1. ADVOCACY is the HEART of PTA
Presented by
Wake County PTA Council and
Wake Education Partnership

2. PRESENTERS WAKE COUNTY PTA COUNCIL
Sarah Martin, Advocacy Chair
WAKE EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP
Tim Lavallee, Vice President of Policy and Research

3. Setting Expectations Thank you for your attendance today.
Our presentation today will last about an hour, but we’re happy to hang around for a little while afterwards if there are additional questions.
We’ll be recording this workshop and broadcasting it live on our Facebook Page.
Please set cell phones to “vibrate” mode.
Feel free to step out of the room to take calls or attend to other business.

4. Topics for this Session
Overall Purpose of PTA
What can PTA Advocates Do?
Groups you may want to consider in your advocacy efforts
Speaking on behalf of your PTA
NCPTA Priorities
National PTA Priorities (2017 Legislative Agenda just released)
Elected Officials Go to School
NCPTA Every Child Event and Lobby Day 2017

5. Overall Purpose of PTA
To make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.

6. Overall Purpose of PTA
We advocate on a variety of levels:
Hyper locally
Districtwide
State
National

7. Overall Purpose of PTA
It’s Our History:
PTA was formed out of the desire of parents and teachers to work together to make public education better for all children

8. What Can PTA Advocates Do?
National PTA has some great resources to explain just that!
- check out the Advocacy Tab
Great video: How to Lobby the PTA Way

9. What Can PTA Advocates Do? (Page 1 of 3 pages)
Work with your school to implement a strong family engagement policy, as required by federal law.
Attend school board meetings and Board Advisory Meetings.
Attend school district meetings on such topics as healthy alternatives in the lunchroom and federal, state and local budget cuts.
Work with school leaders and state education officials to implement PTA’s National Standards for Family-School Partnerships.
Write a letter to the editor about the importance of family engagement in education.

10. What Can PTA Advocates Do? (Page 2 of 3 pages)
Become active with your state PTA’s efforts on state-level advocacy.
Sign up for the National PTA Takes Action Network and respond to action alerts to reach your legislators on important issues and legislation.
Sign up for the Advocacy News from North Carolina PTA and respond to the alerts listed there.
Read, read, read, read, read…

11. What Can PTA Advocates Do? (Page 3 of 3 pages)
Educate members of Congress and their staff on PTA’s federal public policy priorities.
Meet with decision-makers at the local, state or federal level. 
NCPTA Lobby Day – March 14
How to Lobby the PTA Way is a useful demonstration of an effective meeting.-
See more at: ate-for-PTA/What-is- Advocacy.aspx#sthash.irCliWjX.dpuf

12. How WakeEd Works
Provides Professional Development and Grants for WCPSS teachers.
Advocates on behalf of students, educators, and the school system to advance the strategic goals of WCPSS.
Advocates for high academic standards, adequate compensation, and equitable funding.
Serves as a conduit between the schools and the business community.

13. Groups to Consider in your Advocacy Work
Principal and Staff
Wake County Board of Education
Wake County Staff Members:
Area Superintendent
Leadership Team
State Board of Education
State Department of Public Instruction
North Carolina General Assembly
Federal Department of Education
US Congress

14. WCPSS Board of Education
The Wake County Board of Education is the local governing body of the Wake County Public School System. Its nine members are currently elected from separate county districts.
The school board sets policy for the school system implemented by the superintendent and administrative staff. The board also adopts an annual budget proposal that includes its request for local funding from the Wake County Board of Commissioners as well as its plan for using state and federal funds. The school board does not have taxing authority.
The North Carolina State Board of Education, as legislated by the North Carolina General Assembly, provides statewide public school governance. The state is responsible for the majority of the district's funding as well as oversight of core academic curricula.

15. WCPSS Board Advisory Councils
Each of the Nine Board of Education Members has a Board Advisory Council comprised of members from his/her district.
Meetings of the BAC rotate amongst the schools in each district. Your PTA unit may be asked to consider providing hospitality for the BAC meeting if it comes to your school.
BAC meetings are open to the public and must comply with open meeting laws.

16. WCPSS Leadership Team
Our school system is led by Superintendent Dr. James Merrill and his team of 5 Chief Officers.
We also have 9 Area Superintendents that oversee subsets of schools. Your principal will often speak of their Area Superintendent in seeking approvals or happenings at the District Level.
Finally, we have 8 Assistant Superintendents and Officers over a range of central service groups.
In Wake County, we practice Site Based Management, which means that the principal makes the decisions that affect his/her campus
WCPSS is currently operating under a strategic planning initiative better known as “Vision 2020” – which we will explore further on the next slide

17. WCPSS Leadership Team
VISION: All WCPSS students will be prepared to reach their full potential & lead productive lives in a complex and changing world
MISSION: WCPSS will provide a relevant & engaging education & will graduate students who are collaborative, creative, effective communicators & critical thinkers.
GOAL: By 2020, WCPSS will annually graduate at least 95% of its students ready for productive citizenship as well as higher education or a career
For more information, visit n/2636/Strategic%20Plan%20Booklet% b.pdf

18. Speaking on Behalf of Your PTA
Keep in mind that only the president may officially speak on behalf of your PTA unit.
You’re welcome to speak as an individual and state that you’re a PTA member
The PTA president may only speak on behalf of the unit if the unit has taken specific action on something (may not represent the ideas of a few members as the ideas of the entire PTA unit).
ALWAYS say thank you – Positive Advocacy is Strong Advocacy

19. NCPTA Priorities North Carolina Advocacy Priorities:
School Funding
Teachers and Administrators
Parental Involvement
Accountability
Health and Wellness
acy/pta-advocacy-priorities/

20. National PTA Priorities
The 2016 Public Policy Agenda features seven key policy areas:
Elementary and Secondary Education
Early Childhood Education
Special Education
Education Funding
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Child Nutrition
School Safety
Agenda-and-Executive-Summary/Overview.aspx

21. Elected Officials Go To School
We strongly encourage as an easy Advocacy Step to work with your principal and consider inviting an elected official to your school:
School Board Members
Member of the County Commissioners
Member of the NC General Assembly
Keep in mind that Town Council members may also be helpful – but they do not generally fund schools directly
Check out a detailed plan of action at go-to-school/

22. NCPTA Every Child Event March 13th, 2017
NCPTA Every Child: Healthy Schools and Successful Students
Event designed for health and wellness chairs, advocacy chairs, and other PTA officers
Closer look at NCPTA’s Health and Wellness Advocacy Priorities
Develop a PTA vision of what a healthy and successful school looks like in
To be held in Raleigh on Monday, March 13, 2017 from 10am until 4pm at the NCPTA Office (3501 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh)
Check out a details and register at schools-and-successful-students-training/
Questions? Contact NCPTA Health Director Marianne Weant at

23. NCPTA Lobby Day – March 14, 2017
Great opportunity to build legislative support for our schools and showcase PTAs across the state.
We’ll meet in the morning to attend NCGA committee hearings and set up individual meetings with state legislators for afternoon visits. If you’re interested in participating, please RSVP by February 15: lobby-day-scheduled-for-march-14/
Lobby Day training webinar on February 28th (7pm) for lobby day participants in preparation for day at the Legislature.

24. Congratulations and Thank You
You and Your Team are Going to Make A Difference.

25. Ongoing Support
Attend training sessions whenever they are offered – even veterans walk away with new ideas
Attend Wake PTA Council events and network with other PTA leaders throughout the County
NCPTA office can be contacted at or Check their website at Office hours are Monday through Thursday, closing from noon until 1pm and then closing at 4pm daily.
National PTA has some excellent e-newsletters that can help you throughout the year and give great details about what’s happening on a national level. Subscribe through their website.
Contact Wake PTA Council by ing
Join the Wake PTA Council yahoogroup – it’s not just for presidents!!! (next slide for instructions)
Follow Wake PTA Council on Facebook and Twitter
Attend New Officer Training in Spring – look for announcements
Attend End of Summer Leadership Training – look for announcements

26. Wake County PTA Council YahooGroup
Encourage all Board Members to be members of the WCPTA YahooGroup
Join by sending an from the address at which you want to receive communications to
Messages sent to the YahooGroup go to the entire group. Don’t confuse this with sending something to our at

27. Can We Answer Questions?
Thank You
Can We Answer Questions?