2021 Annual Meeting and Convention

March 11, 2021 by Stephanie Gray

Virtual Events Run from Monday, April 5^th to Saturday, April 10th

PTA has a long and proud history. Join us, virtually as we celebrate that history and look forward to the challenges and opportunities of the future. We have an exciting schedule of virtual sessions on the topics that you have requested from our Special Needs Committee, Health Safety and Wellness Committee, Advocacy Committee, and Leadership Team. This week long opportunity to engage and learn how to support our children, families, and communities culminates in our Reflections Awards Breakfast and Annual Meeting on Saturday.

MA PTA is proud to announce this years event is FREE to all Massachusetts PTA members. If you are not a member and would like to attend one of all of the programs you may with the low registration fee of $10.00.

Please check back or contact convention@masspta.org for more information about scheduled events.

Tentative Schedule-

Monday, April 5, 2021
- 6:00 pm – 6:45 pm Sponsor Workshop- Mountain America Credit Union
- 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Advocacy Panel
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
- 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Food Insecurities Panel
- 7:15 pm – 8:15 pm Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Thursday, April 8, 2021
- 6:00 pm – 6:45 pm Special Education 101
- 7:00 pm – 7:45 pm Special Education and Discipline
- 8:00 pm – 8:45 pm What’s a 504 Plan
Saturday, April 10, 2021 Convention Day
- 8:30 am President Welcome and Keynote Speaker
- 9:00 am Reflections “Breakfast” Celebration
  - Reflections Awards Recognition
  - Local Unit Awards
- 9:30 am Leadership Breakout Sessions
- 10:00 am Massachusetts PTA Annual Meeting and Final Remarks
  - Bylaws Amendments Vote

Engaging Together To Be Healthy Webinar Series

December 20, 2020 by Stephanie Gray

A series of three No Cost webinars covering the issues you are encountering in these uncertain times. You may register for one, two, or any combination of the three.

Webinar 3: March 3, 2021 at 7:30 pm Supporting Youth Fears, Worries, and Grief: A Webinar for Adults

This recording is only available until April 6, 2021

Join Linda for a presentation on how to support youth K-12 as they navigate their fears, worries, and grief during COVID-19. Linda will provide guidance to help you identify what’s going on for your child and how to incorporate mindfulness strategies to be an ongoing support. Live opportunity to receive answers to your questions.

Linda is a Licensed Educational Psychologist. After working in schools for many years, she now runs a private practice, Wellness Empowerment, in Scituate, MA, where she provides individual and group counseling, workshops, and Mindful Parenting courses. Link to her full bio:Clinician Linda Price

Presenter: Linda Price, M.Ed., CAGS, LEP, E-RYT, YACEP

Click Image to View Recording of Webinar

Dr. Rick Moriarty has given us permission to share his slide presentation. Below, is the link to download a .pdf version of the presentation.

21.02.03 Mass PTA Webinar Moriarty Presentation Download

Webinar 2: February 3, 2021 at 7:30 pm Building Vaccine Confidence to Ensure Optimal Health for Your Child and Family

Vaccines Are a Public Health Success

Life pre-vaccines
How vaccines are developed, approved and monitored
How the childhood immunization schedule is determined
Why some vaccines are required for school entry
Why being up-to-date on vaccines is especially important for children younger than 16; but will be in the future

Vaccine Confidence Project and Health Ambassador Program

Strengthening vaccine confidence
Finding credible sources of information/addressing misinformation
Addressing inequities
Becoming a vaccine advocate through the ambassador program

This webinar invites families, educators and communities to think about the importance of vaccines in our lives. Presenters will review vaccines as a public health success and their role in optimizing our health. Presenters also will discuss initiatives to improve vaccine confidence in Massachusetts. Opportunity for answering your questions will be provided.

Webinar 1: January 6, 2021 at 7:30 pm Managing Screen Time for More Meaningful Living and Learning During COVID and Beyond

Remote schooling during the pandemic has been a unique experience for teachers and parents (to say the least!). In addition to more screen time at home, we saw more technology than ever appear in our kids’ education. So, what do we need to consider making sure our kids don’t get lost in the digital world?

This webinar invites families, educators and communities to think critically about educational technology!

Featuring Emily Cherkin, Lisa Cline, and Dr. Criscillia Benford, this discussion will help families better understand and analyze EdTech to meet their families’ needs. Feel more empowered, discover low-tech learning solutions and develop strategies to prioritize your family’s wellness at a time when technology is so overwhelming!

Moderated by Jean Rogers, Director of the Children’s Screen Time Action Network, this webinar promises to prepare families for a new year that makes the best of tech and non-tech learning opportunities. Here are some items we’ll cover:

The myth of personalized learning: No replacement for a high-quality teachers; apps can show whether a student gets and answer right or wrong, not whether they have learned a concept.
Educators may be unaware of the algorithms that often are manipulating kids.
Technology cannot replace a high-quality educator.
How can we use tech to produce, not consume?
How educators and families can come together for healthy solutions.
Remote learning doesn’t have to be online learning. What do we mean?
How do we maintain important connections that help students thrive.

Massachusetts PTA Partners with Project Bread

November 18, 2020 by Stephanie Gray

FREE MEALS FOR ALL KIDS & TEENS THIS SCHOOL YEAR

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the USDA has extended a number of program flexibilities in order to allow meal providers to continue serving free meals to all children and teens throughout this school year. No registration or ID is required, and meals will be available through June 30, 2021. Please refer to the MA meal finder map at www.meals4kids.or/meals, which shows the hundreds of meal sites throughout the Commonwealth where families can easily access free meals for their children. This resource provides site addresses and hours for all sites that are considered “open sites,” which means that they serve meals to any child or teen (they do NOT have to be enrolled in a particular district) and it is updated regularly with new sites. Please help spread the word as wide as possible about these important changes in school meal programs so that more Massachusetts children and teens will have access to healthy meals this year.

Project Bread’s Child Nutrition Outreach Program, alongside the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE,) works to increase participation in two underutilized federal child nutrition programs, the National School Breakfast Program and the Summer Food Service Program (known as Summer Eats in Massachusetts). Together, we strive to ensure that all children in Massachusetts have access to nutritious meals, working directly with school districts and meal providers to provide technical assistance and innovative solutions to ensure these programs make the most impact on the children who need them. To find other food resources, please call Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline at 1-800-645-8333 or visit www.projectbread.org/get-help.

MA PTA Stands with National on Racial Inequity and Injustice

June 18, 2020 by Stephanie Gray

ALEXANDRIA, Va., (June 2, 2020)—The following statement can be attributed to National PTA President Leslie Boggs and National PTA Executive Director Nathan R. Monell, CAE:

“National PTA condemns the inequitable and brutal treatment of all African Americans in this country. No human being should be subject to what we saw happen to George Floyd last week. Millions of people are outraged by the killing of another unarmed black man, and like so many Americans, we mourn the recent deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and other African Americans who died, unable to achieve their full potential in life.

“This ongoing problem of unequal justice has led to protests across this country and continues to have a profound effect on African Americans and communities of color, who feel hurt, frustrated, angry and afraid. Our nation must do better, and PTA stands with those who peacefully seek to inspire meaningful change.

“While we understand significant reforms are needed to create lasting change that will end the systemic discrimination and injustices that have existed for far too long, PTA has a rich legacy in coming together to help solve the toughest problems facing our children and families. PTA can help lead the way with our collective voice.

“For over 120 years, PTA has been the conscience of this country, speaking on behalf of our nation’s most valuable and vulnerable resource⁠—our children. This year, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the unification of the National Parent Teacher Association and the National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers, we recognize we are experiencing times that mirror why the unification was necessary. It is imperative that we remain united and supportive during this difficult time.

“Our transcendent goal has always been to change the lives of children for the better and we will continue to ensure our society values and protects every child. We encourage PTA members and all concerned citizens to speak out and demand that every child be afforded the opportunity to make their potential a reality. Together, we can move above and beyond the perceived division of our diverse experiences and build a shared experience—the experience of working together as human beings, intent on building a better nation and world for our children’s future.”

2020 Annual Meeting – Virtual

April 16, 2020 by Stephanie Gray

We wanted to start off by saying thank you to all who were able to make it to our Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 14, 2020! If you were not able to attend, we understand how crazy life can be, especially during this time. Below you will find a recap of the meeting and don’t forget to check out the award winners!

Click here to view the slideshow presentation we put together to honor the Local Unit, Membership and Volunteer award winners this year!

The Resolution of the Massachusetts Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Stop the Youth Vaping and E-Cigarette Epidemic shown here was passed.

The Massachusetts PTA officers for the 2020-2022 term were elected and installed! Taking office on July 1, 2020,
- President: Madison Estes
- President-Elect: Karen DeRoche
- VP of Leadership: Kathresha Cureton
- Treasurer: Fran Guardabascio
- Secretary: Cate DeCosta

The fiscal year 2019 audit was approved.

Check out the program book to learn about Massachusetts PTA’s work and see what great achievements the award winners accomplished!
We thank you all for your continued support of Massachusetts PTA and are so thankful for your dedication to our mission “to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.” Don’t forget to check out all the fabulous resources National PTA has to offer on their website: www.pta.org.
Stay safe, and stay well! We hope to “see” you again in the near future!

MA PTA Call To Convention:

Due to the current health situation, stay at home orders and prohibition of in-person meetings, the annual meeting of the Massachusetts PTA will be held, via video conferencing on Thursday, May 14 from 7:00-8:00 pm
In order to conduct the necessary business of our association, we need a quorum of 25 members. That business will include:

Election of new officers
Approval of resolution
Approval of auditor’s report
Recognition of local unit, membership and Reflections award winners

Nominated Slate of Officers

President-elect: Karen DeRoche
VP of Leadership: Kathresha Cureton
Treasurer: Fran Guardabascio
Secretary: Cate DeCosta

Click Here to Register for the Virtual Annual Meeting

RESOLUTION OF THE MASSACHUSETTS PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION (PTA)STOP THE YOUTH VAPING AND E-CIGARETTE EPIDEMIC

We will accept nominations from the floor. Please note that the office of president-elect requires that nominees have served 2 years on the Massachusetts PTA board or one of its committees.

Please register so that we can verify your status as a member. Once verified, you will be sent the meeting login information which will be unique to you.

THERE IS NO CHARGE TO ATTEND THIS MEETING.
We thank you in advance for marking this important event on your calendar and making it a point to be in attendance!

Virtual Events Run from Monday, April 5th to Saturday, April 10th