so do I. The State By-Laws require that this be done by May 1
Top Questions this month: Insurance, insurance, insurance. Here are some tips for understanding your coverage and any situations that come up.
· Please refer to the email Connie sent in October (posted to the website under “Suggestions” as “After School Programs & Ski Schools). It covers more than the title implies about insurance coverage.
· Elgin Allen of AIM teaches a fabulous class at Convention that you can’t get anywhere else. Attend it!
· Visit the State PTA website at http://www.wastatepta.org/resources/PTA_risk_management05.pdf and http://www.wastatepta.org/leaders/AIM_FAQ.pdf
· Finally, designate one person – usually the President but could be the Treasurer – to call Chad at AIM with questions.
Election Questions: Yes, candidates can be nominated from the floor!! If this occurs, you can hold the election for that position separately from the rest of the slate. For example, say the Nominating Committee presents a slate of candidates and Sam Smith nominates himself to run for VP and his motion is seconded.
The President can ask for the vote to accept the slate of candidates for President, Treasurer, and Secretary first, then hold the election between Sam Smith and the other VP candidate second.
Provide ballots (blank sheets of paper torn or cut into quarters will suffice) and ask members to clearly write the name of the candidate they are voting for, then fold their ballot and turn it in to the designated counters.
Have two people ready to count ballots in the same way you double-count money. (Both people count separately and then compare their totals to see if they match – no looking at the totals before counting.) After these two people have reached the same count, they can provide the President with the final count, and the President can announce which candidate has won. (The count does not need to be announced.)
April is a good month to….
· Register for Convention! It’s only $120 per person until April 4; after that the price goes up to $145 per person. Your unit can send as many attendees as you can afford to pay for, but the number who can vote depends on the number of members in your unit. See page 23 of the State By-laws. It’s also possible for people to volunteer in exchange for attendance. See the State PTA website for details.
· Encourage attendance at Convention! Be sure you make the opportunity to attend available to all officers and to your Reflections, Legislation, and Membership Chairs. Any Board member who wants to attend should hear about the opportunity to volunteer in exchange for attendance.
o You can get great PTA training – it’s offered by Region Directors and other experts
o We offer parenting classes, too!
o You’ll meet PTA leaders from all over the state!
o You can learn more about the WASL
o PTA & the Law will once again be offered – a rare opportunity!
· Enter the names of new officers to the State PTA website. Your membership chair has the logon codes you need and so do I. The State By-Laws require that this be done by May 1
Top Questions this month: Insurance, insurance, insurance. Here are some tips for understanding your coverage and any situations that come up.
· Please refer to the email Connie sent in October (posted to the website under “Suggestions” as “After School Programs & Ski Schools). It covers more than the title implies about insurance coverage.
· Elgin Allen of AIM teaches a fabulous class at Convention that you can’t get anywhere else. Attend it!
· Visit the State PTA website at http://www.wastatepta.org/resources/PTA_risk_management05.pdf and http://www.wastatepta.org/leaders/AIM_FAQ.pdf
· Finally, designate one person – usually the President but could be the Treasurer – to call Chad at AIM with questions.
Election Questions: Yes, candidates can be nominated from the floor!! If this occurs, you can hold the election for that position separately from the rest of the slate. For example, say the Nominating Committee presents a slate of candidates and Sam Smith nominates himself to run for VP and his motion is seconded.
The President can ask for the vote to accept the slate of candidates for President, Treasurer, and Secretary first, then hold the election between Sam Smith and the other VP candidate second.
Provide ballots (blank sheets of paper torn or cut into quarters will suffice) and ask members to clearly write the name of the candidate they are voting for, then fold their ballot and turn it in to the designated counters.
Have two people ready to count ballots in the same way you double-count money. (Both people count separately and then compare their totals to see if they match – no looking at the totals before counting.) After these two people have reached the same count, they can provide the President with the final count, and the President can announce which candidate has won. (The count does not need to be announced.)
Sunday, March 9, 2008
March Training Report
Training Tidbits
March is a good month to….
· VOTE on March 11 for the BSD Bond!
· Attend the Region 2 Spring Leadership Conference! Great training for all members of your PTA at one low price for all attendees. Includes networking by grade level and a reprise of last year’s “Spending Your Reserve” class.
· Take a good look at your Standing Rules to make sure they reflect the needs and activities of your organization. Write proposed changes that remove outdated rules and confusing wording to be presented to your next General Membership meeting. This could be done by your Executive Committee or your Board of Directors or a special committee appointed for this purpose.
· Begin thinking about your Budget Committee. See Money Matters at http://www.wastatepta.org/pdf07/07_moneymatters_web.pdf. Or take the class at Spring Conference!!
· Sign up ten more members! If every unit can sign up ten more members, our state will reach its goal of 156,000 members. (Tip: check your Board of Directors & chairs.)
Top Question about the Nominating Committee: “Can the Principal be a member of the Nominating Committee?” The answer is “NO! Neither the Principal nor the President of the PTA may serve on the Nominating Committee.”
Naturally, your Nominating Committee may seek input, if they choose to, from the Principal and President as they go about the business of finding the most qualified people to lead the PTA in the coming year. But these two people may not serve on the Nominating Committee. This prevents the people in these two very powerful roles from exerting too great an influence on the leadership of your PTA at any time. It also allows the Nominating Committee to operate freely, without any undue influence. This is so important that it’s in the State PTA by-laws.
Another frequently asked question: “Does the Nominating Committee need to run their choices by the Board of Directors?” The answer to this is also “NO!” The Nominating Committee simply posts the names of the nominees it has chosen in a public location 15 days before the General Membership meeting at which elections will take place. Other interested candidates are free to nominate themselves from the floor at the meeting.
For more information, see the Nominating Committee handbook at http://www.wastatepta.org/leaders/packet.htm#
March is a good month to….
· VOTE on March 11 for the BSD Bond!
· Attend the Region 2 Spring Leadership Conference! Great training for all members of your PTA at one low price for all attendees. Includes networking by grade level and a reprise of last year’s “Spending Your Reserve” class.
· Take a good look at your Standing Rules to make sure they reflect the needs and activities of your organization. Write proposed changes that remove outdated rules and confusing wording to be presented to your next General Membership meeting. This could be done by your Executive Committee or your Board of Directors or a special committee appointed for this purpose.
· Begin thinking about your Budget Committee. See Money Matters at http://www.wastatepta.org/pdf07/07_moneymatters_web.pdf. Or take the class at Spring Conference!!
· Sign up ten more members! If every unit can sign up ten more members, our state will reach its goal of 156,000 members. (Tip: check your Board of Directors & chairs.)
Top Question about the Nominating Committee: “Can the Principal be a member of the Nominating Committee?” The answer is “NO! Neither the Principal nor the President of the PTA may serve on the Nominating Committee.”
Naturally, your Nominating Committee may seek input, if they choose to, from the Principal and President as they go about the business of finding the most qualified people to lead the PTA in the coming year. But these two people may not serve on the Nominating Committee. This prevents the people in these two very powerful roles from exerting too great an influence on the leadership of your PTA at any time. It also allows the Nominating Committee to operate freely, without any undue influence. This is so important that it’s in the State PTA by-laws.
Another frequently asked question: “Does the Nominating Committee need to run their choices by the Board of Directors?” The answer to this is also “NO!” The Nominating Committee simply posts the names of the nominees it has chosen in a public location 15 days before the General Membership meeting at which elections will take place. Other interested candidates are free to nominate themselves from the floor at the meeting.
For more information, see the Nominating Committee handbook at http://www.wastatepta.org/leaders/packet.htm#
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
January Leadership Report
Training Tidbits
January is a good month to….
· Publicize the Education Roadshow! January 30, 7:00 p.m. in the new NHS Theater.
· Make plans for getting at least ten members to attend Focus Day. Is there a need for a Focus Day Prep class?
· Encourage your Nominating Committee to attend training. We’ll offer a class here in Bellevue, date tbd based on your feedback tonight.
Top Tips for your Nominating Committee:
· Understand why your committee is the most important committee in your PTA.
· Notify all members of the Committee of all meetings.
· Gather any job descriptions that exist for each position. If your unit doesn’t have any, use the ones in the Leadership Packet.
· Hold all conversations in strict confidence.
· Encourage all nominees to consider attendance at Convention, Region Workshops, and Council!
· Submit a written report to the Membership at least 15 days prior to the election.
For more information, see the Nominating Committee handbook at http://www.wastatepta.org/leaders/packet.htm#
Standards of Excellence
Insert your description of communication with members.
You communicate in ways you don’t even think about. Newsletter, web site, flyers, posters, bulletin boards, presentations, and more. Ask your Board to help you brainstorm all the ways you have communicated with members.
Fill out all the questions regarding Volunteer Recognition:
· Our volunteers are recognized. How?
· Our PTA annually identifies an outstanding volunteer in our community and honors him/her with a Golden Acorn Award
· Our PTA annually identifies an outstanding staff member in our community and honors him/her with an Outstanding Educator Award. (If your teachers have asked that you not give this award, simply add a note indicating this along with brief rationale.)
· Our PTA annually identifies an outstanding advocate in our community and honors him/her with an Outstanding Advocate Award. (Some PTAs give an Outstanding Advocate Award along with their Golden Acorn and begin the campaign in January. It’s OK to answer yes to this if you have tasked a committee to seek nominations and your membership has agreed to the cost in your budget even if ultimately no one is chosen in a given year.)
Offer a paragraph noting all the ways you recognize and honor your volunteers in your newsletter, on your bulletin board and/or website, or in person.
As you have probably not yet given any awards, you may answer based on whether or not you *plan* to offer these awards.
Our PTA shares information received from State and National PTA with other members. Describe the process.
Insert a description of how you share information from State and National PTA with members. You are probably passing on more than you know.
Think about Region newsletters, Key Communicator, the PTA Parent electronic newsletter, Our Child, and other publications you receive and share.
Think about information you get when you visit the State or National websites. Have you ever downloaded the State’s WASL brochure to handout to parents? Have you passed on information from a Region conference or State convention? What are all the ways you share that knowledge with GM meetings, newsletters, websites, with staff, do you have links to their websites or to specific articles on their sites on your website or in your newsletters, etc.
How do you disseminate the information leaders gain in training sessions?
January is a good month to….
· Publicize the Education Roadshow! January 30, 7:00 p.m. in the new NHS Theater.
· Make plans for getting at least ten members to attend Focus Day. Is there a need for a Focus Day Prep class?
· Encourage your Nominating Committee to attend training. We’ll offer a class here in Bellevue, date tbd based on your feedback tonight.
Top Tips for your Nominating Committee:
· Understand why your committee is the most important committee in your PTA.
· Notify all members of the Committee of all meetings.
· Gather any job descriptions that exist for each position. If your unit doesn’t have any, use the ones in the Leadership Packet.
· Hold all conversations in strict confidence.
· Encourage all nominees to consider attendance at Convention, Region Workshops, and Council!
· Submit a written report to the Membership at least 15 days prior to the election.
For more information, see the Nominating Committee handbook at http://www.wastatepta.org/leaders/packet.htm#
Standards of Excellence
Insert your description of communication with members.
You communicate in ways you don’t even think about. Newsletter, web site, flyers, posters, bulletin boards, presentations, and more. Ask your Board to help you brainstorm all the ways you have communicated with members.
Fill out all the questions regarding Volunteer Recognition:
· Our volunteers are recognized. How?
· Our PTA annually identifies an outstanding volunteer in our community and honors him/her with a Golden Acorn Award
· Our PTA annually identifies an outstanding staff member in our community and honors him/her with an Outstanding Educator Award. (If your teachers have asked that you not give this award, simply add a note indicating this along with brief rationale.)
· Our PTA annually identifies an outstanding advocate in our community and honors him/her with an Outstanding Advocate Award. (Some PTAs give an Outstanding Advocate Award along with their Golden Acorn and begin the campaign in January. It’s OK to answer yes to this if you have tasked a committee to seek nominations and your membership has agreed to the cost in your budget even if ultimately no one is chosen in a given year.)
Offer a paragraph noting all the ways you recognize and honor your volunteers in your newsletter, on your bulletin board and/or website, or in person.
As you have probably not yet given any awards, you may answer based on whether or not you *plan* to offer these awards.
Our PTA shares information received from State and National PTA with other members. Describe the process.
Insert a description of how you share information from State and National PTA with members. You are probably passing on more than you know.
Think about Region newsletters, Key Communicator, the PTA Parent electronic newsletter, Our Child, and other publications you receive and share.
Think about information you get when you visit the State or National websites. Have you ever downloaded the State’s WASL brochure to handout to parents? Have you passed on information from a Region conference or State convention? What are all the ways you share that knowledge with GM meetings, newsletters, websites, with staff, do you have links to their websites or to specific articles on their sites on your website or in your newsletters, etc.
How do you disseminate the information leaders gain in training sessions?
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
November Leadership Report
Training Tidbits
November and December are good months to….
- Publicize the Education Roadshow! January 30, 7:00 p.m. in the new NHS Theater.
- Begin thinking about how you can survey your members. What do you want to know? What is the best way to collect the data? What will you do with the information you learn?
- Take some time to assess where you are with your Exec Committee or Board of Directors. What has worked well? What hasn’t worked well? What will you change going forward?
- Support your very busy Reflections Chair as entries are turned in, displayed, and judged.
- Begin finding 3 people to conduct your mid-year Financial Review in January.
And most important of all…… VOTE!!!
Standards of Excellence
Begin thinking about how you will “determine your members’ needs.”
- Create an electronic survey
- Conduct informal surveys at GM meetings
- Post a contact email on your website for suggestions
- Meet with volunteers after event to debrief and discuss their needs
- Staff a membership table at back to school days where you engaged people in one on one conversations, and so on.
Begin thinking about the many ways you communicate with members. Be creative – articles in newsletters, handwritten note to committee chair, volunteer luncheon in spring, school gives us a wall that we title “you make all the pieces fit” and we cut out jigsaw puzzle shape pieces of paper and write the volunteer’s name on it.
Describe the process your unit uses for passing on materials and records to next year’s officers and committee chairs. This is a good time to make sure officers and chairs are creating great materials to pass along. Encourage them to create a legacy, take pride in what they’ve done. Include timelines, contacts, and job descriptions. For committee notebooks include basic info on how to approach office staff or use the copier, be reimbursed. Now that you have the materials, describe how you preserve the knowledge and pass it on.
Insert a list of your General Membership meeting dates. List dates of meetings held and meetings planned for remainder of year. Could add commentary if you held special meetings specifically to address emerging needs of the membership.
Describe your process for giving regular financial reports to the Board of Directors. These can be sent electronically if there is no meeting in a given month.
Insert a list of your Board of Directors meeting dates. Add any comments necessary. (E.g. note if your general membership meetings serve as your Board of Director meetings.
Insert minutes showing that the Nominating Committee was elected by the membership.
Mark the boxes for your Insurance purchase.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Nominating Committee Info
At our October meeting I mentioned the importance of getting started NOW on the hunt for members of your Nominating Committee. I'm sure many of you were surprised to hear that said so early so I wanted to talk more about why it's important.
Your Nominating Committee is the most important committee in your PTSA!! Its members will select your future leaders - so it's vital that these people are chosen carefully.
They should be respected, enthusiastic, smart people. They must demonstrate tact, discretion, integrity in their dealings with others. They should know your PTA. And they need to get an early start.
If this committee is in place early, its members can make important observations about who is involved and who seems ready for and interested in a leadership position. They can attend events and watch how potential leaders interact with others. They can observe the work of your PTSA and get a feel for what qualities are needed in its leaders. Starting early is just a really smart practice.
This committee must be elected at a General Membership meeting. The Nominating Committee is to consist of at least three (3) members from a list of five (5) or more nominated from the floor. It’s ideal for the committee to consist of an odd number of people, and here in Bellevue we recommend trying to include representatives from your major constituencies –feeder schools, community school and special programs, and so on. This is an incredibly powerful way to invite bi-lingual members of your community to participate in PTA leadership.
The Nominating Committee is always pleased to hear from interested candidates - but it's important to understand that the final decision rests with the Nominating Committee. So while everyone is encouraged to call and say, "Please consider me for a position as an officer," it's not OK to say, or assume, "I'll take the VP spot."
A couple important notes:
o Neither the President nor the school Principal can be a member of the Nominating Committee.
o No one can serve two consecutive terms on the Nominating Committee.
The Nominating Committee publishes the slate of nominees 15 days before the General Membership meeting where the election will take place. Before that time, their work is entirely confidential - they do not need to reveal the names of any candidates to anyone in your PTSA.
Further details can be found in our Nominating Committee handbook, which your President received in hard copy or which you can view on the State PTSA website at www.wastatepta.org. I urge you to read this now - and get to work on electing a Nominating Committee.
Your Nominating Committee is the most important committee in your PTSA!! Its members will select your future leaders - so it's vital that these people are chosen carefully.
They should be respected, enthusiastic, smart people. They must demonstrate tact, discretion, integrity in their dealings with others. They should know your PTA. And they need to get an early start.
If this committee is in place early, its members can make important observations about who is involved and who seems ready for and interested in a leadership position. They can attend events and watch how potential leaders interact with others. They can observe the work of your PTSA and get a feel for what qualities are needed in its leaders. Starting early is just a really smart practice.
This committee must be elected at a General Membership meeting. The Nominating Committee is to consist of at least three (3) members from a list of five (5) or more nominated from the floor. It’s ideal for the committee to consist of an odd number of people, and here in Bellevue we recommend trying to include representatives from your major constituencies –feeder schools, community school and special programs, and so on. This is an incredibly powerful way to invite bi-lingual members of your community to participate in PTA leadership.
The Nominating Committee is always pleased to hear from interested candidates - but it's important to understand that the final decision rests with the Nominating Committee. So while everyone is encouraged to call and say, "Please consider me for a position as an officer," it's not OK to say, or assume, "I'll take the VP spot."
A couple important notes:
o Neither the President nor the school Principal can be a member of the Nominating Committee.
o No one can serve two consecutive terms on the Nominating Committee.
The Nominating Committee publishes the slate of nominees 15 days before the General Membership meeting where the election will take place. Before that time, their work is entirely confidential - they do not need to reveal the names of any candidates to anyone in your PTSA.
Further details can be found in our Nominating Committee handbook, which your President received in hard copy or which you can view on the State PTSA website at www.wastatepta.org. I urge you to read this now - and get to work on electing a Nominating Committee.
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