Nominating Committee Report

May 5th, 2021

The 2020-2021 Issaquah PTSA Council Nominating Committee hereby places the following names into nomination for the 2021-2022 school year:

For the Officer of Treasurer: Pauline Tamblyn

For the Officer of Secretary: Tracie Jones

For the Officer of VP of Elementary South: Carla Geraci

For the Officer of VP of Elementary North: Erin Eaton

For the Officer of VP of Elementary Central: Nicole Morgan

For the Officer of VP of Secondary Schools: Wendy Cummins

For the Officer of President: Lauren Bartholomew

The nominating committee has confirmed that all nominees have been a member of a PTA for at least 30 days prior to the election, and meet other requirements as stated in the WSPTA Uniform Bylaws.

Respectfully submitted, 

Cortney Eldridge
Alicia Spinner
Lauren Bartholomew

Nominating Committee Report

PTSA Equity Presentation

Leading with Equity 
This presentation will better help you sharpen your equity lens and develop a deeper understanding on inequities students and families may face. We will define some equity terms used by the district and review some key training components. There is much work to be done. The district is looking for partners. Come join the conversation in supporting our students with equitable outcomes.  

Thursday, May 20th, 2021
9:30-11:30am

Questions? Contact our Issaquah PTSA Council Family and Community Engagement Coordinator, Alicia Spinner: face@issaquahptsa.org

Council Volunteer 2021 Award Recipients

This year’s awards recipients were announced at the April 22nd General Membership Meeting. Congratulations!

Golden Acorn – Katie Moeller, Hannah Coblentz, Alicia Spinner

Outstanding Advocate – Betsy Grant

Outstanding Service Award – Erin Eaton

Honorary Lifetime Membership – Cindy Kelm

WSPTA – 2021 National PTA LegCon Report

From: https://www.wastatepta.org/2021-national-pta-legcon-report/

Washington State PTA members embraced the 2021 virtual format for National PTA’s annual Legislative Conference (LegCon). The conference began March 9. Of the over 800 attendees, 58 were from local PTAs here in Washington state, including two students. For some, the event was their first experience with federal advocacy.

National PTA contracted with a professional consulting firm to manage all the Congress member or staff/constituent appointments matched by attendee zip code. So the first day included some advocacy training and the coordination of teams and the WSPTA teams were up to the task!

They shared relevant stories about:

  • Access, consistency, and the prioritizing improvements in the federal school meal program
  • Language barriers and ESL class cancellations showing the need for a statewide family engagement center here in Washington state
  • Changes to federal policies about restraint and isolation of our students
  • The need for prioritizing schools in any comprehensive federal infrastructure package – our kids, teachers, and staff deserve a safe and modern space to learn and work.

For a complete picture of the policy asks, look here: https://www.pta.org/home/advocacy/federal-legislation/Public-Policy-Platform

Ten different congressional offices met with our attendees, asking thoughtful questions and sharing PTAs desire that every child’s potential become a reality. Wednesday, March 10 was “Hill Day” and began with a team that met with Rep. Derek Kilmer. Our whole group met with both senators, first a conference call where we were joined by Sen. Patty Murray for a portion. “PTA – you keep me going and work hard for all kids, thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said on the call. That was followed by a generous amount of time from Sen. Maria Cantwell’s legislative aide Amy Folkerts. That afternoon, we divided into teams for virtual meetings with staffers from Rep. Adam Smith, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, Rep. Richard Larsen, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, and Rep. Dan Newhouse’s offices. Rep. Suzan DelBene and Rep. Kim Schrier joined their meetings, listening to stories from parents and agreeing with the PTA asks for the day.

Classes and networking times rounded out the event. WSPTA advocacy committee member Susan Baird-Joshi shared an extremely popular class about climate change advocacy. After describing the effects to children and how current environmental and economic leaders are seeking solutions, she went through simple yet innovative steps for grassroots advocacy at every legislative level that can be replicated for any PTA leader that sees a “problem” facing their community. She will be sharing this class at our WSPTA convention, so make sure to bookmark it in your program.

Although the classes and training were virtual, the speakers delivered information that brought parents together through both common experiences and some different from their own. Thanks to all who attended, it was a positive, unscary way to dip one’s toe into advocacy, and hopefully, some will dive in during the upcoming year. Some of our teams are continuing their conversations with the congressional education staffers. Contact Sherry Rudolph, the Federal Legislative Chair if federal advocacy is something you would like to continue as a monthly touchpoint ptaadvocacydir@wastatepta.org.

Report provided by Sherry Rudolph, WSPTA Advocacy Director and National PTA Federal Legislative Chair

WSPTA 2021 Focus on Advocacy – Week of March 22nd

from: https://www.wastatepta.org/2021-focus-on-advocacy-march-22-report/

Revenue forecast up, budgets to be released this week

Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant, legconsultant@wastatepta.org

As anticipated, the March 17 revenue forecast presented by state chief economist Steve Lerch was positive – for the 2019-21 biennium, the forecast was increased by $1.34 billion and for the 2021-23 biennium it increased by nearly $1.95 billion. This is a dramatic turnaround from the June 2020 forecast, which projected a $9 billion deficit for fiscal years 2021, 2022, and 2023.

According to Lerch, the positives include two stimulus bills passed; faster than expected vaccine distribution; stronger than expected retail sales; and a super-hot housing market. To the negative, however, Lerch shared that employment growth has been slower than expected; business remains weak for restaurants, bars, arts and entertainment, and travel-related businesses; and rising oil and gas prices may hamper growth.

Read the full report here.

WSPTA Bill Tracking Report

Keep up with the bills and committee hearings related to WSPTA member-generated legislative priorities and long-term positions by utilizing the bill status and upcoming events report.


Additional ways to stay connected:

  • Each week a new newsletter, “Focus on Advocacy,” will be sent each Monday to subscribers to keep you informed on what is happening during the legislative session and how it aligns with WSPTA priorities. To subscribe simply click on the “Update your Profile” link at the bottom of any newsletter to select this newsletter.
  • Subscribe to the Action Network to participate in timely action alerts through the session. As a bonus, subscribers to the Action Network receive the new “Focus on Advocacy” newsletter.
  • Advocacy questions can be directed to WSPTA Advocacy Director Sherry Rudolph.

National PTA LegCon 2021

Washington State PTA members embraced the 2021 virtual format for National PTA’s annual Legislative Conference (LegCon). The conference began March 9. Of the over 800 attendees, 58 were from local PTAs here in Washington state, including two students. For some, the event was their first experience with federal advocacy.

Read the full article here

Special Education Webinar #4 is Available!

Webinar #4 (recorded on 3/9/2021) focuses on these questions –

  • I received a question from a parent interested in the role of paraprofessionals w/in Special Ed.
    • How do the education/certification requirements for a special education teacher compare to special education paraprofessionals?
    • Is there specific training provided to paraprofessionals in special education settings?
    • When and why is a para chosen as a student’s IEP pull out instruction leader instead of a certificated Special Education teacher?
    • Is there a daily system of feedback between the para and the teacher to track progress or lack thereof?
  • Families are still having a hard time getting access to in-person appointment services for LRC1 students. I’ve received feedback that parents are requesting appointment services for students with learning regression during IEP meetings but still being told it isn’t an option. Are you aware of these situations and how can more students get access to in-person assistance? 
  • The district is currently bargaining with the teacher’s union and other unions to allow secondary students to return to hybrid in-person learning at least one day per week.
    • If those union agreements can be reached, would that provide an opportunity for LRC2 students to attend their general education classes in-person with their peers?
    • If union agreements can be reached, could students with IEPs (both LRC1 & LRC2) be given access to more time in-person teaching than students without IEPs?
    • Would separate bargaining need to occur for the special education population to take advantage of those opportunities like what happened with the K-3 memorandum of understanding (or MOU)?

You can find it on the Special Education Page.

2021 Focus on Advocacy – Week of March 15th Report – WSPTA

From: https://www.wastatepta.org/2021-focus-on-advocacy-march-15-report/

Governor orders more in-person learning this school year

Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant, legconsultant@wastatepta.org

Perhaps the most interesting thing that happened this past week was Governor Jay Inslee’s announcement Friday, March 12, that through an emergency proclamation to be issued this coming week, all schools in Washington must offer the opportunity for in-person learning to students who choose that option. The announcement came with direction that all Department of Health and other safety protocols (including the six-feet distance between students) also must be maintained, and that the order did not mean all students would be returned to buildings 100% of the time.

Read the full report here.


WSPTA Bill Tracking Report

Keep up with the bills and committee hearings related to WSPTA member-generated legislative priorities and long-term positions by utilizing the bill status and upcoming events report.


Washington State Board of Education

State Board of Education Adopts Emergency Waiver Program, Allowing Waiver of Certain High School Graduation Requirements For the Class of 2021 Due to COVID-19Emergency rules were adopted Thursday, March 11 that allow flexibility and local approval for the waiver of certain high school graduation requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

At its March 11 meeting, the State Board of Education (SBE) adopted emergency rules that allow school districts to waive certain graduation requirements for individual students due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These emergency rules apply immediately to the graduating Class of 2021.

Read full report here.


Past Washington State PTA Advocacy Weekly Newsletters can be found here.

2021 Focus on Advocacy – March 1 Report – WSPTA

From: https://www.wastatepta.org/2021-focus-on-advocacy-march-1-report/

March 1, 2021

WSPTA: 2021 Focus on Advocacy – March 1 Report

Floor action to dominate legislative work
Prepared by Marie Sullivan, WSPTA Legislative Consultant, legconsultant@wastatepta.org

Following the fiscal cutoff on February 22, Washington state legislators turned their attention to floor action in a virtual world. In both the House and Senate, a limited number of lawmakers and staff are present. Most discussion is conducted with a single legislator’s face on TVW: in the House, a muted blue background with the capitol dome backs the legislator; in the Senate, the rules are a little more flexible, with some legislators opting for a Zoom background of the Senate chambers, while others have an image from their district or special photo. Caucus meetings take place offline, using the Microsoft Teams platform. Deliberations are taking longer, with both the House and Senate working late into the evening during the week and the House working a full day on Saturday and Sunday.

The next cutoff is March 9. That’s the date for bills to have passed out of the chamber in which they started. Committee meetings resume on March 10, when policy committees will have two weeks, and fiscal committees will have another week to act on bills from the opposite chamber.

Read the full report here.

Keep up with the bills and committee hearings related to WSPTA member-generated legislative priorities and long-term positions by utilizing the bill status and upcoming events report.


Additional ways to stay connected:

*Each week a new newsletter, “Focus on Advocacy,” will be sent each Monday to subscribers to keep you informed on what is happening during the legislative session and how it aligns with WSPTA priorities. To subscribe simply click on the “Update your Profile” link at the bottom of any newsletter to select this newsletter.

*Subscribe to the Action Network to participate in timely action alerts through the session. As a bonus, subscribers to the Action Network receive the new “Focus on Advocacy” newsletter.

*Advocacy questions can be directed to WSPTA Advocacy Director Sherry Rudolph.

Issaquah PTSA Council – Award Nominations Open

Greetings Issaquah PTSA Council members,

It is Golden Acorn time, my favorite time of the year, where we take a moment to express intentional gratitude for people who have done exceptional work this year. What a year it has been. Wherever you are this moment reading this, please take a moment to thank yourself. In my eyes, every member of council is worthy of a Golden Acorn this year. Through an unprecedented time of closed buildings and scattered, divided community, you have continued to lead and hold the community together. These jobs have never been easy, but this year, your exceptional leadership has happened in a virtual world, all while holding your own family together. It is humbling in such a beautiful way.

Gratitude is important for our own mental health as well as the health of our community. After you have thanked yourself (I am imagining us all actually saying thank you to ourselves out loud here), please take a moment to think about council members (this can be anyone on council including all of our unit presidents) who are deserving of extra recognition this year and fill out our survey.

Please do not worry if you do not know enough about the person to fill out all of the boxes. As a committee, we can do some of that work and we can always contact you for more information if we need it.  

I know how busy we all are, but I also know that practicing gratitude for others, will bring us personal joy, as well as spread joy around. We live in an awesome community, and right now, we all need reminders of that.

Questions? Please reach out to us at awards@issaquahptsa.org
Nomination Survey

Sincerely,
Kristen, Laurelle and Cindy

Issaquah PTSA Council Awards

Top 5 Legislative Priorities 2020-2021

The Top 5 Legislative Priorities for 2020-2021 are:

  • Increase Access to Nursing, Mental Health, and Social Emotional Learning Staff
  • Support Students and Preserve Education Funding
  • Increasing Educational Equity by Closing the Digital Divide
  • Supports and Funding for Students with Disabilities and Their Families
  • Prevent and Reduce Gun Violence and Suicide

Also supported (listed alphabetically):

  • Equitable Identification and Services for Highly Capable Students
  • Mitigating the Adverse Impacts of Climate Change
  • Safe School Plans and Emergency Preparedness

Visit here for more information and descriptions of each of these issues.