Florida PTA     1747 Orlando Central Parkway     Orlando, Florida     32809     407-855-7604     800-373-5782
*Please share this publication with your members*

Mindy Haas
Florida PTA President

Happy New Year! I hope you are as excited as I am to bring in 2016, which is already proving to be a year of excitement and challenges. Just what I need to keep my mojo moving forward... 

The 2016 Legislative Session begins on Monday, January 11th. I will be right there representing Florida PTA, making sure that our long-standing good reputation and the power we hold will be maintained in the highest regard.  I will be there to remind the members of our state legislation that it is their job to assure that our education system is funded properly and that our children have the best possible opportunities to be college or career ready.

It is your responsibility  as parents, educators, and members of the community to assure that the legislature does their job to the best of their abilities. One way to assure this is to stay in touch with them; let them know you are watching. Question the decisions they make and applaud them when decisions they make benefit our children. 

Who's in? I am PTA Proud!
2016 Legislative Conference
Registration is still open for the 2016 Florida PTA Legislative Conference being held January 24-26 in Tallahassee. This year's theme again is "Taking Action for Kids"...something we as Florida PTA Advocates do everyday. This year the conference will be nestled between the busy legislative session and Children's Week at the Capital. There will be thousands of children, families and other advocacy groups all "Taking Action for Kids".

Join the Florida PTA Legislative Committee this year and personally experience how your contribution can make a difference. Hot topics will include discussions of bills on Recess, Juvenile Justice, Guns on Campuses, Florida Assessments and other health and safety related issues.

To learn more about this informative and engaging conference, and to register, please click here .  

For Florida PTA's Legislative Priorities, please click here.
Save The Date...2016 Leadership Convention July 14-17!!

Make your plans now and adjust your budget accordingly for a very important weekend at Innisbrook for your PTA training. Your Florida PTA Events Chair, Board of Directors, and guest presenters will be presenting important classes for your local unit. Your PTA President, Secretary, and Treasurer will want to attend to garner much needed information to run your unit smoothly. Other classes will include topics on membership, awards, programs, and resource development, just to name a few. "Hot Topic" classes will keep you informed on current/up-to-date topics.
 
There will also be General Session meetings held during the convention. Join us to hear dynamic speakers and have your voice heard as we complete the business of Florida PTA.  Business agenda includes: addressing proposed resolutions and bylaws changes and the election of your 2016-2018 Florida PTA Officers.
 
Once again there will be exciting events and activities planned throughout the weekend.  This year activities will include: Health and Wellness Fair, Exhibitor Preview Party, Program Gallery, and Reflections Exhibit. Once again the Scholarship Committee will host a special event during the convention to help raise money for our Florida PTA scholarship winners. Florida PTA award winners will be celebrated at a special luncheon on Saturday.
 
More information will follow over the next few months. Watch for the registration forms in March on the Florida PTA website.
Spotlight On...PTA Scholarships
Florida PTA was thrilled to receive the following letter from a former scholarship award recipient, Amanda Price.  This letter shows the importance of scholarship and education, and how PTA is impacting lives every day.  Please encourage your high school seniors to apply for our scholarships!  For more information, visit our scholarship page.  And thank you Amanda for this valuable reminder!

"Dear Florida PTA,
 
My name is Amanda Price. I was going through some old papers when I found a letter giving me the $1000 scholarship in 2006.
 
I just wanted to send a belated thank you.
 
I have gone on to become a certified teacher and worked at an intelligence agency. I have traveled to 20+ countries. I finished my 4 year International Studies degree at the University of South Florida and Hillsborough Community College. 
 
Because of your generosity, I have been able to accomplish all that. 
 
Because of your generosity, my life is as great as it is now.
 
Thank you again!
 
Sincerely,
 
Amanda K. Price"

Every Child In Focus
National PTA's Every Child in Focus is a campaign to strengthen family engagement in schools by celebrating the achievements and reporting the disparities within diverse populations, and sharing resources and advocacy tools to help understand the needs of every child.

Each month, National PTA spotlights the educational issues surrounding a particular group, highlights their accomplishments and focuses on ways to help foster Family-School Partnerships.


The campaign is a school-year-long series that provides educators, families and PTAs with the information they need to deepen family engagement in schools through the PTA   National Standards for Family-School Partnerships.

Host an Every Child in Focus Leadership Event

If the content resonates for your school community, host an Every Child in Focus Leadership Event.  Many of the webinars will include a discussion guide to help you fuel a robust conversation in your school or PTA about key learnings and new ideas for more effective family engagement.

Take pictures from your event and use the hashtags #EveryChild and #FloridaPTA to share your story.  Alternatively, you may send a photo with information about your event to both family.community@floridapta.org and programs@pta.org.   Your program may be highlighted statewide or even nationally!
Awards - Apply Today!
Please note that the award application deadline for the Family/Community Involvement Award (sponsored by Florida Department of Education, Florida PTA, State Farm, and Wells Fargo) is fast approaching! See your school district volunteer coordinator for each deadline date. Note: Districts are required to have the top entries sent to FDOE postmarked by February 15, 2016.

Click here for more information or go directly to the  award application.
From our Treasurer
Local units, if you have not already done so,  please send us your completed 2015 audits and a copy of the 990 IRS form you completed ASAP to compliance@floridapta.orgAs the parent association,  we need to have these documents on file for each local unit.   In addition, the IRS has added two new helpful webinars on 990 Overview and 1023-EZ forms. Find out more about the webinars.

As a friendly reminder, if your local unit has any changes in officers, please update Florida PTA with the new officers information.  Click here for the on-line form.  

Do you know if your local unit is in good standing?  Did you know there are mandatory items each unit must handle to ensure they are in compliance and in line with our Standards of Affiliation?   The answer is YES, from Membership Dues to Bylaws, 990 forms and more!
As an officer you can review the list and follow up to ensure your local unit is on track to remain in good standing.   If you see something that needs attention, we are here for you!  Please do not hesitate to reach out to us for support. 

Take a Look!




Florida Road Safety Week
Students - learn about the major issues affecting drivers on a daily basis!  
February 17, 2016 in the Capitol Courtyard

Gridiron Cooking Challenge!
For entry form and rules, visit  floridamilk.com
Coming Soon!
Sponsored by the Florida PTA Family/Community Engagement Committee, we are proud to present the "Flat Mindy Project"!

The purpose of the 2016 Flat Mindy Project is to highlight some of the many wonderful Family Engagement and Health & Wellness activities and concepts that are being put into action with children and youth from around our state.  Although anyone can participate in the 2016 Flat Mindy Project, only children, classes or groups from Pre-K through 5th grade in Florida are eligible for the incentive prizes being offered.

We will have much more information posted soon to our web site so be on the look-out!
The Florida PTA Store has many great items to help build your PTA spirit!  Click on the picture to see all the great promotional items you can use as awards and incentives!