Join us for the first PTSA Membership Meeting of the 2017-18 School Year!
When: Wednesday, September 27, 2017 @ 6:00p
Where: Marcus High School (Main) Rm. D-110
Dear PTA Advocates,
Once again and with your help, Texas PTA was instrumental in stopping the passage of legislation to create a voucher program in Texas. Our message continues to be, “Focus on strengthening our public schools! All students benefit from that goal.”
We made small, but important progress to begin to reform our outdated, inequitable and inadequate school finance system during the Special Legislative Session that lasted for 30 days this summer. HB 21 by Rep. Dan Huberty, created a grant program to provide extra support for students with dyslexia and autism, removed a penalty in funding for very small school districts, created a step-down to help some districts to adjust to the loss of specialized funding they had been receiving since 2006, and created a commission to develop recommendations for school finance reform that can be considered in the next Legislative Session that will begin in January of 2019.
While we did not see the progress in reforming our school funding system that we were hoping for, we made great progress in educating legislators about the fact that as property values rise and homeowners pay more in taxes, the state, for at least 10 years, has been using those increased revenues to offset their share of the cost of public education so that they now contribute less than 32% of the cost of education in Texas. This cannot continue. The state must increase its share of funding for public schools and must fund schools equitably. We will continue to work toward this goal.
Thanks again for making a difference,
Texas PTA Board of Directors and Staff
Texas PTA Advocacy Committee
Urge Legislators to Vote YES on HB 21 and HB 23!
Texas students need your voice tomorrow when legislators debate HB 21 and HB 23. Email or call your Representative and ask them to vote YES on both of these critical priorities.
As a reminder, HB 21 is Representative Dan Huberty’s plan to fix our broken school finance system. HB 23 is Rep. Huberty’s bill that aims to fund innovative, collaborative programs for students with autism on public school and charter school campuses.
We need your voices to #backthefuture of Texas children now.
They are our No. 1 priority!
Teachers, parents & family members provide critical expertise and perspective on the classroom and their children. https://t.co/T6nghdKZsG pic.twitter.com/JVRRN7sTws
— NationalPTA (@NationalPTA) July 19, 2017
Did you know that 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. National PTA is running a nationwide campaign—from July 7 to September 29—to raise public awareness that current levels of federal education funding are an inadequate investment in our children.
We need YOU to help to make this initiative a success—Every state PTA, local unit and PTA member is critical to stopping cuts to classrooms!
Here’s how to participate in the STOP Cuts to Classrooms campaign:
- Sign the petition to #STOPCutsToClassrooms to make your voice heard and receive regular updates on the campaign.
- Share your thoughts on social media (use our sample tweets and Facebook posts) and participate in Funding Fridays on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to raise awareness that 2% of federal funding for public education is not enough.
- Visit National PTA’s #STOPCutsToClassrooms webpage to learn more about federal funding for public education and view the campaign toolkit for more info.
Follow along with our PTSA President Dr. Traci Petteway in our convention ticker!
(click the blue tab “PTA Convention” on the right side of the screen)
The Mission of the Congressional App Challenge
- Encourage students to explore STEM, coding & computer science in a hands-on way.
- Actively include and engage students from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the tech community.
- Educate the Members of Congress on new and emerging technologies through personal interactions with their student constituents.
Dads, your child benefits when you join PTA.
Studies show students perform better when BOTH parents are involved in education. Men and women think differently and bring different perspectives to PTA. PTAs are more vibrant and more appealing to all when both men and women help run them.
Well done Marcus High School students!
Congratulations 2017 Graduates!
Take a few days to relax and clear you head. But only a few days! Then:
- Get a part-time job
- Do some volunteer work
- Take a trip, write a blog
- Read, read and then read something hard
- Practice, practice and play your instrument
- Enroll [in] some preparation or enrichment courses
These ideas and more from College 101 – don’t let the name fool you, this is is good for all students!
https://www.grads.io/mhs/
