July 11, 2017

Dear PTA Family:

On behalf of Delaware PTA, I am pleased to share this mid-summer report with all of you. This has been an extremely busy year with a continued focus on membership growth & retention, outreach, advocacy and leadership development. Many of you have volunteered to serve on state level committees, represent Delaware PTA on state designated taskforces and/or committees and participated in various advocacy events. As we approach the new school year, Delaware PTA is working hard to provide you with more resources to grow & strengthen your unit, develop rising leaders and increase local unit engagement at the state level.  Here are just a few highlights from the 2016-17 school year: 

•	Delaware PTA, in collaboration with local unit leaders, provided written input on the Delaware Department of Education’s ESSA drafts.
•	Delaware PTA is part of the National PTA ESSA Network to bring advocacy resources and information to you at the local level
•	Delaware PTA joined DSEA and IPA to facilitate a state level ESSA Professional Development day which included two panel discussions from state and national leaders
•	College Select became an official partner with Delaware PTA, offering a robust college planning service for all Delaware middle and high school students.
•	Delaware PTA became a coalition partner with Education Funding and PACE Wilmington to advocate for increased investments to our public education system.
•	Delaware PTA partnered with the Delaware Department of Education to discuss strategies to increase family engagement state-wide.
•	Instrumental in getting Senators Coons and Carper to sign onto the Dear Colleague letter to support Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFECs)

We are grateful for your ongoing support, and look forward to engaging even more members as we head into the 2017-18 school year. We are much stronger when we work together as one united voice.
Have a wonderful summer! Sincerely,
Terri Hodges

Terri Hodges
Delaware State PTA President

2017-18 Delaware PTA Board
			
Terri Hodges	President
John Everhart	Treasurer
Darlene O’Neill 	Secretary
Yvonne Johnson	VP of Advocacy 
Bill Doolittle	VP of Children at Risk
Deanna Rolland	Bylaws
Ashley.dalzell-gray@delawarepta.org Membership Outreach
Katy Stout         	Region I VP - Brandywine
Kelly Coffey	Region II VP - RCCSD
Christine McCarl	Region III VP – Christina 
Terri Carpe	Acting Region IV VP Colonial
Terri Carpe	Region V VP -Appo
Terri Hodges	Acting Region VI VP -Kent Co 
Deanna Rolland	Reflections
Amy Huebner 	VP of Education
Mike Williams 	Marketing
Tiffany Brown 	New Castle Member at Large
	
 BY THE NUMBERS
Membership
•	6063	members (includes figures below)
•	1306 teachers/school staff
•	1052 Male members
•	36 VIP Members

Reflections
•	162 participants this year from 12 PTA schools and 8 VIPS
•	49 state honorees (winners and honorable mention)
•	19 state winners were sent to NPTA for judging
•	5 state winners received Awards of Merit from NPTA

Grant/Award Winners/Program Participants
•	5 Recipients of NPTA Grants/Awards
•	10 Recipients of DPTA Grants
•	2 Schools of Excellence 
•	1 High school scholarship recipient

 

End of Year Local Unit Leader Check List
All local units should be in the process of submitting the following checklist items. You may use the links provided below to submit your officer information and final dues report. The complete financial report can be mailed to Delaware PTA 925 Bear Corbitt Rd Bear DE 19701
If you have any questions, please contact your Region VP. 
•	New officers Reporting Form
•	Membership Dues Report
•	Complete Local Unit Financial Report
•	Verify that your local unit bylaws are current (approved within the last 5 years)
•	Submit proof of current insurance (email declaration page to admin@delawarepta.org) 
•	Set a date for new officers to meet to begin back to school planning
•	Ensure new officers have registered for an upcoming Leadership Training ( see website calendar for dates)
•	Take NPTA E Learning Courses
•	Check National PTA and Delaware PTA websites and Facebook frequently for updates and information on Back to School Kits, grants and awards

Dates to Remember
•	August 9th - New Leader Orientation. Brandywine Hundred Library 5pm
•	September 26th - Board of Managers Meeting Eden Library 6:00pm

Upcoming Grant/Award Opportunities
•	Want $1,000 to host a STEM + Families Math Event at your Elementary School? Learn more about the 2017 National PTA STEM + Families Math Grants and Apply (in Spanish) by August 31, 2017.
•	Enroll now to become a National PTA School of Excellence and be recognized for the hard work of your PTA & school. http://bit.ly/2uvBICq apply Now

A Word from our Treasurer
Through our membership with the Delaware Alliance of Non-Profit Associations (DANA), and other internal referrals, we can share a list of resources for assistance and/or guidance in completing your yearly audits/financial reviews and tax filings. As new firms/individuals become known the list will be updated. You may use these resources or anyone you chose.

Keep in mind, that a PTA unit is not required to hire someone to perform the review.  You may form an independent audit committee drawing on the expertise of your members, staff and community members to perform the necessary work. Keep in mind that signatories on the account cannot be on the audit committee. Each unit should contact the firms/individuals to determine cost and timing of reviews/tax preparation.  Be careful when using the term ‘audit’.  Audit to a CPA means something different than for PTA.  PTA’s are required to have a financial review done using agreed-upon procedures (see file for more details).
Here is details of what is required by National PTA regarding the audit/financial review. Financial Review Procedures

*DPTA does not endorse any firm/individual.

Cheddar Up!!!!

If you haven’t started planning and marketing your back-to-school collections it’s not too late to innovate. Get ahead of the curve by collecting payments and forms before school starts—no more back-to-school lines and forgotten checkbooks. Give your community a way to pay online at their convenience and your PTA will collect more! 

Here are the THE TOP 3 PTA COLLECTIONS CREATED IN JULY according to Cheddar Up: 
1) DUES (collect your local dues and pay state dues)
2) FALL EVENTS 
3) SPIRIT WEAR

Find even more ideas as well as customizable templates that your group can use at www.cheddarup.com/samples.

Not sure how to get started? Delaware PTA local units are encouraged to contact the Founders of Cheddar Up directly at founders@cheddarup.com. They will walk you through creating a collection and give you tips to market your events before school starts. Collect more and connect more!

State Action Alert: Unhappy with the budget that was recently passed? So are we. Delaware PTA will continue to advocate for a more balanced budget for fiscal year 2018 that restores funding to education. Please join and us and contact your representatives!

***Find your legislators and their contact information at legis.delaware.gov***
July 12, 2017

[Senator/Representative ___________

I am writing to express my disappointment with the budget that was passed for FY 18. 

These cuts there were made to critical services such as education, health care and nonprofits will create insurmountable economic and social costs that the residents of our state simply cannot afford.

It is the state’s obligation to protect its citizens from vulnerability and to provide competitive services. Continuing to balance the budget as we did this year will only cripple the future of our great state. I do not believe these are sacrifices we can afford to continue making. 

As your constituent, I ask that you bring up legislation in 2018 that will prevent cuts to education, health and other critical services Please support legislation that would add higher personal income tax brackets so that we can stabilize the budget and prevent future cuts. Thank you very much for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

[your name]
[your street address]
[your city, state and zip code]

Credit: Network Delaware

National Action Alert 
 Federal funding for public education programs has remained at 2% of the federal budget for decades, despite the increase in public school enrollment and the rising cost of education resources and services. This disparity between funding levels and actual costs means that the federal government has essentially enacted cuts to classrooms.
The federal government’s deadline to fund the government for the next year is Sept. 30, 2017. If you would like the United States to have a strong economy powered by a well-educated workforce that can compete on the global stage, then stand with four million parents, teachers, students and community leaders as we demand that Congress #STOPCutsToClassrooms and invest more than 2% in public education before the next fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2017. 

Sign National PTA’s petition and get additional information to share with your friends, neighbors and community members 

WHAT ELSE DID WE DO?

•	The challenges and opportunities with implementing ESSA in Delaware: State Panel Discussion

•	Delaware Department of Education ESSA Town hall

•	College Select 

•	Delaware DOJ – Anti-Bullying

•	Immigration Rights 

          Reflections Program         
									 Annual Leadership Dinner		    PTA Day in Dover

									NPTA Annual Convention
NPTA Legislative Conference				

	

	The Delaware PTA is always looking for new people to join our team. We are currently looking for interested individuals to serve on the state board and/or various committees for the upcoming 2017-18 school year.
	Take a look at the Delaware PTA Committee Opportunities available. If you are interested in a position on one of our committees as a chair or a member, fill out the contact information form and return it to admin@delawarepta.org

Keep up to date on information throughout the summer and school year by following us on social media

Facebook – Delaware PTA
Twitter - @DelawarePTA
Instagram -4DelawarePTA
Linkedin – Delaware PTA
Google + - Delaware PTA 

Delaware PTA would like to welcome our newest editions to the PTA family. The following units/councils were chartered during the 2016-17 school year.

•	Christina PTA Council
•	Cooke Elementary School PTA
•	Delcastle PTA

				
Local Unit Celebrations

Shue-Medille 100% teacher/staff participation

                                                
HB duPont Garden Grant Recipients 		Southern Elementary PTA Game Night

Carrcroft Hiphop Fundamentals

Thank you for your support in 2016-17! Join us for another momentous year in 2017-18!