Dear PTA Member,

The holiday season has begun, and the New Year is upon us, so let us take a moment to reflect on the past year as it comes to an end.

NYS PTA has achieved many accomplishments that bring pride. As I look around our PTA family table scattered across New York State, I recognize the collective hard work that has taken place.

With the support of you and all our members, we have strengthened our association's efforts to continue to advocate for all children of New York State.

This season is a time for us to embrace our own families. I hope that you will spend some time during your celebrations to reconnect and enjoy your family holiday traditions.

On behalf of NYS PTA, we wish you happiness and good cheer through the Holiday Season!

With warmest regards,

Gracemarie Rozea
NYS PTA President

During this holiday season, we ask you to consider paying it forward by giving a gift of PTA Membership to someone you care about. Your gift will help support every child in NYS. We wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season.

Congratulations to our 49 units that achieved the November Membership contest badge! Five randomly chosen winners will each receive one of five $500.00 scholarships.

The scholarship winners are:

• 04-028 Clarkstown High School North PTSA
• 05-040 Lindenhurst Senior High School PTSA
• 05-354 Hauppague HS PTSA
• 10-335 New Hyde Park Memorial HS PTSA
• 16-171 Jamestown High School PTSA

Remember to visit nyspta.org to view the "Students Rock" award video link and watch as the scholarship winners were chosen and announced.

We would like to extend a warm "Welcome aboard" to all of this year's student members. As of November 30 we are near 11,000 student members strong! This is definitely something for all to celebrate.

Join NYS PTA members from across the state in Albany on February 11-12, 2018 for the new Legislative Summit and Lobby Day!

This Sunday to Monday event features discussions on topics ranging from school aid to diplomas for all students!

Monday we'll hit the halls in Albany and meet with state legislators on priority issues affecting children.

Registration is now open! Find out more about the Legislative Summit and Lobby Day HERE.

IMPORTANT - your attendance is needed this year especially, as preliminary budget estimates show a state budget deficit next year. We need a strong show of support for our children and schools.

Have you read Advocacy Newsbriefs lately? If you haven't you are missing out!

Stay up to date on all the latest news coming from Albany and D.C.:

• NYS PTA submitted its budget priorities to Governor Cuomo.
• The Educational Conference Board wrote to Congress in opposition of the federal tax reform package and issued a Medicaid Fact Sheet with concerns over cuts to schools that impact children
• The NYS Board of Regents issued a new draft regulation that would allow the Career Development and Occupational Studies Commencement Credential to be used to seek a superintendent determination for graduation for many of our students with disabilities.
• NYS sued the EPA for violating the Clean Air Act

In a huge win for parents and students, the NYS Board of Regents on Monday issued a new draft regulation that would allow the Career Development and Occupational Studies (CDOS) Commencement Credential to be used to seek a superintendent determination for graduation for many of our students with disabilities.

NYS PTA is highly pleased that the State Education Department has recognized that we need more and different pathways to graduations and success for our students, read our comments HERE.

"This is a great step forward to ensuring each and every child receives a meaningful diploma option that leads to a successful career or college experience," Gracemarie Rozea, President of NYS PTA, offered.

NYS PTA will comment in favor of this regulation, and hopes that the final regulation and future work on this issue continues to support children. You can read the full draft regulation HERE.

NYS PTA really needs your help! We are planning events across the state for our new program, "Every Child Travels Safely", beginning in 2018. Please take our anonymous Traffic Safety Survey so we can find out your knowledge about traffic safety, and prepare informational tools and training for children and families! 

Please take our survey HERE!

Advocating for our families and making every child's potential a reality takes the passion and dedication of many volunteers. NYS PTA's leaders come from all corners of our state. Our legacy continues to thrive because of the leaders developed from local unit, council and region PTAs as well as those who bring specific volunteer and/or professional expertise to our advocacy.

Are you considering contributing your skills to the work of the NYS PTA? Please complete this Letter of Interest form. It's a short form that indicates your interests and possible areas of involvement on the NYS PTA Governance Team, or perhaps on a different level such as a PTA region board. Leaders at the PTA region and state level are appointed for one year. Find more information about NYS PTA positions HERE.

We look forward to hearing from you! Thank you for your willingness to share your time and talents!

Save the Date for the Next Leadership Webinar

"Be It Resolved"...Time for Resolutions!-January 17, 2018!

Walk step by step through the process of creating and submitting a brand-new NYS PTA resolution. Stay tuned for more info coming soon!

Save the Date for SLC!

Summer Leadership Conference (known as SLC) is an annual event designed to provide training and programs to all PTA members, helping you to establish grass-roots advocacy in your school, and prepare you to be a key leader in your education community. Held on a college campus, Summer Leadership is casual and fun. You will enjoy college dorms, campus food and college classroom resources.

When: July 20-22, 2018

Where: Union College, Schenectady NY

At a Glance: anatomy of an effective email to your child's teacher: use this guide to see what to include to help you get the best response from the teacher from Understood.org

10 texts to send to your teen in the next 10 days: sending a text to your kid during the day only takes a few seconds but can make such a positive impact from All Pro Dad

Feeling distressed? You are not alone. The holidays can be tough for a lot of people. If you feel down or depressed, don't wait, seek help. Call The Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 to confidentially connect with counselors or text 741741 to text with a trained Crisis Counselor.

The Albert Shanker Grant was established to defray the costs of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification to eligible NYS public school teachers. The NYS Education Department, through the Albert Shanker Grant, makes funding available to support eligible NYS public school teachers seeking their first National Board Certification.

This year there was tremendous interest in the National Board process, which resulted in the Shanker Grant being exhausted in just 12 short weeks. This was the fastest spend down ever!

Since then, monies have become available through unused funds from previous years and NYSED is able to support an additional 200 candidates for this 2017-2018 grant period with the Shanker Grant.

The Shanker Grant application re-opened on December 5, and will remain open until January 31 or until these new funds are exhausted.

Apply for this deep, rich professional learning experience today!

NYS PTA would like to congratulate the following units on joining our New York State PTA family:

Wynantskill PTA at Gardner-Dickinson School (Northeastern Region)

Woodlands PTSA at Woodlands Middle/High School (Westchester-East Putnam Region)

Chinese School of Rochester PTSA at the Chinese School of Rochester (Genesee Valley Region)

Wyandanch Council of PTAs in Wyandanch School District (Suffolk Region)

Duanesburg Community PTA in Duanesburg Central School District (Northeastern Region)

Queensbury Middle School PTA at Queensbury Middle School (Northeastern Region)

Hudson Falls Central School District PTSA at Hudson Falls Central School District (Northeastern Region)

Edmund O'Neal Middle School PTA at Edmund J O'Neal Middle School of Excellence (Northeastern Region)

Dear Parents,

Happy Holidays! As we reach the end of the year, I'd like to wish you, your families, and your school communities a safe and happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year. Thank you for your continued support, input and commitment to ensuring a high-quality education for all our students in New York State.

Click HERE to read more.

Lifetouch School Portraits and its more than 1,000 employee-owners in New York support the work of the New York State PTA because of its public voice and advocacy for children, families, schools and communities. Proudly serving all of LI, Elmsford, Newburgh, Albany, Binghamton, Rochester and Buffalo.

Cheddar Up is online collections made easy! Collect payments and forms online for everything from enrichment programs to annual giving. Built-in tracking, easy handoff, and withdrawal directly to your bank. Join thousands of PTAs and create a collection in minutes with our custom platform created just for NYS PTA units: go.cheddarup.com/nyspta

Math & Movement is a kinesthetic, multi-sensory approach to teaching math and literacy. Incorporating physical exercise, stretching, cross-body movements, yoga and visually pleasing floor mats designed to encourage students to practice concepts. Students can physically hop, walk, crawl, dance or touch the mats and banners as they learn.