Membership Representative

SWARM AWARD  Local PTAs apply. The SWARM Award is a membership promotion award for an outstanding membership campaign. The local PTA membership representative needs to submit one copy of all local PTA membership promotion materials including; flyers, letters, articles, incentive ideas, and any other public relations material created for the year-long campaign, etc. to the Utah PTA office, postmarked before due date of February 15th. The Utah PTA Swarm Award winner will receive $100 for their PTA!

COUNCIL BEE AWARD  PTA councils apply. To be awarded to any PTA council that has an increased membership by 10% within one year. The PTA council membership representative  needs to send an application in to receive award, with a copy of each unit’s membership numbers and percentage increased, to the Utah PTA office, postmarked before due date of March 15th. Each winning Council will receive one complimentary registration to Utah PTA’s Leadership Convention!

JUST ASK ONE AWARD  Local PTAs apply. To be awarded to any local PTA that has been organized for minimum of one year, for doubling the membership within one year. The local PTA membership representative needs to send an application in to receive award, with a copy of the unit’s membership numbers and sign-up sheet showing the increase, to the Utah PTA office, postmarked before due date of March 15th. Each winning local PTA will receive $100 for their PTA!   

Find the application forms for these awards below or in your Utah PTA state handbook.  I look forward to seeing lots of applications! Don’t let this opportunity slip by!

If you have any questions please contact Kathy Allred, Utah PTA Membership Representative at kathy@utahpta.org or 801-785-7230 H, 801-372-1274 C

At our Advocacy Conference on October 26, 2011 our general membership voted to increase the Utah PTA dues to $1.75 effective July 1, 2012. It is a much needed increase to facilitate the work of the Utah PTA Board of Directors.  The goal of the Board is to serve and provide valuable training and resources to the local PTA units across the state.  Our Board is comprised entirely of volunteers.  The Board wants to be a resource to all local PTA units regarding all children's issues.  We are looking forward to changes that can now be implemented regarding training, public relations and parent resources, just to name a few.

Find the following below: The power point entitled "Dues Motion" and the meeting minutes from our business meeting at the Utah PTA Advocacy Conference.

Membership in a local unit of Utah PTA is available to any person who is passionate about making a difference for children. Utah PTA's 2011-12 membership campaign is entitled, "Quest for Success, Join PTA!"

Membership dues are set by each local school unit and include membership in council, state, and national affiliates. Membership dues are used to further the programs and activities of PTA units. While not all members are available to volunteer their time at a local school, Utah PTA believes that each member can be an example and make a difference in the life of a child.

Did you know that 70% of Utah schools have a PTA? This is the highest percentage in the nation (only 20%-30% of schools nationwide have PTAs).

Utah PTA's total state membership is approximately 125,000. The PTA contributed a total of $17,237,060 of in-kind service and volunteer work to Utah's public school children.

Timpanogas Storytelling Conference-PTA members discount!

**We are happy to announce a new benefit that has been offered from Zion's Bank. 

Zions Bank @ Work offers a wide variety of great financial products and services designed especially for UTAH PTA members.  This added benefit provides you with discounts as well as no-fee banking services

Zions Bank @ Work – Free Interest Checking

• No minimum to open
• Earns interest
• No service fee
• Free checks
• Free Internet Banking
• Free Bill Pay
• Cash Rewards
• Overdraft protection*

And….

½% discount on select consumer loans* including    personal, auto, boat, RV and Home Equity loans.

See below for a PDF with more informaiton

Other Membership Benefits

September 2010 is hereby proclaimed Utah PTA Membership Enrollment Month in the state of Utah, to encourage and invite students, parents, families, educators, and citizens to "CELEBRATE CHILDREN!" and renew their commitment to children and youth by joining their local PTA/PTSA.

Ten Tips for Launching a Successful Membership Campaign

1.      Develop a recruitment team (membership committee) and formulate a goal.  Work together with your PTA board to establish a team goal and individual goals, and be sure to assign specific responsibilities and completion dates.  Make sure the goal is reasonable and attainable ,though challenging.  While seeking new members, be sure someone on the team works on member retention or  getting previous members to renew.

2.      Target potential members.  Define your objective (what you want to accomplish), your strategy (a plan of action to achieve what you want to accomplish), and your methods (the tactics you are going to use to implement your plan) to target potential members effectively.  Consider recruiting members at back-to-school night, at the first game or performance of the school year, by knocking on doors of parents who are uninvolved in the school, by going to other groups in the community and asking people to join, etc.  Pick strategies and methods that will fit your individual strengths, comfort level, budget, time, and expertise.

3.      Make everyone feel welcome.  Develop a plan for teaching new members about PTA and for making them feel as though they are part of the organization.  A regular orientation evening with new and old members is an effective way to introduce new members.  Suggest that all members check out the PTA basics e-learning course on www.pta.org.  It’s great way for new members to learn about PTA and for long-time members to gain a fresh look at their association.

4.      Include Everyone.  Make your recruitment plan reflect the diversity of your school community.  Make sure that the materials you produce take into account the background and interests of those you are targeting to join, and that they are available in the languages families speak at home.  Consider, too, having a translator present at meetings and other events, and assigning buddies to new members, especially those who may face language or cultural barriers.

5.      Make use of key resources.  Recruitment will be easier if you use trusted resources.  See the Utah PTA website, www.utahpta.org, under Membership for copies of our brochures and ideas.  Use the Membership Handbook as well as the Utah PTA State Handbook and this bi-monthly “Perspectives” publication.  See the national PTA’s website, www.pta.org and their “Get Involved for Your Child, Join PTA” brochure, PTA Quick-Reference Guide, register for your Back-to-School kit and see many other PTA resources that are in print and on-line.  Don’t  forget that people are resources, too!  Contact your council, region, state, or national PTA officers for resources, information, and guidance.

6.      Sell the value of PTA membership.  Recruiting new members goes hand-in-hand with making sure they find value in PTA and renew their membership.  Keep members motivated through on-going communication, opportunities to volunteer, and recognition.  Emphasize to new members what they get for their membership dues; for example, access to articles, newsletters, and publications from state and national PTA, exclusive membership benefits and sponsorship information, including discounts, special offers, and promotions from state and national PTA sponsors, free e-learning courses on subjects such as time management and conflict resolutions, as well as courses on PTA basics and access to join the Member to Member network, the grass roots advocacy system providing direct contact by state PTA members with members of state and national legislatures.  However, the number one benefit that  PTA members receive from PTA membership is the ability to help their own and other children.

7.      Collaborate with and learn from others.  People like to join organizations that make a difference in the lives of others, are educational and beneficial to the community, allow them to network with other people and provide opportunities to have fun.  Tap into the expertise of individual parents, teachers, and business people and let them showcase their talents through local PTA activities.

8.      Assist with service-learning initiatives.  In some schools, community service and citizenship education has evolved into formal service-learning for students.  Through these programs, students participate in individual and group volunteer service activities. As a PTA, sponsor activities to help educate children and increase awareness of your local PTA.  For example, plan a day of planting trees, picking up litter, or volunteering to do something to build a better community.  You will benefit through community service, and your students will learn important lessons.

9.      Implement your PTA’s membership recruitment and retention plan.  Plans are worthless unless they are put into practice.  Be sure to schedule your recruitment and retention activities throughout the year, and particularly at events such as “Back-to-School” in the fall and at the start of the New Year, in January.  Assign a specific person to be in charge of coordinating the different events, but involve all of your members.  Every event your PTA holds is a chance to have more people join, so always have your sign-up sheets and information ready!

10.  Evaluate and adjust accordingly.  Continuously seek feedback from team members on issues such as how many new members they are recruiting, how they are helping these new members acclimate to PTA and get involved, and how many members are staying active.  Regardless of whether the evaluation is done through a formal survey or informal communication, it should be systematic, recorded and used to adjust and improve the Membership plan’s strategy.

  (Article adapted from Steps to an Effective Member Recruitment Plan from National PTA)

For more information and instructions please see the links below:

Joining PTA allows you to make a difference in your child's life, no matter where you join. You can:

• Join the PTA nearest you. To find your local PTA, use National PTA's look-up feature. Contact the school or president, and join! You can also view the Utah PTA Region Map to determine which region your school is in. Then, contact your Region Director from your area and get involved today!
   
• Join the National PTA. If you are concerned with advocacy or want more materials than a local PTA membership, consider joining the national PTA unit. You'll get a print version of the official PTA magazine, as well as all the same great benefits of local membership. Join as a national member now!
   
• Start a new PTA Unit. If you are a parent, school employee, or concerned citizen in a school without a PTA, starting a new unit is easy to do. Whether there is no parent group activity at your school now, or your existing parent group wants to realize all the benefits of PTA membership, please contact Utah PTA at 1-866-PTA-UTAH.

Utah PTA would like give a special thank you to Goldenwest Credit Union for their generous support of our membership campaign.

Click on a region below to see total monthly memberships for each school in that region.

Click on a report below to view total membership per region for that year.

What:  The 2011–2012 Official PTA Kit

The National PTA Official Back to School Kit contains resources to help PTA leaders serve their communities and run their local units:  easy-to-use primers for the president, treasurer, membership chair, and programs chair; membership and marketing tools; program and advocacy resources; and special offers from national partners.

When and Who:  Delivery

Starting July 1, kits will automatically be sent to:

• National officers, board members, and committee members
• State PTA offices, presidents, presidents-elect, membership chairs, and extension chairs
• Active Local PTA Units (details below)

The online kit registration form is available now through September 16 at PTA.org/OfficialKit. Starting July 1, kits will be shipped to local units, based on their online orders. When registering online units must provide their unit ID number, select their preferred shipping date and confirm or change the shipping address for the kit. Individuals registering for the kit must agree to terms acknowledging that they are authorized to order/receive the kit for the 2011–2012 school year.

Units can also call the National PTA Information Center at (800) 307-4782 ext. 3098 to order the kit by phone.

Kit shipments will occur weekly from July 1 to September 16. Units that have not registered by September 16 will have a kit sent in late September, to the address on file with the National PTA office.

Online Kit Contents

The online version of the kit at PTA.org/OfficialKit will be available Monday, June 27, 2011. It will include downloadable versions of all resources from the kit.

Questions?

• Emails regarding the kit should be sent to info@pta.org. Please include “PTA Kit” in the subject line.
• Please call (800) 307-4782 ext 3098 with questions or issues regarding the kit.

“QUEST FOR SUCCESS-INCREASING OUR MEMBERSHIP!”

Each local PTA will receive 100% of your last year’s membership, plus 5% and then rounded up to the nearest 10, from your Council President, who will have received their membership cards from the Region Director.

Distribution and Accountability of Membership cards:

1. Contact your Council President / Region Director if you have extra or need more cards due to increased membership.  They will make adjustments within the Council or Region.
2. Maintain accurate records of membership.  Keep an up-to-date list of PTA members, which includes name, home and email addresses and phone numbers.

Instructions for completing the Membership cards:

Before issuing membership cards, you must fill in:

• National PTA ID #  (6 digit number found on the front page of your local by-laws)
• Unit Name (PTA/PTSA)
• Issue Date
• Expiration Date (Membership cards expire on June 30 of each year)
• Name of the registered member

One card to each member.  (NO “Mr.  & Mrs.”, as each member receives his/her own card).

Important tips for Membership cards:

• Fill out membership cards, as they are needed.  Unused cards should go back to the council to be given to other schools.
• Make sure the cards handed out include all appropriate information, including expiration date (June 30).
• If your PTA would like to use the Membership Card template to print membership cards, go to:  www.utahpta.org to the Membership section and click on Membership Card Template.
  Test print on a blank sheet of paper to ensure template is aligned correctly.  Make sure printing does not damage the cards.
• Membership envelopes may be purchased at the Utah PTA office; $15.00 for a box of 500.
• Local PTAs will not be able to obtain additional cards from the Utah PTA office.  If a PTA loses its allotment of cards, replacements will be needed to be purchased.

National PTA BACK TO SCHOOL KIT:

Encourage all Regions, Councils and Locals to register at www.pta.org

Membership Awards

All award applications and submissions must follow guidelines in Utah PTA Handbook.

• Early Bird Award – Local membership mailed (postmarked) before Sept 30.  No application required!
• Worker Bee Award - Local PTA has 100% registration of school administration, staff and faculty. Local PTA must apply by October 31.
• Hive Award - Local PTA has a male membership of 40% or more.  Local PTA must apply by October 31.
• SWARM Award - Local PTA for outstanding Membership Campaign promotion.  Local PTA must apply by February 15.
• Council Bee Award - Council increases membership by 10%. Council must apply by March 15.
• Just Ask One Award - Local PTA doubles their membership in one year. Local PTA must apply by March 15.

Just Between Friends/JBF

National PTA On-line Membership Data Reporting- Just Between Friends (JBF)

1. Obtain membership information.
2. Input into Just Between Friends…or at least enter into a spreadsheet for your own communication use.
3. Password protected secure web site, go to www.pta.org or www.utahpta.org for more information.
4. JBF will give members expanded features and we will train on them as they become available.

For Additional Information and Membership Training:

Contact: Kathy Allred, Utah PTA Membership Representative, kathy@utahpta.org (Cell) 801-372-1274

The purpose of Utah PTA Membership Awards is to help increase membership by serving as a motivational incentive and provide a meaningful reward to those schools who have promoted membership throughout the year. Award applications can be found on the Utah PTA Web site www.utahpta.org

Early Bird Local membership dues must be mailed to the Utah PTA office and postmarked before due date of September 30.  No application is required.

Hive: Local PTAs apply. To be awarded to any PTA that has a male membership of 40% or more. The local PTA membership representative needs to send an application in to receive award, with a copy of your school's membership roster to the Utah PTA office, postmarked before due date of October 31.

Worker Bee: Local PTAs apply. To be awarded to any PTA that has a 100% membership of their full time faculty, administration, and school staff. The local PTA membership representative needs to send an application in to receive award, with a copy of your faculty membership sign up sheet, to the Utah PTA office, postmarked before due date of October 31.

Swarm Membership Promotion Award: is for an outstanding membership campaign. The local PTA membership representative needs to submit one copy of all local PTA membership promotion materials, including flyers, letters, articles, incentive ideas, and any other public relations materials created for the year-long campaign, to the Utah PTA office, postmarked before due date of February 15.

Council Bee: PTA councils apply. To be awarded to any PTA council that has an increased membership by 10% within one year. The PTA council membership representative needs to send an application in to receive award, with a copy of each PTA’s membership numbers and percentage increase, to the Utah PTA office, postmarked before due date of March 15.

Just Ask One: Local PTAs apply. To be awarded to any local PTA that has been organized for a minimum of one year, for doubling the membership within one year. The local PTA membership representative needs to submit an application to receive award, with a copy of the PTA's membership numbers and sign-up sheet showing the increase, to the Utah PTA office, postmarked before due date of March 15.

When the New School Beckons: Military Families in Transition

What’s New at the PTA, Dad?

By KYLE SPENCER from the New York Times

At Public School 11 in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, the senior president of the

Parent Teacher Association is a vivacious chatterbox who ascended the school’s executive board

the way many do: forging bonds with parents and teachers, doing an impressive stint as

treasurer and finally being drafted for the top slot by a growing fan base.

The one thing this executive officer did not do is man the cupcake table.

“I’m not into the baking,” said Juan Brea, an admission that once would have been unheard-of

in the PTA.

Mr. Brea, a 43-year-old who favors football, blue blazers, Polo cologne and chopping wood in

his Catskills backyard on weekends, is part of the changing face of the PTA. What was once an

easygoing volunteer group made up mostly of stay-at-home moms has begun to give way to

male leadership.

“This is like running a small business,” said Mr. Brea, whose day job is chief operating officer at

a small nonprofit. “I’m an operations guy. I believe I add value.”

A 2009 study by the National Congress of Parents and Teachers and the National Center for

Fathering, a nonprofit educational organization, found that 590 of 1,000 fathers surveyed

nationwide said they attended school parent meetings. That is up from 470 out of 1,000 a

decade earlier.

And in many of the top-rated public schools across New York City, where parent groups have

become ever-more-efficient fund-raising machines in the face of mounting budget cuts, fathers

with financial expertise and a zest for leadership are not just going to those meetings, but

running them.

The shift reflects a number of underlying social trends: more women with demanding jobs,

more men underemployed in a lingering recession, more shared parenting responsibilities over

all and the professionalization of the PTA itself.

In School District 2, which winds through some of Manhattan’s priciest neighborhoods, at least

10 of the approximately 40 elementary and middle schools now have male parent-group

leaders, up from just a couple 15 years ago.

On Staten Island, the male firefighters, police and emergency-medical technicians who used to

shy away from PTA meetings now call many of them to order. And in brownstone Brooklyn’s

District 15, PTA boards have been inundated with male leadership, in what officials say is a 15

percent jump from five years ago.

For the most part, female PTA leaders applaud the injection of testosterone. But “both women

and men would be lying if they were to say gender dynamics were not an issue,” said Michelle

Ciulla-Lipkin, a president of the PTA at P.S. 199 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where 5

of the 18 board members last year were male.

At P.S. 110 on the Lower East Side, some have said that John Mooren, an investment banker

whose platform as PTA president includes the ambitious goal of building a new gym, has been

trying to corporatize the once laid-back board. “My response is: we need money,” said Mr.

Mooren, 58, whose sons are in kindergarten and first grade.

In the cramped PTA room with the bright pink door at P.S. 75 on West End Avenue in

Manhattan, Hector Rios, a co-president, said that being the lone man among eight board

members has its downside: “Sometimes I feel like everybody’s husband.”

And at P.S. 3 in the West Village, Nick Gottlieb (a PTA co-president and Papa Nick to students)

said that years as a stay-at-home dad have not erased his own perception that he is occasionally

an interloper in the land of bake sales, recess volunteers and pajama parties.

“I have to make an extra effort not to be perceived as stepping on people,” said Mr. Gottlieb,

who has daughters in kindergarten and third grade. “And I think that does have to do with

being a man.”

A 1997 study by the National Center for Education Statistics, a federal agency, found that

children whose fathers were involved in their schools were more likely to stay in school, do well

and enjoy themselves while they were there.

A decade later, in 2008, the National PTA — a 5.5-million-member organization headquartered

in Alexandria, Va. — paired with the National Center for Fathering in the hope of getting more

active male members. Its Web site now lists tips on recruiting men, including scheduling

meetings in the morning, which many New York City schools now do.

In 2009, the national PTA elected Charles J. Saylor, a construction industry executive and

father of four in Greer, S.C., as its first male president.

“I grew up in a home where both parents were involved,” said Mr. Saylor, who started out

heading the fund-raising committee at his oldest son’s elementary school because of, he said,

“an inability to say ‘no.’ ” Over the years, he said, “I just started noticing on the county, state

and national level more men in the room.”

In 2010 the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, for its part, started NYC Dads, a

14-agency initiative designed to get men to support their children’s development in and out of

school. And Dennis M. Walcott, chancellor of the city’s department of education, pushes

father involvement at events like one in St. Albans, Queens, where fathers brought neckties to P.S. 36

and taught their sons how to tie them.

The surge in male leadership has, in many places, followed a more fundamental shift in the

nature of the PTA. Women with advanced degrees, high-powered jobs and technological savvy

have brought a new level of sophistication and seriousness to the business of supporting

schools. The changed dynamic — committees that are better organized, deadlines that are taken

seriously, goals that are more ambitious, schedules that accommodate working parents —

helped make many PTAs more comfortable for men.

In interviews around the city, many female PTA leaders praised their male counterparts for

overhauling disorganized talent shows, automating bookkeeping, building gardens, cultivating

contacts with local politicians and silencing parents who go off on tangents during meetings.

Not that women cannot or do not do the same things, but “men on the board can add a calm,”

said Kathy Ellman, who has three sons and who served on the PTA board at P.S. 11. “They can

be a little more relaxed.”

Still, for every admiring story about a father whose PowerPoint presentation revolutionized the

Read-a-Thon, there is one about the bossy treasurer whose budget-balancing came with an off-putting

tone. Or the president who chose the wrong time to talk school politics.

And what seems to be a perennial gripe: men going missing when it’s time to do the grunt work.

“You don’t see many male presidents with the cellophane and the curling ribbon working on the

auction baskets,” said Bijou Miller, who lives on the Upper West Side and has sat on a halfdozen

school-related boards over the last decade.

Mr. Brea of P.S. 11 said he was focusing on appealing to big-ticket donors and setting up

processes that future boards can benefit from. He recently helped convert the PTA into a taxexempt

organization, and helped secure a $2,500 computer program that tracks donations.

At P.S. 295 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, Dan Janzen used his stint on the grant-writing committee

to persuade Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn borough president, to give the school $150,000 in

interactive white boards.

“That was my aha! moment,” said Mr. Janzen, 44, a freelance copywriter and father of two. “I

said, ‘This is real. I can really get things done.’ ”

And at P.S. 261 in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, Rick Knutsen, 46, who has a daughter at the school,

can sometimes be spotted playing piano for the chorus, or doing a PowerPoint presentation for

the PTA, for which he is a president.

Eli Janney, one of the group’s vice presidents, is often at a table in the lobby, Starbuck’s coffee

by his side, peddling tickets to a fund-raising event and imploring parents to “Support the

school!”

But Mr. Knutsen has faced some discouraging moments. He was recently dressed down, he

said, by a mother irate that he chose the cherished winter concert, which draws a big crowd, to

vote on a letter opposing a new charter school nearby. She thought his timing was wrong.

“My kid tap-danced and then I got yelled at,” Mr. Knutsen recalled glumly.

Among the beneficiaries of the new PTA dads are their wives.

“If our daughter comes home and tells us about something that happened at school, Rick pretty

much already knows about it,” said Mr. Knutsen’s wife, Frances Barney Knutsen, who works for

BNY Mellon. “That’s comforting.”