Join us for a special “Just-For-Councils” training for present and future Council presidents, treasurers, auditors, parliamentarians, and secretaries, on Monday, March 12 from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Dinner will be provided at no cost. RSVP, more info here: http://bit.ly/wVYDDv
State PTA Convention in Anaheim, May 9-12
Early online registration for this year’s California State PTA Convention opens February 1-April 30 at www.capta.org. More information on registration, events, and convention grants here.
Northern California Arts Education Forum
Want to learn more about arts education? The Northern California Arts Education Forum which was originally set to take place on December 12th has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 1st. We hope that you will be able to join us on this day as we have a great lineup of arts education leaders who will be presenting on three panel discussions.
In addition, we are excited to have Susan Stauter as our keynote speaker! Arts education and advocate Susan Stauter is currently Artistic Director for the San Francisco Unified School District and was instrumental in the creation of SFUSD’s internationally recognized Arts Education Master Plan. An award-winning credentialed teacher of Theatre and English, she was the founding Chair of the Department of Theatre for the Los Angeles County High School of the Arts, and went on to serve as the Conservatory director for the Tony Award-winning American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), where she oversaw all educational programs. Ms. Stauter also works throughout the U.S. and internationally as a keynote speaker, workshop leader, teacher, writer and trainer in the area of arts education. She has consulted for the North Carolina School for the Arts, Great River Shakespeare Festival in Minnesota, the Grammy Foundation, and the Leonard Bernstein Center for Education at Gettysburg College.
Please help us also to spread the word by forwarding the invitation to your mailing lists and posting to your websites. We hope to see as many of you as possible on February 1st!
California PTA Endorses Ballot Initiative
Today in Sacramento, The Our Children, Our Future: Local Schools and Early Education Investment Act was submitted to the Attorney General for title and summary for the November 6, 2012 ballot.
California State PTA supports this bold initiative, which will provide approximately $1,300 per student in new funds each year that must be spent directly at school sites with local parent and educator input.
In particular, the funding must be used by schools to provide a well-rounded education that supports college and career readiness for every student, including a high-quality curriculum that includes the arts; music; physical education; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); and vocational and technical education courses. It can also be used for smaller class sizes, school libraries and librarians, school nurses and counselors.
California State PTA had a role in crafting the final ballot measure language, and we plan to actively engage in the broad, grass-roots effort to qualify and pass this measure.
In the coming weeks we will continue providing information about this important initiative and how you can get involved to help.
More information, including the full text of the initiative, can be found at:www.OurChildrenOurFuture2012.com.
