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From Senator David Frockt, 46th District (Seattle, Kenmore, LFP)
Dear Friends and Neighbors, Another week has passed and I really enjoyed meeting with all the constituents who came to visit my office here in Olympia. With 38 days left in regular session, our focus is turning towards writing the 2015 – 1017 operating budget. While this will not be an easy process I will do my best to see our safety net funded, tuition frozen or lowered, and that we meet our McCleary commitment to fully fund education. Town Hall this Tuesday I know how hard it is to travel to Olympia during the week and we as your 46th delegation want to make sure to stay in contact during the legislative session. We want to hear from you on the issues most important to you. We hope you will be able to join by phone us next Tuesday for our telephone town hall. Tuesday March 24th 6:00 pm Call 1-877-229-8493 and enter 18646 Shortly before 6 o’clock Tuesday evening, you should receive a phone call inviting you to stay on the line and participate in our Telephone Town Hall. If you want to ask a question, simply need to press “ * 3 ” (press the “star” button and then the “3” button). If for some reason you don’t receive the call and you want to join, please call the toll-free telephone number directly, 1-877-229-8493, and then enter the PIN code No. 18646 when prompted. Thanks to WAState PTA Leg Director Sherry Kranick for passing this on!
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Social and Emotional Learning and Breakfast after the Bell Legislation Moves to Floor Action.
This has been a wild week for the Washington PTA. The Senate versions of Breakfast after the Bell SB 5437 and Social and Emotional Learning SB 5688, have passed out to Senate Rules before the cut-off.Our legislative champion in the Senate, Senator Steve Litzow, sponsored both bills and his efforts on behalf of Washington's kids have been successful thus far. Over in the House, Representative Zack Hudgins version of Breakfast after the Bell, HB 1295, has also been moved out of committee and into House Rules. Sadly, Representative Senn's version of Social and Emotional Learning, HB 1760, was not moved forward in committee. The next big challenge will occur this coming week when all bills must be voted off the Senate floor and over for hearings in the State House of Representatives. This is a difficult session for new initiatives, even ones that are proven effective. If you get the chance, e-mailzack.hudgins@leg.wa.gov, tana.senn@leg.wa.gov, and steve.litzow@leg.wa.gov to thank them for their efforts! Proponents of Change for Education Capital Budget hit a roadblock - key bills not moving forward. Whereas other segments of our "Top 5" priorities experienced success this week, supporters of change in how we allocate and obtain capital funding dollars for schools hit the skids. Although Senate Bill 5859 by Senator Jamie Pedersen had been moving forward with substantial bipartisan support, the bill failed to be voted out of committee on Friday. This bill would have reduced the threshold requirements for school districts to qualify for matching funds for projects. Current law discriminates against larger, high growth districts. This bil l is an attempt to strike a balance in the name of fairness. The statutory changes offered by the bill are unlikely to be enacted this session. However, and we stress the "However" quite strongly here - this does not mean that parts of the bill will not make their way into the Senate's proposed Capital Budget later this year. Consider this to be "Schroedinger's Bill" - it is both alive and dead at the same time. House Bill 1941 on the other hand, is truly dead. This bill would have reduced the bond requirements from 60% voter approval to a simple majority in general elections. The bill was imperfect - it only offered a change for November general elections and it split many allies in the education community. Some representatives saw the proposal as at least a start in the process to have a bill moving forward while others saw challenges with only allowing for a November vote. PTA leaders testified on behalf of the bill in committee while urging amendments to allow for more opportunities to run bond issues bey ond the originally offered November date. Supporters have declared they will continue to work this issue during the interim. Rep. Gerry Pollet's Higher Education Tuition Planning Proposal Gaining Traction in the House. House Bill 1238 by Representative Pollet is one of many bills that looked at finding solutions to the rising costs of higher education tuition in Washington State. Pollet's bill aims to task the Washington Student Achievement Council (WASC) to develop a roadmap with the ultimate goal of restricting higher education costs to no more than 10% of the state's median family income. The study requires WASC to develop a series of potential solutions to the problem in a report due no later thanDecember 15, 2016. &n bsp;What sets this bill apart from the others is the comprehensive scope and direction in developing a plan to control price hikes. The bill passed out of committee and is currently awaiting action in House Rules. -Washington State PTA, March 2, 2015 At our February 23 meeting, we were honored to host some of our community's best Emergency Leaders. As promised, Shoreline Fire Chief Matt Cowan sent us this link to share, about kids sleeping through smoke alarms:
http://www.today.com/video/today/51286858#51286858 Please pass it on! Bills to watch:
SSB5866 - Social Emotional Learning
SB5437 - Breakfast After the Bell
SB5419 - Student Privacy
SPECIAL BENEFIT FOR PTA MEMBERS – CIRQUE DU SOLEIL!
Turn your world DOWN side UP as Cirque du Soleil invites you to delve into a world of curiosity. Come and find out how seeing is disbelieving: the world of KURIOS - Cabinet of Curiosities. After two long years, Cirque has returned and is now playing under the iconic blue and yellow Big Top at King County’s Marymoor Park in Redmond. KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities is an ingenious blend of unusual curiosity acts and stunning acrobatic prowess from Cirque du Soleil. Let KURIOS show you that anything is possible through the power of imagination. Great seats are available and by using this link, you can get special pricing on Family Pack tickets! WSPTA PARTNERSHIP WITH BASS PRO SHOPS The Washington State PTA is excited to announce a new member benefit. Bass Pro Shops has recently opened a new store in our state and has some fun things in store! Please come to Bass Pro Shop’s new Tacoma (7905 S. Hosmer Street) store for these family events:
Special offer for PTA members: Show your membership card at the Tacoma Bass Pro and receive 10% off your purchase on February 14th and 15.th Some exclusions apply, please see flyer for more information. For more information on Bass Pro, go to their website at www.basspro.com or visit them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bassprotacoma. "Students today experience unfathomable stresses. Over thirty thousand K-12 students are homeless. Thousands experience bullying, depression, abuse, or have witnessed domestic violence or other violence in their communities. Many have lost a parent or suffered a traumatic experience.
Emotions and relationships directly affect how students learn and how they use that learning in other contexts. If a student is anxious, afraid, or worried about other stresses in his or her life, those emotions will interfere with attention, memory, and positive behaviors. By developing social and emotional skills, students will be equipped with tools to overcome barriers to their learning and even find solace in education and going to school." Find the whole text here (only 5 pages). To help us pass this critical legislation, sign up here. The House version, HB 1760, will be heard at 8AM on February 12th at 8AM. Join us to support your legislative team! It is PTA awards season, and it is time to recognize fabulous educators, volunteers, and advocates in all of our local PTAs and at Council.
If you do not have a form for your PTA and you would like a template, go to the Council Level Awards & Scholarships page for a starting point. There you will also find a great flyer that Northshore put together that lists all awards and directions on email nomination. Remember to save the date for the Recognition dinner, which is April 29 this year. Make sure to announce your winners well before this date so that they can clear their schedules to attend!! Parent/Family and Community Summit
Saturday, February 21, 2015, 8:30-3:30 pm John Stanford Center for Education Excellence Sponsored by Seattle Alliance of Black School Educators/An Affiliate of the National Alliance of Black School Educators U. S. Department of Education In Partnership with Seattle Public Schools. There is no registration cost. Please invite any PTA leaders, Principals, teachers, as well. Summit agenda:
The keynote speaker will be our National PTA President: Dr. Otha Thornton, Jr. Find the flyer here. DISTRITO ESCOLAR DE SHORELINE
NOCHE INFORMATIVA DE ESTANDARES ESTATALES DEL NUCLEO COMUN Jueves, 12 de febrero, 6:30-8:00 Salón Alumni en el Shoreline Center 18560 1st Ave. N.E., Shoreline, WA 98155 Por favor acompáñenos en una noche informativa e interactiva para aprender acerca de los Estándares Estatales del Núcleo Común y Evaluación Smarter Balanced para ayudar a todos los estudiantes estar listos para la universidad y sus carreras. Los presentadores serán: • Rebecca Miner, Superintendente del Distrito Escolar de Shoreline • Teri Poff, Directora de Aprendizaje y Enseñanza del Distrito Escolar de Shoreline • Michael Power, Director de Evaluaciones y Aprendizaje Estudiantil de Shoreline Interpretes en Español estarán disponibles para ayudarlos durante el evento Se ofrecerá cuidado infantil durante el evento Co-auspiciado por el Distrito Escolar de Shoreline, el Consejo PTA de Padres y Maestros de Shoreline, y la Asociación Educativa de Shoreline SHORELINE SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMON CORE INFORMATION NIGHT for Spanish Speaking Families Thursday, Feb. 12, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Alumni Room, Shoreline Center Please join us for an informative and interactive evening of learning about the Common Core State Standards and Smarter Balanced Assessment. Presenters will include • Rebecca Miner, Shoreline Schools Superintendent • Teri Poff, Director of Teaching and Learning for Shoreline Schools • Michael Power, Director of Assessment and Student Learning Spanish interpreters will be available Child Care Provided PTA Voices Had an Impact on Focus Day in Olympia THANK YOU to everyone who STOOD UP, SHOWED UP, and SPOKE UP at this year's Focus Day. Region 6 had its largest group in many years with over 210 registrants! We delivered over 8,000 postcards (2,000 just to the Governor, below) asking legislators to fully fund education and provide services that our kids need.  We packed into meeting rooms to meet with legislators, and at noon stood in solidarity on the Capitol steps in support of Funding McCleary and our other legislative priorities. PTA members held signs and listened to inspiring speeches.
Focus Day is just the beginning. PTAs try to make up the shortfall with auctions and bake sales, but our kids are still shortchanged. According to the State Supreme Court and Supt. of Public Instruction Randy Dorn, $4.5 billion is the minimum level of new funding required by McCleary. Our legislators need to continue to hear from us this session about the importance of fully funding K-12 education. Please sign up for action alerts from WSPTA. We need your voice to make a difference! Heidi Bennett, Region 6 Legislative Chair heidi@bennettdirect.net |
AuthorShoreline PTA Council Archives
May 2016
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