Together, We Can and We Will.

PTA has a long and proud history. Join us as we celebrate that history and look forward to the challenges and opportunities of the future. Keynote speaker jamele Adams, Director for Love, Inclusion & Trust.

We have an exciting schedule with opportunity to engage and learn how to support our children, families, and communities at our Annual Meeting, Awards Celebration and Reflections Program on Saturday April 5th, 2025.

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Messages, Invitation, Information and Updates:

MA PTA President,

Kathresha Cureton

I invite all of you to attend our MA PTA Annual Meeting. It truly holds something for everyone. It is very important that we keep a unified voice on behalf of every child today and every day. We need to always be their advocates. Know that you are welcome and needed for all of us to stay strong and keep our mission:

Every Child, One Voice

As your leader and President, I have worked on behalf of recent initiatives aimed at enhancing student success. Some Key Highlights include:

Collaboration for Student Achievement: Discussions with Commissioner Russell Johnston focused on the PTA's vision for improving educational outcomes through collective efforts.

Statewide Engagement: Participation in a Tele-Town Hall with Congresswoman Katherine Clark and state leaders addressed government funding and policies impacting education.

Connection with Officials: Ongoing dialogues with Senator Markey’s team, the Massachusetts congressional delegation, Governor Healey’s office, and the Attorney General's staff aim to ensure that community concerns are heard.

Advocacy Efforts: Meetings with representatives from various organizations, including the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, are part of efforts to advance important initiatives.

The President and MA PTA leadership team encourage members to share their ideas and get involved by reaching out at info@masspta.org. The message emphasizes that together, we can make a significant difference in supporting our children and students.

Kathresha Cureton

Massachusetts Parent-Teacher Association

P.O. Box 44, Rehoboth, MA 02769

k.cureton@masspta.org

www.massachusettspta.org

Enjoy every moment of your journey, and never hesitate to make a difference where you can!

MA PTA Annual Meeting

Key Note Speaker: jamele Adams 

Spelling his name with lowercase letters, he does so to signal that he is a piece in life’s grand landscape for us all. jamele serves as the DEI Director for the District of Scituate Public Schools. Recipient of many awards and recognitions for his work in higher education, with young scholars interested in law and creative writing workshops, he is also a nationally celebrated poet. jamele remains well known for his work engaging issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. Through his L.I.T. platform and model; love, inclusion and trust serve as the basis for human connection while addressing h8 and bias. jamele is often called to high schools to assist in navigating complex terrains of injustice and help student communities after bias incidents have occurred. Please join us on April 5th to hear the embracing words of jamele.

“Love how you love who you love” -JMA

REFLECTION PROGRAM UPDATES for MA PTA ANNUAL MEETING



Hope to see you all at the Reflections Program at Annual Meeting! We had 55 total submissions and 19 of those (Award of Excellence) have moved on to the National Reflections competition. Winners were (will be, but this will go out afterward) contacted directly March 8-9th and will be given awards at the Annual Meeting on April 5th. We will also display all of the art in a Reflections gallery at the event.

Local Reflections coordinators should try to collect all the physical art for ALL submissions (not just winners) in Visual Arts, Photography, and Literature so we can display it at the Annual Meeting. It would be great if you could email me s.lewis@masspta.org) by April 1st if they can't get the original art (or the original art is digital), so I can plan to have a printed representation ready. I will be putting together reels of the digital art for the Dance, Film, and Music categories.  

"Thank You, Hope to see you at Reflections"

Samatha Lewis

Reflections Chairperson

Empowering Health, Safety, And Wellness:

A Community Approach with MA PTA

The Mass PTA and Health Safety and Wellness Committee have been approved as a DESE PDP provider. The Mass PTA PD program focuses on the Health, Safety and Wellness of today’s students, educators, families and community members by focusing on: Protecting from Harm, Healthy Communities, and Emotional Health & Wellness educational modules.

This program is brought to you through your dues membership. To become a member please join our statewide MA PTA Cranberry Unit for just $10.00 per year. This membership will give you access to all of the programming and resources provided by Massachusetts PTA and National PTA. Join the Cranberry Unit Here!

Although this program is designed for educational purposes so that our educators can receive Professional Development credits, it is open to any Massachusetts PTA member who would like to view the material and learn about best practices on how to support our children, students, families, educators and communities. These online courses review recorded Massachusetts PTA health symposium sessions presented by recognized physicians, educators, and professionals in their fields.

Members of Massachusetts PTA can access the Professional Development program by filling out our Contact Us form and noting your request to be added to the FREE educational subscription service. You can also reach us by emailing info@masspta.org at any time for assistance. Once your membership has been confirmed you will receive a login to the service and can then access the pages on the website that are part of the Professional Development program.

Awesome Crossing Guards!

Without them, your students wouldn’t get into school safely, so show them how much you appreciate them with a thank you card and a nomination for Crossing Guard of the Year, courtesy of Safe Routes to School!

Nomination Deadline:

March 19th

Car-free Day: Think differently about getting to school.

In celebration of Earth Month, high schools across the Commonwealth are picking one day in April, May, or June to make their campus car-free. This day encourages students, families, and school faculty & staff to pledge to walk, bike, and roll to and from school. Riding the school bus and taking public transit count too! It's an excellent way to give your campus a way to experience the benefits of sustainable travel options.

April 16 or anytime this spring

Registration: Safe Routes to School Flagship Event Registration

Flyers and posters: Massachusetts Safe Routes to School Car-Free Campus Day | Mass.gov

Contact:

Judith Crocker MBA RSP1 | Statewide Coordinator and Outreach Supervisor

Massachusetts Safe Routes to School - A Program of MassDOT

c: 781-454-6617|t: 857.383.3822 | f: 857.368.0656

judy.crocker@aecom.com

www.mass.gov/safe-routes-to-school

Proud Member of MA PTA and The Health, Safety and Wellness Comm.

The School Wellness for Initiative for Thriving Community Health (SWITCH), in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Office for Food and Nutrition Programs (FNP) and The John C. Stalker Institute of Food and Nutrition (JSI) is seeking ways to help educators incorporate food literacy into the classroom.

Please take five minutes to complete the survey below. Educator and teacher feedback gathered from the survey will help to inform future food literacy professional development opportunities, resources and conversations.

Survey link: https://framingham.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5jsPuAeF1regKRE

The survey will be available until March 21, 2025.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact MassSchoolWellness@framingham.edu. Your participation is greatly appreciated!

Please share this survey with teachers and educators in your network.

Thank you and Contact me:

Nicole Good

School Wellness Specialist  

W 781-338-6473

nicole.good@mass.gov

Office for Food and Nutrition Programs

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Serving PreK – Adult Learners

135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149

Another Proud Member of MA PTA and The Health, Safety and Wellness Comm.

Your Presence is Powerful

Flu Update

The current flu season has been more severe​ than usual. A record number of children have been hospitalized with the flu.

As a parent, the best thing you can do to protect your children and others from the flu is to get them vaccinated. Flu vaccination is recommended for all children six months of age and older.

It is not too late to get a flu vaccine! Since flu may be circulating in Massachusetts well into the spring, contact your provider to schedule a flu vaccine appointment.

Pertussis (Whooping Cough) Update

Pertussis (Whooping Cough) has been confirmed in many communities. The re-emergence of pertussis has been especially pronounced in Massachusetts. According to CDC data, the number of pertussis cases jumped from 14 cases in 2023 to 841 cases in 2024.

Initially, pertussis appears to be a “common” cold. It can develop over one to three weeks, with the initial cold symptoms progressing to a persistent and sometimes severe cough that is often accompanied by vomiting. Very young infants often do not develop a severe cough – instead, they show difficulty feeding and can stop breathing. Click here for more information.

Vaccination is the best way to protect against pertussis. Pertussis vaccine is given with diphtheria and tetanus vaccines in the same shot. The shot that is currently used for children less than 7 years old is called DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis). Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) is a vaccine for children 7 years of age and older, adolescence.

Contact for more INFO: Cynthia McReynolds, MCAAP Immunization Initiative (cmcreynolds@mcaap.org); Mass PTA Health, Safety and Wellness Committee member

Vaccine Preventable Disease Update

-Cynthia McReynolds, MCAAP Immunization Initiative (cmcreynolds@mcaap.org); Mass PTA Health, Safety and Wellness Committee member

Measles Outbreaks

Recent US measles outbreaks have many families concerned. While Massachusetts has not reported any measles cases, cases have been reported in Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington. This means that we are a car, plane, or train ride away from measles coming to Massachusetts.

Most of the people who have gotten sick thus far were not vaccinated against measles, including an unvaccinated school-age child in Texas, who died from measles complications. This is an important reminder to make sure that your children are fully vaccinated.

Measles is a very contagious disease that can lead to serious complications, especially for babies and young children. The most recognizable symptoms are a very high fever, followed by a red or brownish blotchy rash. Before the rash appears, children with measles develop cold-like symptoms including cough, runny nose, fever, ad red, watery eyes. These symptoms usually worsen during the first 1 to 3 days of illness.

The American Academy of Pediatrics' HealthyChildren.Org website has helpful information for protecting your children during a measles outbreak.

Contact your provider to confirm that your child is up to date on their measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.

It is for THEM,

that we need YOU!

To keep them Healthy,

To keep them Safe,

To keep them Well.

Everyone is Welcome at Massachusetts PTA

Please, Join us

MA PTA Annual Meeting

April 5,

Minuteman Regional Tech School

Lexington, MA

The Massachusetts PTA

thanks you for everything

that you do for PTA,

our families, our schools, our communities,

but most of all, our children!

www.masschusettspta.org

So much Gratitude to all of our Partners, Sponsors and Supporters

Without your support throughout the years, the Massachusetts PTA could not do the work we do on behalf of Children, Families, Educators, Schools and Communities. 

Thank You from MA PTA! We look forward to continued collaboration. Thank You for always sharing our Mission. We very much appreciate all of you!