President's Message:
Virginia PTA wants to take a moment to share with you what we know, and address questions in regard to the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. We at Virginia PTA are monitoring the situation closely and sharing as much as we can as quickly as we can via our social media channels, the message below, and we will be providing a special COVID-19 resource page that will be updated daily on our website. In this unprecedented and unknowing time, we hope that you are staying safe and healthy, checking in on your families and friends, and most importantly know that we will ALL get through this together.
School Closures:
Governor Northam ordered all K-12 schools in Virginia to close for a minimum of two weeks in response to the continued spread of coronavirus. Schools are closed from Monday, March 16, through Friday, March 27, at a minimum. Localities will maintain authority over specific staffing decisions to ensure students maintain continuity of services or learning while protecting the public health of teachers and staff. Read the
March 13, 2020, news release
for more information. For additional resources and questions, please go to
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/health_medical/office/covid-19.shtml
and
PTA Meetings, Events, Gatherings:
Governor Northam and State Health Commissioner Oliver issued a public health emergency order on March 17 prohibiting more than 10 patrons in restaurants, fitness centers, and theaters. The order gives local and state law enforcement the ability to enforce this ban. In light of this recommendation, Virginia PTA recommends that PTA Executive, District, Council, and Local units utilize online meeting services or phone calls to make decisions and meet as a board, as needed. There are many free sources available and we continue to share information via our social media platforms as well as sharing other information locally in your regions.
Virginia PTA allows for Executive Board meetings to be held via phone or video conference, including voting, as long as all members of the board are able to hear and understand the information that is being voted on. If your unit needs/decides to hold an executive meeting to vote and you need guidance please reach out to Virginia PTA and we will assist you with this process.
At this time, Virginia PTA does not allow for general membership meetings to be held via any electronic means. General membership meetings can only be held as in-person meetings.
If a general membership meeting cannot be held at the school, it may be hosted at a church, library or another public venue, including a park or outdoor location, with notice to the attendees, according to unit bylaws when it is deemed safe to resume business. We understand that schools may not be open or may not have time to schedule PTA meetings so we will ask you to be flexible, patient, and possibly think outside of the box! If a meeting is canceled/postponed, it should be rescheduled, with notice to the members, in accordance with your unit bylaws. Please reach out to your District or Council if you have questions.
PTA Nominations & Elections:
Virginia PTA is working on creating information for units to navigate this ever-changing situation as it pertains to nominations and elections. We will not penalize or hold units responsible for suspending their standing rules/standard operating procedures (if you have them) if needed. If your Standing Rules state you are to hold elections in April and/or May you will be allowed to suspend them to hold elections later in the school year once we know when/if school will resume. At this time, we recommend you advertise the position(s) your board has up for election this year and continue to share with members the duties and responsibilities of those positions so that nominations and elections can take place when school resumes. This is an opportune time to familiarize your officers with the nominations and elections procedures outlined in your own bylaws. More detailed information about this process will come out from Virginia PTA once we have a better timeline of school reopening and further guidance from the Virginia Department of Education and the Governor's office on gatherings.
Please note that although a delay in elections may cause an officer to hold their office past the designated term, once school is back in session, elections should be held and new officers will begin their terms. This is a new time for all of us and we will work through the challenges.
Awards for this Awards season and school year 2019-2020
We have decided to send home Awards via personal mail for the 2019-2020 school year only. With the uncertainty of when we will return to school, we feel that this is the most efficient way to award our students for their hard work in all of the programs. When you receive your award, we ask you to take a picture of your student and the award and send it to
vpprograms@vapta.org
with your name and award information. We will put together a video with pictures for you to view and share over the summer. We hope that you will continue to support our programs by participating in the upcoming school year.
Virginia PTA Office:
The Virginia PTA Office will remain open remotely during the week of March 23 - March 27. The office will then close from March 30-April 13. We will re-evaluate the coronavirus situation daily and will adjust office times if we feel is the safest choice for our Office staff. If you need assistance, please reach out to your District and Council leadership where you live, or any of our Board will be glad to help you during this time.
Please know that we are all volunteers and are now working through similar situations at home and work and especially challenged by our kids being at home, of all ages. We will answer your questions to the best of our ability and in a timely manner. We will all work through these challenges together and will be stronger for it.
Thank you for your dedication and hard work on behalf of the children of Virginia.
