BUILDING EQUITY IN FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

First District PTA invites you to join us for an interactive and purposeful workshop to focus on how we can, as partners in student success, build equity in our collective family engagement strategies to ensure great outcomes for all students. 

The workshop will be facilitated by two nationally recognized experts in Family Engagement.

MEMBERSHIP IS SWEET!

COMMIT-MINT TO MEMBERSHIP GROWTH

As of September 22, 2023, First District PTA had 26,314 members, which is 36% of the way to our year-end goal of 73,000!

UPCOMING MEMBERSHIP DEADLINES

October

1. First District PTA Members Per Capita, October AND California State PTA Membership Incentive, “Ready, Set…Remit!” due at or before noon, October 16th to First District PTA office

November

1. First District PTA Members Per Capita, November AND First District PTA Membership Challenge, “Gumdrop Pass #1”: due at or before noon, November 15th to First District PTA office
2. First District PTA Membership Challenge, “Avoid Lord Licorice”: due at or before noon, November 15th directly to [email protected]

Councils and out-of-council units, you must still turn in a monthly membership per capita dues remittance by the monthly deadline on the Financial Calendar.



No members that month? Note “0” on the remittance form.

CALIFORNIA STATE PTA CONTINUING EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS

Click HERE to access the application, due October 15th by 11:59 p.m.

This $500 scholarship opportunity is for credentialed teachers, counselors, nurses and school staff, and an additional $500 scholarship for PTA volunteers.

Current PTA membership in a PTA/PTSA unit in good standing is required.

Yours in Membership Growth,

Wendy Tateishi, VP of Membership

[email protected]

REFLECTIONS

Reminder: School site unit PTAs should check with their school district council PTA for Reflection due dates. All Reflections entry submission spreadsheets from council PTAs and all Out-of-Council PTAs are due virtually to First District PTA by Friday, December 1, 2023 by noon.  

If you need more information or want to view training resources, visit our First District Reflections Cheat Sheet.

Any questions can be sent to [email protected].

IT'S (ALMOST) TAX TIME

IMPORTANT: All council and unit PTAs are required to file annual tax reports with the IRS, California Franchise Tax Board, and State of CA Office of the Attorney General.

Click HERE to download “PTA TAXES: What Do We Need to File?” from the First District PTA website. You may also visit the California State PTA Tax Filing Support Center by clicking HERE for more information. 

•       Fiscal Year End 5/31 – Tax filing due date is October 15th

•       Fiscal Year End 6/30 – Tax filing due date is November 15th

•       File Reports by Mail: Send tax reports via certified mail, receipt requested, to each agency and KEEP PROOF of MAILING

•       Upload confirmation of filings to myPTEZ Document Management immediately after processing (myPTEZ Document Management is free for all PTAs in California)

INSURANCE PREMIUMS DUE

All insurance premium payments must be made directly to our insurance broker, AIM (Association Insurance Management, Inc.). DO NOT SEND INSURANCE PREMIUMS THROUGH CHANNELS. All PTAs will fill out the insurance questionnaire and submit payment through the AIM Insurance Portal starting on October 3rd. Your president and treasurer will receive an email directly from AIM with a link to the portal.

A short video tutorial on how to use the portal and make your payment can be accessed here: HOW TO PAY INSURANCE VIDEO

Insurance payments must be made to AIM no later than December 20th or a late fee applies. Please allow time for your payment to arrive by the deadline if you are paying by check. Your check must be “received by,” not “postmarked by” the 20th.

✅ For more information, visit the California State PTA website HERE.

✅ Don’t forget to download the latest copy of the Insurance Guide from AIM. The guide is also available in Spanish.

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].

OCTOBER TOPICS AND ISSUES

The Health and Community Concerns Report comes out monthly with links to topics and issues including health, safety, diversity, inclusion, and more. Please share with your units and membership as part of PTA outreach efforts. 

GENERAL RESOURCES FOR HEALTH, SAFETY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

National PTA 

• National PTA Family Resources Center
• National PTA Welcome Back to School resource page that includes a variety of topics on how to plan your year, how to engage your community, and how to support your families
•  Listen to Notes from the Backpack now on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify and TuneIn.
• LGBTQ community inclusivity in PTA

California State PTA

• California State PTA Community Concerns page

October is:

• National Pedestrian Safety Month

October celebrates the right of everyone to walk, bike, or roll safely and reminds drivers of their responsibility for safe streets. Please click the link for statistics and important resources and reminders to raise awareness of the topic. 

• Walk and Bike to School Day: October 4th, 2023. This day is celebrated as a part of the movement for year-round safe routes to school.

• National Teen Driver Safety Week - October 15th-21st, 2023 Parents are the biggest influencers on their teen drivers, even if you think they aren't listening. National Teen Driver Safety Week is the perfect time to talk to your teenager about their driving habits. Make sure they are following the driving rules that you have implemented. Talk to them about the dangers of distracted driving and also driving under the influence. Remind them to never get into a vehicle with an impaired driver. Help them make responsible decisions. Take a ride with them every now and then to ensure they follow the traffic rules.



• World Mental Health Day: October 10, 2023

• ADD/ADHD
• Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) information on ending stigmas about ADD and ADHD

• Domestic Violence 
• No More’s Awareness campaign
• California Partnership to End Domestic Violence list of hotlines and resources

• Down Syndrome Awareness
• National Down Syndrome Society’s 21 things you can do to celebrate and raise awareness and more.



• Bilingual Child
• Founded by Language Lizard in 2006, Bilingual Child Month celebrates children who serve as bridges between cultures. Celebrate by adding bilingual books to your school or personal library!

Lenka Kendall, VP of Community Concerns

[email protected]

CHECK YOUR ROSTERS IN MYPTEZ

Now that the school year is underway, it is a good time to ensure your rosters are correct in myPTEZ by checking if they include all of your current board members. MyPTEZ is the primary method used for contacting officers by First District and California State PTAs.

All PTAs in California have the ability to use the Officer Contact portion of myPTEZ even if they do not use it as their accounting software. To learn how to input your officers, please visit this link or view the video tutorial here: https://www.myptez.com/tutorials/officercontact/

Rebecca Johnson, VP Communications

[email protected]

Visit our website to see past issues of "You Heard it Here First!"