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Articles by PTA Spotlights
Meet National PTA’s Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant Recipients
National PTA’s Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant awards two local PTAs $1,000 in funds for student-centered programs that increase access to high quality arts learning experiences and new pathways for students – especially those hardest to reach – to participate in the arts and National PTA’s Reflections program.
Meet the 2023-2024 Reflections Theme Search Contest Winner!
Every year, hundreds of thousands of students across the country and in U.S. schools abroad participate in the Reflections program, creating artwork in response to an annual theme. Through Reflections, PTA provides students with an opportunity to grow their confidence and a platform to raise their voice on social issues.
How Your PTA Can Support Social and Emotional Learning
November 29, 2021 By National PTA Staff We know social and emotional learning (SEL) happens at home and at school, but how do we bridge the two learning environments? That’s where your PTA comes in! National PTA has introduced our Healthy Minds program to help families and schools work together to support kids’ mental health and well-being.
Family Literacy for All
October 28, 2021 By Sandra West National PTA’s Family Reading Experience recently turned five years old, so we decided it was time for a refresh. Over the past year, National PTA has worked with literary content experts to help us re-design programming to be more accessible to the everyday parent and PTA leader by engaging the whole family in reading activities. With our funding from Office Depot, National PTA was able to pilot these new resources last spring with select PTAs across the country.
How Does a PTA Become a National School of Excellence?
The year-long commitment to becoming a National PTA School of Excellence can seem daunting, but with step-by-step guidance and as many unique project plans as there are school communities, the journey is one well-worth taking.
Grant Continues to Advance Art Through PTAs Nationwide
For over 50 years, the National PTA Reflections arts program has provided opportunities for recognition and access to the arts for millions of students, thanks to the innovation of artist, PTA leader and founder Mary Lou Anderson. Reflections boosts student confidence and success in the arts and in life. Anderson’s vision was to increase arts access among at-risk and underserved students and we are proud to offer the Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant to help continue that goal.
Meet the 2021 Phoebe Apperson Hearst Awardees!
Each year, National PTA honors the top three National PTA Schools of Excellence with the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Awards for demonstrating outstanding success in engaging families in student success and school improvement. The awardees are selected by a team of Past National PTA Presidents and are the highest honor our association offers for success in family engagement.
Arlington Science Focus School Virtual Family STEM Night 2021
March 1, 2021 By Dana Taylor Think you can’t host a family fun night while remote learning? Think again! Arlington Science Focus School, an elementary school in Arlington, Va., hosted its first-ever Virtual Family STEM Night Wednesday, Feb. 17. The event went off without a hitch thanks to ASFS Investigation Station Lead, Stephanie Lin, the 2020 NOVA District PTA Educator of the Year, and a team of volunteers made up of ASFS teachers, parents, local high school students, and community partners.
National PTA Celebrates Look Within Reflections Artists
For over fifty years, the National PTA Reflections program has provided opportunities for recognition and access to the arts, which boost student confidence and success in the arts and in life. The arts program honors student creativity through six Reflections categories: Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, and Visual Arts.
Celebrating Arts & Humanities through the School of Excellence
National PTA and the School of Excellence program recognize that schools and PTAs can take an active role in supporting of arts education. Throughout the country, arts education programming is being slashed, leaving all students, artists or not, without a creative outlet to explore their own experiences and identities. Understanding this, some of our School of Excellence participants take up the mantle of supporting the arts in their school communities no matter how difficult.
Meet the 2019 Phoebe Apperson Hearst Winner
This summer, National PTA honored Mark Twain Elementary PTA in Lawndale, California with the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Award for Outstanding Family-School Partnership. This award is given to top National PTA School of Excellence designees for demonstrating outstanding success in engaging families in student success and school improvements. Mark Twain Elementary PTA proved again and again to be incredibly deserving of the designation and this award.
Ways to Make Your PTA Virtual
April 29, 2020 By Suzan Yungner With so many schools closed through the end of the school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, how are PTA/PTSAs keeping in touch with their school communities? They are going virtual! National PTA surveyed local leaders from across America and heard about the many amazing things they are doing to be relevant to their members, students, families and communities together during this health crisis, with stay-at-home orders and social distancing in place.
Advocacy Spotlight: Gun Violence Prevention
Gun violence is such an overwhelming issue in our nation, it can be paralyzing to think about. How can you as one parent, or even as one PTA unit, make a difference? Thankfully, there are PTAs who have been paving the way, and we had the chance to talk with three representatives from Mercer Island PTA Council, Lori Cohen-Sanford, Erin Gurney, and Gwen Loosmore. Mercer Island PTA Council has been advocating for gun violence prevention since 2018.
Partnering for Good: Spotlighting Survivors at the Super Bowl
Each year, the NFL seeks to improve the surrounding communities of the Super Bowl host city through their Super Bowl Legacy Grant Program. As the Miami-Dade County Council PTA/PTSA President, I knew we had to take advantage of this opportunity and help one of our local PTAs become a recipient of the grant coinciding with the Miami Super Bowl 2020.
Customize Health for Your Community! With a Healthy Hydration Event
SPOTLIGHT: Apples PTA (Stamford, Connecticut) This blog post is part of a series authored by local PTA leaders who received a Healthy Hydration Grant, sponsored by Nestlé Waters North America. They share practical advice and lessons learned from planning and hosting their events. The Healthy Hydration Program is a great way to promote drinking water and infused water to students and families.
Fun for the Whole Family! At a Healthy Hydration Event
SPOTLIGHT: Dufief Elementary PTSA (North Potomac, Md.) This blog post is part of a series authored by local PTA leaders who received a Healthy Hydration Grant, sponsored by Nestlé Waters North America. They share practical advice and lessons learned from planning and hosting their events. Incorporating a Healthy Hydration Event into our PTA calendar was so easy! We hosted a Bike Rodeo and simply added the Healthy Hydration Stations at our event.
Arts Enhancement Grant Awards Local PTAs
National PTA’s Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant awards two local PTAs $1,000 in matching funds for student-centered programs that increase access to high quality arts learning experiences and new pathways for students to participate in National PTA’s Reflections program Last year, through the Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant application, PTAs shared their plans to deliver high-quality arts education activities in the literary, media, visual and/or...
PTA Leader Helps School Step Outside Comfort Zone and Into Progress
November 11, 2019 By Amy Weinberg Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Daphne Callender, Fitness Instructor by day and PTA champion of Springfield Estates Elementary School (SEES) PTA in Springfield, VA, and her extraordinary school community in celebration of their 2019-2021 National PTA School of Excellence designation. The warm celebration with parents, staff and administrators included a delicious dinner, a decorated cake and the unveiling of their School of Excellence banner.
Excellence in Action: 2019’s Top 3 National PTA Schools of Excellence
Each year, the top three National PTA Schools of Excellence are selected to receive the Phoebe Apperson Hearst Awards for demonstrating outstanding success in engaging families in student success and school improvements. These awards are selected by a team of Past National PTA Presidents and are the highest honor National PTA offers for success in family engagement.
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