Available On Demand

Convention Orientation

12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT

NCAAC (Invitation Only)

3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT

GENERAL MEETING 1
OPENING, BUSINESS OVERVIEW, ANNOUNCEMENT OF CANDIDATES
Following this session, voting opens for Elections, Bylaws, Resolutions and the proposed new dues rate via online voting system.

1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. EDT

National PTA’s STEM + Families initiative provides access and hands-on exposure to science, technology, engineering and math to engage families and inspire students to pursue career opportunities in STEM fields. Come and learn about the history, partnerships and goals of the STEM + Families Initiative as well as the different STEM program options available to PTAs of all shapes and sizes. Also, hear about the many benefits of STEM + Families programs, including increased visibility, membership, advocacy opportunities and the chance to connect to like-minded leaders. STEM + Families promotes collaboration, equity, access and community engagement.

Think you have open positions but no one to fill them? Think again! Great leaders are out there. Members of National PTA’s Nominating and Leadership Recruitment Committee (NLRC) will teach you how to recruit them. They will share tips on how to attract and engage 21st century volunteers in today’s busy environment to help recognize and find leaders. This will help PTAs at all levels recruit and make nominations based on volunteers that show strong leadership qualities.

In 2022, National PTA held listening sessions with over 600 families, youth and educators and commissioned a national parent survey to inform an update to the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. Come to this session to get cutting-edge research about the current state of family-school partnerships and future priorities for improving this work across the education system. Dive into some of the key new features of the updated National Standards for Family-School Partnerships and explore how you can use these PTA National Standards in your own roles and communities.

2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. EDT

Join us as we delve into purposeful marketing and messaging about your PTA—local, regional or state—as it impacts membership. Misconceptions about who and what PTA is are out there! Whether the result of outdated beliefs, media, rumors, etc., the value we provide as PTAs is often buried or goes unrecognized. We’ll discuss things to evaluate and ways to start changing the narrative—your narrative! Help us take PTA further and broaden our reach so we can be even more impactful and increase our membership for all kids! This is the conversation you have been waiting for!

Learn about Robert’s Rules of Order and how using Robert’s Rules protects the rights of all members. Whether you serve on a local PTA, the state board or any other corporate board, you’ll need to understand the basics of participating in or running a board meeting, and Robert’s Rules of Order make it a lot easier. You will better understand the role of the chair, secretary and other officers and how members can become comfortable with handling motions, debating a motion and, finally, voting on a motion.

3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. EDT

With thousands of associations and millions of members each, more PTA-Union collaboration could be a game changer in the movement of safe and just schools for every student in every zip code. And yet many PTAs may not know their education stakeholder counterpart doesn’t just negotiate for educators; it fights for students!

How do you begin the school year with every member of your board—whether new or returning—all on the same page? Are you truly onboarding your board members, or are you handing them a stack of documents and expecting immediate understanding and results? Learn how to successfully create an onboarding experience that will provide information, understanding and comfort as you begin your year.

1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. EDT

Making a difference in your community is not about productivity; it’s about people. When you focus on others and connect with them, you can work together to accomplish great things. A person's ability to communicate and connect with others is a major determining factor in increasing their influence. Identifying four unspoken secrets of communication style is a must to establish a better connection and move forward together to take action toward positive change.

Because we know that family engagement is an integral component of academic success, it is important that we acknowledge traditional forms of communication and participation may not work in all cultures. This workshop will use examples from National PTA’s Center for Family Engagement as well as research from nationally known experts to model how to engage families normally considered "unreachable."

2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. EDT

Want easy-to-use resources to grow your membership? Join us to learn more about the free National PTA membership resources to help you share your PTA’s value with a call to action to join your PTA. We will be addressing frequent membership questions posted in the PTA Local Leaders Facebook group.

Marketing your PTA is more than membership flyers and PowerPoint presentations. Developing a marketing plan for your PTA can help you attain your PTA goals strategically and purposefully.  Once you understand marketing’s basic principles, you can apply them to any PTA goal. With a well-designed marketing plan, you can design more effective promotions and impactful  campaigns, reach your audience with targeted advertising and track your organizational success with analytics. Without one, you might as well throw your marketing budget down a well and wish for the best! During this strategic planning workshop, learn how to write a distinct and disruptive marketing action plan aligned with your PTA mission and goals. Stop struggling with value, vision and visibility and start using marketing technology that transcends traditional marketing tactics.

3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. EDT

National PTA’s legacy and advocacy of over 125 years has been to secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth. This perfectly describes why we are the nation’s largest child advocacy association. Effective advocacy begins at the grassroots level. Join the National PTA Legislative Committee as they guide you through strategies that will help you become successful advocates for children at the local, state and national level.

Digital safety is a top issue that concerns parents nationwide. Yet research indicates parents currently spend only 46 minutes discussing media in their child’s lifetime. Parents are at a loss as to how to handle the many digital challenges facing children today. It is crucial that children learn why and how to protect themselves—to develop digital confidence from the inside out!      PTA leaders are in a powerful position to promote digital safety in the home, schools and in the community. This workshop will give practical, proven strategies for each. Specific strategies from prevention science will be shared including: creating meaningful involvement for kids, establishing clear rules and expectations and building relationships of trust. Learn clear strategies and helpful ideas for initiating digital safety education in schools. In addition, learn how to organize a state-level Digital Wellness Committee and see the exciting potential of collaboration.

5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. EDT

State Presidents’ Club Meeting (By Invitation Only)

1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. EDT

The presenters will define and discuss the value of Youth Advisory Councils (YACs) in youth development and engagement. There will also be a discussion about the development and operations of YACs in two different school districts. Preliminary outcomes and lessons learned about YAC implementation from these districts will also be shared.

Do you want to become a more inclusive leader? You will learn how engagement and inclusion goes hand in hand. You will also explore ways to connect with others who are not at the table so their voices are heard.

As an advocacy association, PTA has always had to engage in the politics of its time. In this time of re-engaging in school, we’re experiencing especially more politically polarizing issues related to education which impact our children and divide our community. This workshop will bring about discussion on how PTAs can positively address difficult conversations about issues, such as family engagement values which are different from PTA, threats to teachers, book banning and urges to remove cultural materials from school and more. PTAs are not in a vacuum, in this workshop leaders will learn how to continue to speak up for all children amid competing issues.

2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. EDT

Children begin noticing differences in the people around them from a young age. Parents and teachers can play a critical role in helping them understand and navigate these differences. This session will explore the effects of racism and discrimination on children, the importance of developing identity and the tools you can use to help children navigate the world they live in.

Even as transgender issues are a lightning rod of contention in many communities, gender-diverse kids and youth are feeling more comfortable coming out and expressing their gender identity at home and at school. This presentation will focus on the need for and strategies of how parents and schools can work together to create safe and affirming spaces so that all our kids can be themselves and thrive.

Members of the National PTA Programs Committee will provide an overview of National PTA program options, both in-person and at-home models. PTA leaders will interact in small groups to reflect on programs implemented last school year and share tips on planning for next school year. Leaders will have an opportunity to share their findings to the larger group. PTA leaders will also have an opportunity to review National PTA program materials.

3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. EDT

Through a rich portfolio of programs, National PTA’s PTA Connected initiative deepens the understanding and knowledge of parents, families and teachers about digital safety tools and resources and mobilizes schools and communities to engage families to help their children make the best decisions online. Learn about the many ways PTA Connected programs help children act safely, responsibly and thoughtfully online. See PTA Connected programs in action and hear best practices for hosting successful programs for your entire school community.

Hear about how and why the work started organically, how it was nurtured to grow into its current state and what is still to be done. The important work the district and PTA is doing together is saving young lives, by preventing deaths by suicide, overdoses and other avoidable causes.

4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. EDT

GENERAL MEETING 2
WELCOME, GOVERNANCE CELEBRATION, MENTAL HEALTH SYMPOSIUM

7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. EDT

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Celebration

12:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. EDT

GENERAL MEETING 3
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SPEECH

2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. EDT

Come learn about National PTA’s Healthy Minds programming. Your PTA is perfectly positioned to help families and communities make mental health a priority! You will learn about why prioritizing healthy minds and addressing mental health is so important and how to help your PTA understand the needs of families and share relevant resources with them, communicate with school administration and facilitate PTA Healthy Minds sessions with families using National PTA’s program materials.

Join the PBS SoCal | KCET team in a discussion and practical application of human-centered co-design in community and family engagement programs. This session will highlight the PBS SoCal Early Learning team’s innovative model for creating educational and engaging content for families, such as Family Math. This session will also foster a discussion about effective practices for developing culturally responsive family engagement programs that consider the lived experience of families, which includes understanding the barriers that prevent families from being able to fully take part in programs or support their children’s learning at home. We will offer tools for identifying community assets and needs and lead an activity and discussion about strategies and co-design principles you can use to take a human-centered design approach in their own programs.

Your PTA should include disability needs and gifted needs—but how? What can you do when your school, district or state isn’t meeting the needs of students with differences? How can you redirect negativity and make progress through positive collaboration? Get tips on how to reach a presence in your campus, area or council PTA, build positive relationships while working through challenges and make changes. Build connections and learn about state advocacy. PTAs are a voice for every child—learn to include and advocate for students with exceptional needs!

3:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. EDT

Hear from parent leaders on how to build school-based parent groups that reflect the full demographics of the diversity of families in the school. Build and be ready to practice relationship building skills internally to expand PTAs to be fully inclusive of all parents in the school community. Build and be ready to practice relationship building skills externally to link PTAs with other education stakeholders and local organizations that care about public schools.

Too often we treat our PTAs with less respect, so why would we think others would view us as a powerful resource advocating for all children? We've all heard the stories of volunteers who laugh about being volun-told, but when we discount our PTA, we can't expect others to take us seriously. Learn ways to gain respect for your PTA either as the go-to resource for family engagement in your community or as a trusted partner in statewide committees and more.

This workshop, presented by the National PTA Resolutions Committee, will enable you to understand the purpose of resolutions and how to draft a resolution. Get guidance on researching existing resolutions and position statements and how to draft a resolution that is national in perspective and which is backed by documented research that is factual and verifiable.

4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. EDT

GENERAL MEETING 4 
KEYNOTE & RECOGNITION

6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. EDT

Endowment Fund Event

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EDT

GENERAL MEETING 5
VOTING RESULTS, STATE OF THE ASSOCIATION

12:45 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. EDT

Work through the complicated case of one family that is representative of multiple families that could turn up in any district anywhere. Use the values of National PTA as a foundation to engage in a thought-provoking process that will require solution generation to increase school/family collaboration.

Learn about how to govern, not manage, your PTA through your policies and bylaws. You will learn how to work together as a board and/or a committee to accomplish the best outcomes. We will demonstrate how clear, robust policies and bylaws help move your PTA forward.

LPC, EMDR Consultant Peter Tumolo and MSW, CLC Renee Tumolo will discuss the effects of trauma on the central nervous system, and how it affects behavior and the ability to teach and learn. Using scientific research, they will focus on a shame-free approach to difficult behaviors by showing how trauma affects the ability to connect and self-regulate. They will teach effective tools that can be used to address dysregulation with compassion, and in a way that helps improve the functioning of teachers, parents and students.

1:45 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EDT

Most PTAs and schools struggle to attract male members and volunteers. There are successful strategies to get men in the door, but then what? This workshop delves inside the male psyche. What do PTA, education and family engagement look like from the male perspective? What interests them? What turns them off? Are we even speaking their language? How can we build gender-inclusive schools and PTAs that attract more men to engage in learning and supporting schools and students? Leave this workshop with new ideas and actionable items to motivate and encourage greater male participation in their PTAs.

You will be afforded the opportunity to deepen your racial literacy and reflect on how current equity efforts interrupt or unintentionally facilitate greater levels of oppression.

PTAs at all levels understand that increasing the diversity (of all types) of their leadership is one component of remaining vital, relevant and engaging. Even when PTA boards write a specific goal or strategic plan, their efforts are not effective. That's where a gap analysis comes into play! This tool can help your board identify where your next steps should be in order to achieve the goal you set for yourselves. This workshop will teach you how to use this professional tool, widely used by organizations and corporations alike successfully, to be more effective in your actions to develop diversity in your decision-making and vision-making roles.

2:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. EDT

Working cohesively and collaboratively is essential to the success of a leadership team. Learn the do's and don'ts in the working relationship between the President and President-Elect. Leave this workshop inspired to lead by example.

Become more aware of your levels of emotional intelligence and where you may need to gain additional skills.

This workshop will support SEPTA leadership by providing tools, resources and guidance to increase family engagement, boost school involvement and improve community outreach.

4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. EDT

GENERAL MEETING 6
OUTGOING GOVERNANCE RECOGNITION, INSTALLATIONS, INCOMING PRESIDENT SPEECH, CLOSING

5:45 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. EDT

Incoming President and National PTA Leadership Celebration