eNews & Notes

Welcome back!!! The Florida PTA Board of Directors, office staff, and I wish you Happy New Year.

The last of our Florida school districts returned to school yesterday ready to take on the second half of the school year. For some of you, like me, the year may not have ended as we had planned, but we have an opportunity to begin anew with hope for a good finish.

With that in mind, I encourage you to read through the entire January newsletter. You’ll find personal and professional training and networking opportunities, announcements of upcoming celebrations (Florida PTA turns 100 on April 14^th) and opportunities for you to support Florida PTA.

You’ll want to check out the events that are open, and opening soon, for registration, such as our annual Legislative Conference (LegCon) – Tallahassee, March 26 – 28; Centennial Celebration – Orlando, April 15; Leadership Convention – Orlando, July 13 – 16; and our first (in a few years) face-to-face Reflections celebration – Orlando, May 6.

Did you encounter a few bumps in the road amongst your board of directors as your work began this school year? If so, you won’t want to miss the January 18th Road to Success training session on Conflict Resolution which will be provided by the National PTA Field Service team.

Why wait until you attend the 2023 Leadership Convention (registration opens soon) to find out what’s going on with Florida PTA? Join us on January 25^th for our first Mid-Year State of the Association briefing where we’ll share information on membership, finances, legislative priorities, and so much more.

In November, Florida PTA held the first of three town hall meetings. We brought together PTA leaders, local nonprofit organizations, the Escambia County School District, the military community, the Florida and Escambia County Education Associations, and local business leaders, all of whom have a vested interest in public education. Many thanks to the Escambia County Council PTA, under the leadership of President Melanie Gambill, for continuing the work that was started during that event. Our next two town halls will be held in Homestead and West Central Florida, and we anticipate equally great conversations and community action on behalf of our children.

By the way, how many new members have you signed up so far in 2023? If we each sign up one new member each week between now and our 100^th birthday, we’ll far surpass our membership goal for the year. I hope that I can count on each of you to continue recruiting new members year-round.

Don’t forget to elect your nominating committee this month. Additionally, all of the events referenced above should be line items in your budget, which can be amended at your January general meeting, along with your other business and programming.

With so much to look forward to, I encourage all of you to lean in, remember why we do what we do, and to finish the school year strong.

Carolyn Nelson-Goedert

You're invited to participate in Membership Mania which is a year-round initiative to grow your membership. It is open to ALL PTA leaders and all are encouraged to participate - just click here for more information!

How does Florida PTA decide whether to support a bill, oppose it, or to remain silent? Let’s go through the process that the Legislation Committee follows. (click here to continue)

Please see the attached newsletter from our new Environmental Impact Committee, with great information on becoming a Green Ribbon School.