CONTENTS Page President’s Message 2 Membership 3 - 4 Advocacy 5 - 7 HWS 8 - 11 Mosaic 12 FSP 13 Treasurer 14 JBF 16

CALENDAR

Ohio PTA

Resource Guides have been mailed to those

presidents who have been up-dated in that data base.

National PTA Back to School Kit

were mailed middle of August to those presidents who have

been updated.

Editors Lisa Mack President

Sue Owen Executive Director

Volume 36, Issue 2 Published eight times a year October 2013 $12 subscription

Ohio PTA 40 Northwoods Blvd, Suite A Columbus, OH 43235-4718

Phone: 614-781-6344 Fax: 614-781-6349

office@ohiopta.org

THE NEWS ISSUES ARE AVAILABLE ON THE OHIO PTA WEBSITE - MEMBER ONLY SECTION.

Log onto the website and see all the other resources available on the Ohio PTA website.

Reflections Theme Search

Ohio PTA Awards

Healthy Habits Program

DISTRICT CONFERENCES

District 7,11,12,17 October 10 District 18 October 24 District 10

November 10 Contact your District

Advisor for information

SAVE the DATE Ohio PTA

Convention April 25 - 27, 2014

The Healthy Habits Program began September 23 for the first-ever Healthy Habits Week. LYSOL® has created a tool-kit containing resources appropriate for students of all ages to encourage schools and families to participate. The toolkit includes ready-to-use lesson plans, a parent activity calendar and materials from the Centers for Disease Control and Pre-

vention (CDC) to teach good hygiene practices, and more.

For more information visit www.lysol.com/mission-for-helth/healthy-classrooms.

Did you know there is a new Ohio PTA Award. The FSP Award is new for those that wish to be recognized for their efforts in school and family engage-ment. There is also the Advocacy Award. To grow in your leadership abilities are the Gold Key Awards. Go to www.ohiopta.org/programs and click on the Awards tab.

Each fall, thousands of students submit concepts for a future Re-flections theme to their State PTA organizations. Ohio PTA will select five themes to submit to the National PTA for considera-tion in the 2015–16 National PTA Reflections theme contest. Contact your local PTA or go to www.ohiopta.org for an entry form and listing of past themes.

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Ohio PTA President’s Message

Putting the Pieces Together  

As  I pen this article  I am creating a workshop entitled, “Putting the Pieces Together:  How to Help Your PTA Reflect the Community That You Serve.”  This workshop is be‐ing presented at our District Conferences and a form of it will also be presented at the 

National PTA Emerging Minority Leaders Conference this month.  As I’m developing the workshop, I’m seeing how this term’s theme, “Our PTA Symphony:  Bringing Harmony to Every Child’s Life” is so intertwined with putting the pieces together. 

When coming up with my theme, I progressively got more and more excited when I thought about the meaning and all of the possibilities of how it could expand and reach so many areas in PTA.  I’m seeing it come to fruition as I develop this workshop and I’m just getting so tickled when I observe how this all ties together.   

In the workshop, I’m associating our units and councils with musical terminology.  If we look at written music, it’s based on the staff.   

 Looking at the staff, there’s nothing particularly exciting about it, yet when other notation is added, it develops into music!   

The first thing that needs to be added is the clef.  This determines the pitch and name of a note.  It establishes which notes correspond to lines and spaces. 

The Treble Clef or G Clef contains the higher notes that the right hand plays on the piano or higher  instru‐ments like the violin or flute play.  It’s called the G Clef because the curl circles the G line.  The spaces from bottom up can be remembered by using the word, FACE.  I’ve come up with using the acronym Families Ac‐tively Cultivating Engagement to apply it to PTA terms.   

The second most common clef  is the Bass or F Clef.   The  left hand of the piano or  lower  instruments such as the cello and bass guitar use this.   The F  line goes through the two dots, thus  it’s called the F Clef.   

The same lines and spaces of the staff mean something totally different depending on the clef or perspective.  The clef is a point of reference and shows relationship.   We have to ensure that as PTAs, we are making certain that every part has the same basic perspective or our symphony will be dissonant – conflicting, incompatible, unpleasant.  If someone is looking at the bottom space as an F because their perspective is based on the G Clef, but someone else sees it as an A because they are using the F Clef as their basis, then they are not on the same note. 

The goals, or movements, for this term are Family Engagement, Training, Advocacy, and Relevancy.  We will never be able to engage families, advocate for them, or be relevant if we are on a different note. 

Part of being on the same note is training and learning the “language” of music.  If you only know the G Clef and your families only know the F Clef, then it’s important for you to expand your knowledge and try to learn the F Clef.  As PTAs, we can’t ex‐pect everyone to understand things from our viewpoint.  We have to be willing to be trained and to learn and grow and reach out. 

What we’ll also  learn about our symphony, once we’ve endeavored to expand our knowledge and thinking,  is that the F  in the Treble Clef and the A in the Bass Clef may just work together in harmony to make chords. 

By taking the time and making the effort to learn the clefs and the notes, we’ll learn that by putting the pieces together, we can create beautiful music to the ears of our families and communities and be something that attracts them and resonates with them.  They, in turn, will know that they are an important part in our PTA symphony. 

Ohio PTA 2013– 2015 President 

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

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Help Us Grow PTA Membership in Ohio by 10% This Year! Now that our Membership drives are in full swing, we want you to know that your unit and council Mem-bership goals affect our state Membership goals. We encourage you to play your part to increasing mem-bers in your units to help reach our Ohio goals by March 2014.

Please attend the Membership Workshops in your Councils and Districts for information and strategies that will help you succeed in attaining growth in your Membership over last year’s totals. Make sure that (Continued on page 4)

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MEMBERSHIP MATTERS - continued

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that your Membership Chairman the latest Membership Handbook and Member Perks materials and sign them up on the Ohio PTA Membership listserv which can be found on our website. By doing so, they will receive direct communications from your Director of Membership in Ohio. We need your Membership Chairman e-mails for your unit, council, and district, so that we can inform you of special events, and conference calls that will help you stay in touch with other Membership Chairmen in your area and around the state. We will share best practices, and get your input on a variety of Membership topics. We will send reminders on Facebook and Twitter too, to help you remember due dates and time-lines! Implementing New this year: *Membership Dues Review* In order to have more accountability to our members in Ohio, we will be instituting a process which will assist us in assessment of dues compliance. It is a unit’s responsibility to ensure that you are submitting $4 per Member directly to Ohio PTA each month. At the end of your fiscal year, the amount of dues you submit should match your full Membership for the year. There are no exceptions. Your members should all be listed as paid members in our dues management system, Just Between Friends. Keep in mind, if any unit accepts Membership dues in the name of PTA and does not forward the state and na-tional portions, this constitutes fraud. We all are accountable to our members for the benefits they re-ceive as a PTA member in our three-tier organizational structure. A Membership Dues Review will allow Ohio PTA to randomly verify the compliance of your unit in sub-mitting your Membership Dues. How can you ensure that your PTA is in compliance? Remember that submitting Membership dues is a responsibility of your entire board. Your President, Membership Chairman, and Treasurer should all be involved in the process of collecting, posting, documenting, and submitting any Membership monies received by your local unit. At the end of each month, one of you should be completing a Membership Cover Sheet and then together, verifying your membership totals. This way you can account for all new memberships received each month, and mail a check accordingly to Ohio PTA. If your unit receives notification that a Membership Dues Review is required of your unit, please respond immediately by completing the Dues Review form which will be mailed out to you. After received, we will then follow-up with a phone call letting you know we received your verification, and whether further steps are required by your unit. It should be a pain-free process, and we appreciate your complete coop-eration by submitting the requested information as soon as received. We are happy to answer any ques-tions you may have, and also assist you with any other Membership needs. You can reach me at membership@ohiopta.org. The Ohio PTA Membership Committee is excited to begin this new year by inspiring all our leaders across the state of Ohio to “Advocate in Perfect Harmony for All Children!” And remember our goal of increasing Memberships in Ohio by 10% so we have more voices to speak on behalf of children across our state, and truly leave no child behind.

ADVOCACY

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OHIO PTA Advocacy Report

October 2013 Ohio Advocacy News

Become an Ohio PTA advocate! Ohio PTA is the One Voice for Every Child. For more than 115 years, PTA has served ALL children. PTA is the nationally recognized forum for parents, teachers, administrators, and community members to meet, dis-cuss, and ACT together. All of us have a stake in education our children since they are our future.

Effective advocacy has many forms and encompasses a broad range of activities. It includes educating the public and policy makers about issues, working to shape the development of governmental agency rules and regulations, litigating on public policy issues, and ensuring that underrepresented communities have a voice in the policy process. Through advocacy and active membership, PTA has shaped the laws, policies, and sys-tems that affect our children, their education and our communities. Advocacy is the number one way we can help bring about systemic, lasting change.

Please continue to check the advocacy page on Ohio PTA’s website for continuous updates. Sign up using the CAPWIZ tab to receive alerts, monitor issues and legislation, and to contact your state and federal representa-tives. Contact us at advocacy@ohiopta.org

What are you doing to promote PTA? Please share you advocacy stories with Ohio PTA! Send advocacy efforts within your local units and councils. We want to feature stories in an upcoming issue and on our so-cial media.

Also, remember to check the Election Season Info tab on the Ohio PTA Advocacy webpage for information on The PTA and Ballot Measures, What PTAs May and May Not Do Around Elections, Hosting a Candidates Forum, Questions for Hosting a Candidate Forum, Planning Election Activities

Pending and Enacted in the 130th Ohio General Assembly 2013-2014

(Current through September 1, 2013)

The education bills introduced and enacted by the 130th Ohio General Assembly since July 2013 are listed below. House bills are listed by number first followed by Senate bills starting with the most recently intro-duced. Look on CAPWIZ for a complete list of bills from this session.

H.B. 256 - Health Education Sponsored by Representative Vernon Sykes (D-Akron). Requires the State Board of Education to adopt na-tional health education standards or to develop its own health education standards based on the national stan-dards for grades kindergarten through twelve. Introduced in the House on August 29, 2013. ***At the 2012 Ohio PTA Convention, the resolution “Support for State Health Education Standards in Ohio” was passed. This is advocacy in action!

H.B. 237 - Common Core—Ohio PTA opposes this bill. Sponsored by Representative Andy Thompson (R-Marietta). With respect to the Common Core Initiative aca-demic standards and the distribution of student information the legislation decrees that “Any actions taken to adopt or implement the common core state standards as of the effective date of this section are void.” Intro-duced in the House July 31, 2013. Continued on page 6

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H.B. 228 - School Funding Sponsored by Representative Andy Brenner (R-Powell). Reforms the system of funding elementary and secon-dary education. Introduced in the House on July 2, 2013.

H.B. 215 - School Security Sponsored by Representative Anthony DeVitis (R-Green). Authorizes a board of education or governing au-thority of a school to enter into an agreement with a volunteer who is a current or retired law enforcement offi-cer to patrol school premises to prevent or respond to a mass casualty event, generally provides to a board of education or governing authority of a school and to such a volunteer immunity from civil liability for injury, death, or loss arising from the volunteer's services and provides a tax credit for volunteer service. Introduced in the House and referred to Education Committee on June 19, 2013.

H.B. 193 - High School Diplomas Sponsored by Representative Andy Brenner (R-Powell). Revises current high school diploma requirements in-cluding state-administered assessments. Introduced in the House and referred to Education Committee on June 5, 2013.

H.B. 181 - Student Information Sponsored by Representative Andy Brenner (R-Powell). Prohibits submission of a student's personal identifi-able information to the federal government without direct authorization of the local school board. Introduced in the House on May 29, 2013. Referred to Education Committee on June 5, 2013.

H.B. 167 - Columbus Schools Oversight Sponsored by Representative Tracy Maxwell Heard (D-Columbus). Authorizes school districts with an average daily membership greater than 60,000 and located in a city with a population greater than 700,000 to levy prop-erty taxes. Revenue from which may be shared with partnering community schools; requires such districts to place levy on the ballot at the next general or special election; creation of the position of independent auditor for such a school district, subject to voter approval; authorizes the mayor of the city in which such a school dis-trict is located to sponsor community schools; and declares an emergency. Signed by Governor on July 15, 2013; effective immediately.

H.B. 59 - Budget Bill Sponsored by Representative Ron Amstutz (R-Wooster).Makes operating appropriations for the biennium be-ginning July 1, 2013, and ending June 30, 2015; provides authorization and conditions for the operation of state programs.

H.B. 14 - School Transfers Sponsored by Representative Dorothy Pelanda (R-Marysville). With respect to a school district's withholding or transfer to another district or school of the records of a child who is alleged or adjudicated an abused, neglected, or dependent child. Signed by Governor on July 11, 2013; effective in 90 days.

S.B. 169 - Scholarship Program Review Sponsored by Senator Tom Sawyer (D-Akron). Requires the Department of Education to conduct a perform-ance review of each chartered nonpublic school participating in the Educational Choice Scholarship Program. Introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2013.

S.B. 167 - School Behavior Policies Sponsored by Senator Charleta Tavares (D-Columbus). With respect to school district policies for violent, dis-ruptive, or inappropriate behavior. Introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2013.

S.B. 162 - School Co Detectors Sponsored by Senator Jim Hughes (R-Columbus). Requires the State Fire Marshal and the Board of Building Standards to include in the State Fire Code and Ohio Building Code, respectively, a requirement that a public or

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private school must install carbon monoxide detectors within each building of the school. Introduced in the Senate on July 24, 2013.

S.B. 158 - Community School Closures Sponsored by Senator Charleta Tavares (D-Columbus). Exempts from closure certain community schools that enroll students receiving behavioral health services. Introduced in the Senate on July 16, 2013.

S.B. 96 - High School Curriculum Sponsored by Senator Frank LaRose (R-Copley). Requires one unit of world history in the high school social studies curriculum. Introduced in the Senate April 4, 2013. Referred to Education Committee on April 9, 2013. Reported out of committee on June 19, 2013.

S.B. 21 - Third Grade Reading Sponsored by Senator Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering). Revises the requirements for reading teachers under the Third-Grade Reading Guarantee and declares an emergency. Signed by the Governor on June 4, 2013; effective in 90 days.

National Advocacy News

Advocacy Blog National PTA operates a blog space with new articles posted every Thursday on varying topics

surrounding advocacy at National PTA. These posts will include highlighting policy issues, giving tips for ef-fective advocacy at the national, state, and local levels, and showcasing advocacy that is being done by local and state PTAs. As part of this effort, National PTA wants to hear about any advocacy efforts or PTA advocates in your states that you think should be highlighted (an outstanding local unit member; a policy that was success-fully changed by PTA efforts; a creative solution to a local or state educational problem; etc). Pictures of your local or states members engaging in advocacy efforts (meeting with members of Congress or state legislators, testifying at policy hearings, meeting with local school boards, etc) would be very much appreciated! Send sub-missions, questions and comments to Erica Lue at elue@pta.org.

To access the blog: http://www.ptanewsroom.org/onevoice/.

No Child Left Behind Waivers Update On August 29, 2013, US Department of Education announced that the states and District of Columbia who cur-rently are operating under NCLB waivers that expire at the end of 2013-2014 school year will be able to request renewals of their reform plans and extend their waivers for 2014 and 2015.

Here is the press release from the Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/states-granted-waivers-no-child-left-behind-allowed-reapply-renewal-2014-and-201

Here is the link to the renewal application: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/esea-flexibility/flex-renewal/index.html

Family Engagement in Education Act Update Please find advocacy materials for the Family Engagement in Education (FEE) Act that was introduced in July on the Advocacy page of the Ohio PTA website. Just click the Family Engagement tab for two documents on the FEE Act funding structure and fast facts. While you are more than welcome (and encouraged) to share these with your PTA members, keep in mind that these were designed for communication with Members of Congress and their staff and, accordingly, are fairly technical in nature. National PTA is working on a docu-ment for PTA leader/member/parent as the audience, and we will share that when it's complete.

To access the advocacy page on Ohio PTA’s website: http://www.ohiopta.org/Advocacy.aspx Jackie Arendt Director of Advocacy

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HEALTH, WELFARE, SAFETY

MMR Vaccine (Measles, Mumps and Rubella): What you need to know 1. Why get vaccinated?

Measles, mumps, and rubella are serious diseases. Before vaccines they were very common, especially among children. 

Measles

Measles virus causes rash, cough, runny nose, eye irritation, and fever.  It can lead to ear infection, pneumonia, seizures (jerking and staring), brain damage, and death. 

Mumps

Mumps virus causes fever, headache, muscle pain, loss of appetite, and swollen glands.  It can lead to deafness, menin‐gitis (infection of the brain and spinal cord covering), painful swelling of the testicles or ovaries, and rarely sterility. 

Rubella (German Measles)

Rubella virus causes rash, arthritis (mostly in women), and mild fever.  If a woman gets rubella while she is pregnant, she could have a miscarriage or her baby could be born with serious birth defects. 

These diseases spread from person to person through the air. You can easily catch them by being around someone who is already infected. 

Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine can protect children (and adults) from all three of these diseases. 

Thanks to successful vaccination programs these diseases are much less common in the U.S. than they used to be.  But if we stopped vaccinating they would return.  

2. Who should get MMR vaccine and when?

Children should get 2 doses of MMR vaccine: 

First Dose: 12–15 months of age 

Second Dose: 4–6 years of age (may be given earlier, if at least 28 days after the 1st dose) 

Some infants younger than 12 months should get a dose of MMR if they are traveling out of the country. (This dose will not count toward their routine series.) 

Some adults should also get MMR vaccine: Generally, anyone 18 years of age or older who was born after 1956 should get at least one dose of MMR vaccine, unless they can show that they have either been vaccinated or had all three dis‐eases. 

MMR vaccine may be given at the same time as other vaccines. 

Children between 1 and 12 years of age can get a “combination” vaccine called MMRV, which contains both MMR and varicella (chickenpox) vaccines. There is a separate Vaccine Information Statement for MMRV. 

3. Some people should not get MMR vaccine or should wait. Anyone who has ever had a life‐threatening allergic reaction to the antibiotic neomycin, or any other component of MMR vaccine, should not get the vaccine. Tell your doctor if you have any severe allergies. 

Anyone who had a life‐threatening allergic reaction to a previous dose of MMR or MMRV vaccine should not get an‐other dose. 

 

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HEALTH, WELFARE, SAFETY

Some people who are sick at the time the shot is scheduled may be advised to wait until they recover before getting MMR vaccine. 

Pregnant women should not get MMR vaccine. Pregnant women who need the vaccine should wait until after giving birth. Women should avoid getting pregnant for 4 weeks after vaccination with MMR vaccine. 

Tell your doctor if the person getting the vaccine: ‐ Has HIV/AIDS, or another disease that affects the immune system ‐ Is being treated with drugs that affect the immune system, such as steroids ‐ Has any kind of cancer ‐ Is being treated for cancer with radiation or drugs ‐ Has ever had a low platelet count (a blood disorder) ‐ Has gotten another vaccine within the past 4 weeks ‐ Has recently had a transfusion or received other blood products 

Any of these might be a reason to not get the vaccine, or delay vaccination until later. 

4. What are the risks from MMR vaccine? A vaccine, like any medicine, is capable of causing serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions.  The risk of MMR 

vaccine causing serious harm, or death, is extremely small. Getting MMR vaccine is much safer than getting measles, 

mumps or rubella.  Most people who get MMR vaccine do not have any serious problems with it. 

Mild problems

Fever (up to 1 person out of 6) Mild rash (about 1 person out of 20) Swelling of glands in the cheeks or neck (about 1 person out of 75) If these problems occur, it is usually within 6‐14 days after the shot. They occur less often after the second dose. 

Moderate problems

Seizure (jerking or staring) caused by fever (about 1 out of 3,000 doses) Temporary pain and stiffness in the joints, mostly in teenage or adult women (up to 1 out of 4) Temporary low platelet count, which can cause a bleeding disorder (about 1 out of 30,000 doses) 

Severe problems (very rare)

Serious allergic reaction (less than 1 out of a million doses) Several other severe problems have been reported after a child gets MMR vaccine, including: ‐ Deafness  ‐ Long‐term seizures, coma, or lowered consciousness ‐ Permanent brain damage These are so rare that it is hard to tell whether they are caused by the vaccine. 

5. What if there is a serious reaction?

What should I look for?

Look for anything that concerns you, such as signs of a severe allergic reaction, very high fever, or behavior changes.  

Signs of a severe allergic reaction can include hives, swelling of the face and throat, difficulty breathing, a fast heart‐beat, dizziness, and weakness. These would start a few minutes to a few hours after the vaccination.  

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What should I do?

If you think it is a severe allergic reaction or other emergency that can’t wait, call 9‐1‐1 or get the person to the nearest hospital. Otherwise, call your doctor. Afterward, the reaction should be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Your doctor might file this report, or you can do it yourself through the VAERS web site at www.vaers.hhs.gov, or by calling  1‐800‐822‐7967.  VAERS is only for reporting reactions. They do not give medical advice.  

6. The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) is a federal program that was created to compensate people who may have been injured by certain vaccines. Persons who believe they may have been injured by a vac‐cine can learn about the program and about filing a claim by calling 1‐800‐338‐2382 or visiting the VICP website at www.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation .  

Venezuela Robinson Director of Health, Welfare, Safety  Source:  http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis‐statements/mmr.html  

HEALTH, WELFARE, SAFETY continued

Why Parents Should Be Alarmed By The Changing Attitudes Toward Marijuana

and What They Can Do About It

The slang is the same – pot, grass, mary jane , hashish, bud, reefer, weed – but since the 1960’s, almost everything else about marijuana has changed.

For one thing, today’s marijuana is far more potent, containing higher concentrations of THC, the mind-altering psy-choactive ingredient that produces the high. In the sixties, the amount of THC found in marijuana was about 1%, but today, it can be 20% or more. The increased potency translates to a higher risk of impairment and a greater potential for addiction associated with marijuana use.

Another change is a perception spreading through society that marijuana is a harmless, non-addictive drug. Even chil-dren are beginning to buy into this myth. Based on the nation’s largest annual survey1 of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, the percentage of teens saying they see “great risk” in using marijuana has dropped sharply in recent years.

What are the reasons for this new attitude? Experts point to two contributing factors to help explain this shift:

Wrong messages – More than ever, teens are being bombarded with the glorification of drug use in mov-ies, TV, songs, Internet, and cell phones.

Medical marijuana – The passing of this legislation in 19 states and the outright legalization of marijuana in two others sends the message to teens that if it’s legal, it must be safe.

What’s the result of the perception that marijuana is harmless?

Increased use – According to Lloyd Johnston, principal investigator in the survey cited earlier, marijuana use has increased among teens four of the past five years. And based on the lead indicator for use – perceived risk – the trend will likely continue.

Continued on page 11

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Why should parents be concerned?

Marijuana damages the brain – "We are increasingly concerned that regular or daily use of marijuana is robbing many young people of their potential to achieve and excel in school or other aspects of life," says Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "THC, a key ingredient in marijuana, alters the ability of the hippocampus – a brain area related to learning and memory – to communicate effectively with other brain regions. In addition, we know from recent research that marijuana use that begins during adolescence can lower IQ and impair other measures of mental func-tion into adulthood."

Early use increases the risk of dependency – Children who begin using marijuana before the age of 15 are five times more likely to develop an addiction than those who start using at 21.

Majority in drug treatment are due to marijuana dependency – Over 70% of adolescents who enter drug treatment programs come in with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence.

Driving under the influence – Based on a recent study conducted by Students Against Destructive Deci-sions (SADD) and Liberty Mutual Insurance, 20% of teens say they have gotten behind the wheel after smoking marijuana. The effect of marijuana impairs depth perception, attention span, concentration, and reaction time, and reduces muscle strength and coordination – all of which make driving more dan-gerous.

Additional risk factors – Teens may be at a greater risk of becoming dependent if their family has a his-tory of alcoholism or drug addiction. Underlying issues such as ADD and mood disorders also increase risk as does frequent exposure. The more exposure teens have to marijuana, the more likely they are to try it. Medical marijuana increases this risk factor for teens everywhere.

What can be done to counteract misconceptions?

Communication – According to a study conducted by the Partnership at drugfree.org, children whose par-ents talk to them about the dangers of drugs on a regular basis are 50% less likely to use drugs than those whose parents don’t.

Education – It’s vital that parents educate themselves about marijuana use to be able to talk effectively with their children about the associated risks. One way to start is to attend education programs offered at their child’s school or in the community. The Internet has a wealth of information too, including methods on how to talk with kids about drugs. Also, find out about the push for medical marijuana in the state and what it will mean for your children and their friends.

1 – Monitoring the Future Survey, an annual survey conducted by the University of Michigan under a grant from the National Insti-tute on Drug Abuse.

Kathy Winzig HWS Committee Member

HEALTH, WELFARE, SAFETY continued

LOBBY DAY NOVEMBER 13, 2013 Ohio PTA’s resolution on State Health Standards passed this past year at the 2013 Ohio PTA Convention. Recently introduced is HB256 about State Health Education Standards. In conjunction with Action for Healthy Kids, Ohio PTA members can participate in a Lobby Day November 13. More information can be found at http://setthestandards.wordpress.com/

Let’s join forces for the children in Ohio!

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OPERATION: MILITARY KIDS

On Wednesday, August 7th, Lisa Mack, Ohio PTA President, and I attended the Ohio Operation: Mili-tary Kids 2013 Camp Kelleys Island. The mission of Operation: Military Kids is to support deployed National Guard, Reserve, and Active Duty service members’ children living in communities across the country.

The Ohio camp is located at an Erie County 4-H Camp on Kelleys Island. Kelleys Island is located on the western basin of Lake Erie – 4 miles from Marblehead. The camp originated in April of 2005. It is administered through the Ohio 4-H Youth Development Program, which is part of the Ohio State Uni-versity Extension and The Ohio State University. There were 266 children of military families enrolled at camp this year.

Lisa and I were met at the Kelleys Island Ferry Dock by camp volunteers wearing t-shirts that read, “Keep Calm and Camp On.” We rode the ferry over to the Island and then transportation was provided to the camp. At the camp there was a registration tent set up for the VIPs. We were greeted with bot-tled water and a backpack. At a shelter house, we were introduced to the persons in charge of the camp - Theresa Ferrari and Sue Ann Carroll. Ms. Ferrari is from The Ohio State Extension and Ms. Carroll represents the Ohio National Guard. We were given a tour of the camp.

Many activities were planned but due to torrential rain, the events were cancelled. I did observe a craft class on jute bracelets – the children seemed to be having a great time. Also we did see the climbing wall. I did get the opportunity to talk to several of the children campers. Most were excited to be here, but one young man was homesick and wanted his father to land his airplane on the island and take him home. Every now and then you would see a one-to-one conversation taking place between a counselor and a camper. During their childhood, many of the counselors at one time had been a camper on the island. They keep coming back. After spending a couple hours, we left due to the weather.

I had a personal interest in attending this camp because both of my parents had served in the military. My father served in the Navy and my mother was a lady Marine. Recently I have had 2 nephew-in-laws deployed overseas - one to Egypt and one to Afghanistan. I have 2 great-nieces who are having sleep-ing issues – afraid they will never see their father again.

This camp gave me a better understanding as to why military children are included as part of the Mo-saic Diversity and Inclusion Committee. As a PTA member I am concerned about the welfare of ALL children. For children of the military it can be hard to understand why their father and/or mother is be-ing deployed, why they move from location to location and why they are always moving away from their friends. Please support our military by supporting their children.

For more information: http://www.ohio4h.org/operation-military-kids.

Sheila Ragland OPTA President- Elect

Take Your Family to School Week will be from February 17-21, 2014. Enter now to win! The $1000 grant is sponsored by AXA Foundation. This year’s theme is Supporting Student Success, and will focus on family engagement solutions that are proven to help prevent the risks associated with high school dropouts. Application deadline is Friday, October 25 at 5 pm. To apply, go to www.pta.org/awards.

Information Webinars are available: Wednesday September 18 at 1 pm, Thursday, September 26 at 7 pm, Wednesday, October 9 at 1 pm, and Wednesday, October 16 at 3 pm.

FAMILY-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP

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Can Arts Education Help Close the Achievement Gap?

A recent report from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) suggests that arts education can help narrow the achievement gap that exists between low-income stu-dents and their more advantaged peers. But new data from the federal government (NCES, 2012) suggests that low-income students are less likely to have access to arts education than their higher-income peers.

Certainly arts education is important for its own sake. But in a time of tough budget choices, arts education advocates must speak to its tangible benefits, which the NEA report clearly does. By nearly every indicator studied, a student from a low-socioeconomic (SES) background with a high-arts educational experience significantly outperformed peers from a low-arts, low-SES background, clos-ing (and in some cases eliminating) the gap that often appears between low-SES students and their more advantaged peers. The benefits of arts education appear especially strong for disadvantaged students, offering a possible strategy that schools can use to address their achievement gaps.

Some interesting statistics from the study: High-arts, low-SES students were more likely to graduate than low-arts, low-SES students – and all students. Only 4% of high-arts, low-SES students did not graduate from high school, compared to 22% of low-arts, low-SES students – and 7% of students overall (though the latter difference does not appear to be statistically significant)

High-arts, low-SES students were more likely to attend college than low-arts, low-SES students 71% of high-arts, low-SES students attended college after high school, compared to 48% of low-arts, low-SES students

High-arts, low-SES students were more likely to finish college than low-arts, low-SES students 18% of high-arts, low-SES students who started college achieved a bachelor’s degree, compared to 6% of low-arts, low-SES students. 24% of high-arts, low-SES students who started college achieved an associate’s degree, compared to 10% of low-arts, low-SES students. From Learning First Alliance: Strengthening Public Schools for every child. “Can Arts Education Help Close the Achievement Gap” by Anne O’Brien (April, 2012). Complete article: http://www.learningfirst.org/can-arts-education-help-close-achievement-gap.

Pam Bonnett Director of Family-School Partnership

Congratulations to the MoneyMinder winners!

Thank you to the many PTAs that applied for the free Treasurer software—Money Minder. My anony-mous drawing the recipients will be:

Nordonia Middle PTSA D13 Buckeye El PTA D17 Grindstone El PTA D12 James A Harmon El PTA D10 Parma Park El PTA D12

TREASURERS TOOLS

ALL PTAS MUST FILE BY NOVEMBER 15:

YOUR CHARITABLE TRUST WITH THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE

14 www.ohiopta.org

Deadline Fast Approaching for Filing 990-N Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations — Form 990-N (e-Postcard) PTAs whose annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less are required to electroni-cally submit Form 990-N, also known as the e-Postcard, unless they choose to file a complete Form 990 or Form 990-EZ instead.

If you do not file your e-Postcard on time, the IRS will send you a reminder notice. There is no penalty as-sessment for late filing the e-Postcard, but an organization that fails to file required e-Postcards (or infor-mation returns – Forms 990 or 990-EZ) for three consecutive years will automatically lose its tax-exempt status. The revocation of the organization’s tax-exempt status will not take place until the filing due date of the third year.

Due Date of the e-Postcard

The e-Postcard is due every year by the 15th day of the 5th month after the close of your tax year. For ex-ample, if your tax year ended on June 30, the e-Postcard is due November 15 of the following year. If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the due date is the next business day. You cannot file the e-Postcard until after your tax year ends.

How to File

Use www.irs.gov or http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Annual-Electronic-Filing-Requirement-for-Small-Exempt-Organizations--Form-990-N-(e-Postcard) to file the e-Postcard. If you have trouble access-ing the system using that link, you may be able to access the filing site directly by typing or pasting the fol-lowing address into your Internet browser: http://epostcard.form990.org. When you access the system, you will leave the IRS site and file the e-Postcard with the IRS through their trusted partner, Urban Institute. The form must be completed and filed electronically. There is no paper form.

Information You Will Need to File the e-Postcard

The e-Postcard is easy to complete. Completing the e-Postcard requires the eight items listed below: 1.  Employer identification number (EIN), also known as a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). 2. Tax year 3.  Legal name and mailing address 4.  Any other names the organization uses 5.  Name and address of a principal officer 6.  Web site address if the organization has one 7.  Confirmation that the organization’s annual gross receipts are $50,000 or less 8.  If applicable, a statement that the organization has terminated or is terminating (going out of business)  

Who Must File

Most small tax-exempt organizations with gross receipts that are normally $50,000 or less ($25,000 for tax years ending on or after December 31, 2007 and before December 31, 2010) must file the e-Postcard.

Source: www.irs.gov Sharon Urig Ohio PTA Secretary-Treasurer

Your Ohio PTA Board of Directors . . . the field service team Your Ohio PTA Directors

Your Ohio PTA Staff

President Lisa Mack 216-691-2990 president@ohiopta.org

President-Elect Sheila Ragland 614-351-8083 presidentelect@ohiopta.org

V P of Leadership Rebecka Adams 513-825-2070 vpleadership@ohiopta.org

V P of Field Service Cathy Harless 614-877-3673 vpfieldservice@ohiopta.org

Secretary/Treasurer Sharon Urig 440-365-7602 sec-treasurer@ohiopta.org

Executive Director Sue Owen office@ohiopta.org sowenaa@sbcglobal.net

Administrative Director Jeri Gookin jerigcr@sbcglobal.net

Immediate Past President Gloria Cazan 440-886-1453

Advocacy Jackie Arendt 440-230-1567 advocacy@ohiopta.org

Bylaws & Standing Rules Linda Read 330-923-7248 bylawsandstandingrules@ohiopta.org

Education Joe Vitrano 330-203-8157 education@ohiopta.org Events Lynn LaMore 440-356-9710 events@ohiopta.org

Membership Suzie Smith-Rios 614-878-3596 membership@ohiopta.org

Diversity & Inclusion Terry Hickey 614-870-9570 D-I@ohiopta.org Family-School Partnership Pam Bonnett 440-871-7932 fsp@ohiopta.org

Health Welfare Safety Venezuela Robinson 440-786-9855 hws@ohiopta.org

Your Ohio PTA District Advisors

Vacant Advisor Positions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 19, Assistant Director of Communications and Membership If anyone is interested in serving on the Ohio PTA Board of Directors, contact Ana Chapman at da12@ohiopta.org. Job descriptions and an application are posted on the Ohio PTA website.

Your Ohio PTA Officers

District 7 Susan Hans 440-243-8776 da6@ohiopta.org

District 17 Carol Beasley 216-383-1963 da17@ohiopta.org

The Mission of the Ohio PTA

CHILD ADVOCACY PARENT/FAMILY EDUCATION SERVICE TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS

THE VISION

OHIO PTA: A LEADING VOICE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH!

District 13 Lisa Weaver 330-825-8252 da13@ohiopta.org

District 11—Interim Debbie Tidwell 440-779-7141 da11@ohiopta.org

District 12 Ana Chapman 440-234-2504 da12@ohiopta.org

District 18 Hazel Trinko 330-896-1694 da18@ohiopta.org

Communications Jeanne Groetz-Shockling 330-313-1544 communications@ohiopta.org

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JBF. What’s that? Sounds like part of that “alphabet soup” that so many of the PTA offi-cers use. That’s how many of its PTA users refer to Just Between Friends. After all, Just Between Friends is quite a lengthy name & the acronym is so much quicker to use. JBF has been promoted as the tool to use for member-ship – and it really is helpful for keeping track of your membership, but did you know that you can use JBF for your communication needs too? If you post something on Facebook or if you tweet something, the people intended to see it often have to be attached to their phone, iPad, or laptop, in order not to have to search for the message, if they have a lot of “friends.” Did you know that when you send out a notice via JBF that it goes directly to each member’s e-mail account? You can choose if you want to send something to those on your entire roster (the roster can include more than just your cur-rent member names) or you can choose for your message to go out only to those who have paid their dues – or even just to those who have not yet paid their dues. You can use JBF for a lot of things that you might never have thought possible when you first started using it. JBF now offers you an option for a store. Yes, you can set up a store to take dues payments online, and the money is put into your unit’s account as soon as someone clicks to make the purchase. The newest feature that JBF has included is that we can renew memberships and pay our dues via our iPhones and Android phones. If you’re someone who rarely carries cash, you can now make your pay-ments right from your phone, as long as your unit has set up a store. If you are a president or a membership chair, please make sure that your unit is registered on JBF. If you need training to learn how to use JBF – or if you just need help to set things up, contact Ohio PTA by filling out the workshop request form, found at http://www.ohiopta.org/PTARESOURCESRunningYourPTA.aspx, under Forms. You can also contact me by sending an email to communications@ohiopta.org. Jeanne Groetz-Shockling Director of Communications

Current Resident or

NONPROFIT US POSTAGE

PAID COLUMBUS OH PERMIT NO 8761