Texas PTA Member Message - July 2012

Texas PTA Member Message  July 2012 Message From The President  I hope you are enjoying your summer so far, and taking time to relax while spending time with your family and friends. I also hope I see you at our upcoming premier event, Summer Leadership Seminar, July 28-30 in Austin. This event is not just for PTA board members, but also offers a wealth of opportunity for any member. We also don't want to forget to invite and bring principals, teachers, campus staff and district administrators. Many of our workshops are eligible for professional development credit. If you cannot attend this event, we have two more SLS On the Road events, one in El Paso, August 18, and one in South Texas, September 8. All of these events are filled with information, networking opportunities, and fun! Texas PTA was well-represented at National PTA's 116th Annual Convention in San Jose, California last month. Congratulations to Sharon Goldblatt, immediate past president for Texas PTA, who was elected to serve on the National PTA Board of Directors. In addition to elections of members to the board and members to the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee, delegates also adopted two resolutions dealing with distracted driving and improved infrastructure around schools. For more information, you can visit the National PTA website at www.pta.org. We look forward to seeing you at one of our SLS events, and wish you a happy, fun-filled and safe summer! Riddle Elementary-Overcoming the Language Barrier Farsi, Tamil, Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish. These are just a few of the 59 language and dialects other than English spoken within Frisco ISD, a school district located north of the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex. According to Kindra Strachan, Frisco ISD Council of PTAs President, "In Frisco, at any given school, we could have between 18 and 33 different languages represented by parents and students. This makes getting the PTA message out to these parents a little more daunting." Frisco ISD and its PTAs have embraced their district's diversity and multiculturalism and the opportunities that come with them. In fact, most of the 47 PTAs in Frisco ISD have multicultural chairs that sit on their boards. Thanks to the efforts of their PTA, one school, Riddle Elementary, has taken the extra step to make all parents, regardless of preferred language, feel included and welcomed in their school by finding an effective way to educate their parents about PTA. "What is PTA?" "Why should I join PTA?" "What are the benefits of joining PTA?" These questions were asked repeatedly by parents who stood before the PTA table at Meet-the-Teacher night. Unfortunately, those questions were not always answerable because of the language barrier. As explained by Monica Violante, former Multicultural Chair for Riddle PTA, "PTA" often is an unknown to people from other countries. The parents were interested in supporting their school and helping, but they didn't know how. PTA provided the answer. Through the efforts of Monica, they have developed a brochure that answers these questions in seven different languages. Using survey information Monica had gathered to help her plan Riddle's multicultural nights, she discovered that over 25 languages were spoken at Riddle. Monica approached people she knew who were fluent in both English and the languages of Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Telegu, Tamil, and Spanish and asked them to translate the answers to these key questions into their language. The translators typed the translations using that language's alphabet and sent them to Monica. FedEx Kinkos formatted the brochures. 1 ½ years later, the project was completed. The PTA's goals for this project are to bridge the gap between home and school, teach about PTA, and to help everyone, regardless of culture or preferred language, to feel more included. Because the brochures have only recently been published and distributed, the results of this effort are not yet known. To increase the chances of success, Laura Blackbourn, Riddle PTA President, indicates they plan on having bilingual speakers present at the PTA tables at this fall's Meet-the-Teacher night. Laura says Riddle PTA is really trying to reach out to all parents to break that language barrier. Monica is happy to share her knowledge and lessons learned with those who are interested in taking on a similar project. She stresses that before starting a project such as this, it is important to know your school and to go to native speakers who are proficient in both English and their native language. Monica may be reached at monica@violante.com. If proof is needed that feeling included is important for parent participation, this paraphrased observation shared by Monica should offer that proof. A Taiwanese parent, who has recently joined the PTA board, told Monica, "People wanted to be involved, but no one knew how to ask." At Riddle Elementary, now they know. Summer Leadership Seminar in Austin is bigger and better than ever, but there is still room if you would like to attend!  Only onsite registration is available now but make plans to attend! Onsite Registration is$125 and is available July 27-28, 2012 (closes at noon on July 28, 2012). PLEASE NOTE THAT SPECIAL EVENTS (i.e. Get Connected! Reception and Legacy Breakfast) MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE DURING THE ONSITE REGISTRATION PROCESS. For more information, visit http://www.txpta.org/events/austin/. Texas PTA Memorials  Remember Texas PTA in your will or living trust.  A gift through your will or living trust will continue your support of Texas PTA as an important legacy in our state.  Members can use their wills or living trusts to make their most generous gifts, so please remember us when you create yours.  A charitable bequest is an excellent way to create a lasting memorial.  For more information, contact Kyle Ward (kward@txpta.org ) or by calling 800-TALK-PTA, extension 201. Stay Connected, Support Your Child, And Renew Your PTA Membership Today!    PTA provides opportunities to meet with others who have the same interests as you. By sharing common concerns, you will feel more empowered. Being part of PTA connects families and schools and results in parental support and makes school involvement easier. PTA also provides educational opportunities. From local-level parent education meetings to the exciting annual Texas PTA Summer Leadership Seminar, PTA encourages learning and the sharing of accomplishments, interests and concerns. Ultimately, PTA provides the opportunity to serve, to volunteer and to contribute to the welfare of all children, because children represent our future. PTA gives you the opportunity, not only to impact your local community, but to have input in major legislative and policy issues affecting children throughout the state. Membership gives you a voice. Exercise your right to vote. Get involved. Also, PTA members in Texas receive member discounts.  Check out your member "perks" on the Benefits and Discounts webpage. 2012 Student Awards Ceremony    Was your child recognized at the state level for Reflections or the One World Challenge?  If so, have you RSVP'd to attend our awards ceremony in Corpus Christi?  We are hosting our annual Texas PTA Awards Ceremony for families across Texas in celebrating the accomplishments of our talented students. Detailed award information is listed by category on the Environmental page or the Reflections page of the Texas PTA website.  Students who received an Award of Merit, Award of Excellence or an Overall Award of Excellence, will be honored on Saturday, August 4, 2012, in the Selena Auditorium at the Corpus Christi Convention Center.  Ceremony time will be determined following the reply deadline. If you need to RSVP, use this form to reply. Why Parents Should Keep An Eye On Instagram  by Monika Diaz, WFAA, Dallas DALLAS - Even if you don't use Facebook or Twitter, you know what they are.  But what about Instagram? We're willing to bet your children not only know about it, but they use the free photo-sharing app for smartphones and tablets. It all seems pretty harmless, but some parents fear their children are also finding trouble. Instagram has become another online playground for 13-year-old Juliette Campbell and her friends, where they can post pictures and comments. "Most of them who have an iPhone have Instagram," she said. It's the new place to be. Instagram lets users take photos and share them on other social networking sites through their smartphones and tablets. Juliette got permission from her mom to open an account. "My account is private, so like people - like somebody I don't know tries to follow me, I will ignore them," she said. Amy Campbell monitors her daughter's Instagram offerings on a daily basis, but she still worries. "It's scary," she said. "I think the immediacy of it kind of might impair people's judgment sometimes because it is so split-second... that you take a picture, you hit a button, and it's gone." There are other concerns, too. "People having pictures, girls in bathing suits... anything that can be perceived suggestive or immodest, those type of things. That really bothers me for all of our girls," Campbell said. Also troubling her is a second account Juliette opened for her favorite pop group, One Direction. There, she accepts everyone. Juliette is connected to hundreds of followers, from friends to strangers.   "It's a risky situation to be interacting with people she has no clue who they are or where they are from or what their intentions are," Campbell said.   During our visit, a quick scan of that account found comments laced with sex and obscenities.   "Foul language, suggestive language... very descriptive, gross stuff, and isn't appropriate for her age," Campbell said.   It's a challenge for this modern mom trying to keep track of her child's life online, but she has recruited other parents to get involved.   "I do think moms help each other out, parents help each other out with alerting each other with something we need to look out for," Campbell said. Story online at http://www.wfaa.com/home/Why-parents-should-keep-an-eye-on-Instagram-160481345.html.