PTA Mission: To Make Every Child’s Potential a Reality by Engaging and Empowering Families and Communities to Advocate for All Children

Join Us as Connecticut PTA Celebrates State and National Level Winners May 13 2026 Roger Ludlowe School MS Fairfield National PTA Reflections Program – 2027 Theme Announcement We are proud to share that the 2027 National PTA Reflections Theme has been announced, even more exciting this theme was a winning entry that comes from right here in Connecticut! The 2027 theme was created by a talented student from Wilton High School, whose creativity and voice stood out among submissions from across the country. Their original theme will inspire thousands of students nationwide to explore the arts and express themselves through the Reflections program. Please join us in celebrating this outstanding achievement and the incredible talent of all our Connecticut students. We look forward to seeing how this theme comes to life through art, music, literature, dance, photography, and film in the year ahead. Reflections Explore the Arts and Express Yourself This program is for students of all grades and their parents and caregivers. National PTA has a long-standing commitment to arts education. For over 50 years, Reflections has helped students explore their own thoughts, feelings and ideas, develop artistic literacy, increase confidence and find a love for learning. The Reflections program provides opportunities for recognition and access to the arts which boosts student confidence and success in the arts and in life. Each year, hundreds of thousands of students in pre-K through grade 12 create original works of art in response to a student-created theme. In Reflections, students submit artworks in the available arts category areas and program divisions: Primary (Pre-K - Grade 2), Intermediate (Grades 3-5), Middle School (Grades 6-8), High School (Grades 9-12), Accessible Arts (All grades welcome). 2025 Reflection Winners https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsi2OxHmzg4&list=PLbV_L0Xm1BjxK51FqwUADhXJVv-f_G9Tj Questions? Contact CT PTA Reflections Chair Anne T Bausher reflectionsctpta@gmail.com National PTA has a new and improved Reflections website. All information needed to run a program is now on one page: https://www.pta.org/home/programs/reflections/startyourprogram promotional materials (posters, social media graphics) Local Leader Guides paper entry forms if needed more!

WHY JOIN THE PTA Why your school needs a PTA Member Benefits Student Leadership Focusing on the "T" in PTA Get Connected. There’s no better way to know what’s happening in your school. Discover Great Resources. The PTA offers a variety of programs designed for parents as well as students. Tap into a Network. PTA functions are opportunities to meet other parents and teachers, building rapport and discussing issues that are on your mind. You can share ideas, concerns, and experiences. Watch Yourself Grow. By volunteering with your PTA, you put your skills and hobbies to use for a noble cause—your child and all children in the community. Speak Up. PTA can be a way for you to more effectively suggest change at your child’s school. Witness Improvement. By getting involved at your child’s school you’ll be part of the solution, helping make positive changes. Local PTAs play an important role by supporting building improvements through advocacy and play an important role in fundraising for curriculum based programs and social events. Be a Role Model. By becoming a PTA member, you’ll be demonstrating to your child the importance you place on education. Enjoy Substantial Benefits. Individuals and local units can take advantage of a host of benefits from PTA membership including discounts and offers from member benefits providers and sponsors, magazine subscriptions, leadership training, e-newsletters and much more.

2026 Connecticut PTA Public Policy Agenda 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2022 2023 2024-NONE 2025-NONE Previous CT PTA Public Policy Agendas 2021

OUR ADDRESS 540 Washington Avenue, North Haven, CT 06473 Email: office@ctpta.org Tel: 203-691-9585

DEIJ Diversity-Equity-Inclusion-Justice Melinda Gladden CT PTAs VP of Inclusivity and Outreach office@ctpta.org Click here to Visit PTA.org Diveristy and Inclusion webpage! New! PTAs Leading the Way in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Explore the efforts of three PTAs that have advanced racial justice, economic justice and disability advocacy in their schools and districts. PTAs Leading the Way in Diversity Equity and Inclusion Las PTA lideran el camino de la diversidad, la equidad y la inclusión

The CDC has developed a set of resources called Parents for Healthy Schools to help schools and school groups (e.g., parent teacher associations (PTA), parent teacher organizations (PTO), school wellness committees) engage parents to create healthy school environments. These resources will: 1. Educate parents about: o school nutrition environment and services; o school-based physical education and physical activity; and o managing chronic health conditions in school settings. 2. Provide parents with practical strategies and actions to improve the school health environment. 3. Provide suggestions for ways to track progress in engaging parents in changing the school health environment. The information regarding this important resource for parents can be found using the link below: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/parentengagement/parentsforhealthyschools.htm Please contact me if you have any questions. CSDE Terese Maineri Educational Service Specialist Connecticut State Department of Education Office of Student Supports and Organizational Effectiveness Bureau of Health/Nutrition, Family Services and Adult Education Telephone: 860-807-2145 Fax: 860-807-2127

The Region Director The Region Director's most important job is to provide two-way communication from the local units and councils to the Connecticut State PTA Executive Committee and back. What are "Regions"? In order to facilitate better communication with our members, Connecticut PTA has has divided the state into seven geographical regions: REGION 1 – GREATER HARTFORD AREA North to MA, east to Ashford/Mansfield, south to Rocky Hill, west to Simsbury/Granby REGION 2 – SOUTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT North to Marlborough, Andover, Sprague, Voluntown; east to Rhode Island; south to Long Island Sound, west to the Connecticut River REGION 3 – SOUTH-CENTRAL CONNECTICUT North to Cromwell, Cheshire, Oxford; east to Haddam, Deep River, Old Saybrook; south to Long Island Sound; west to Seymour, Derby, Milford REGION 4 – SOUTHWESTERN CONNECTICUT North to Sherman, Brookfield, Newtown; east to Shelton, Stratford; south to Long Island Sound, New York City; west to New York State REGION 5 – CENTRAL-WESTERN CONNECTICUT North to New Hartford, Canton; east to Avon, New Britain, Berlin; south to Beacon Falls Southbury, Southington; west to Washington, Bridgewater, Southbury What does a Region Director do? The primary duties of a Regional Director, within a region, are as follows: Provide two-way communication from the local units and councils to the Connecticut State PTA Executive Committee and back Promote the Mission, Purpose, and Objects of PTAServe on the Connecticut State PTA Executive Committee and the Connecticut State PTA Board of Directors Attend Executive Committee and Board of Directors meetings Attend leadership trainings specific to the positions of Regional Director and member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee Promote the purposes and goals of the Connecticut State PTA Attend Connecticut State PTA sponsored activities as a member of the Executive Committee Encourages attendance of local units and councils at Connecticut State PTA sponsored programs Oversee expenditure of and accounts for the region funds as provided by the Connecticut State PTA approved annual budget Interpret PTA policy and positions for local units and councils Assist local units in the formation of a council when appropriate Facilitate communication between local units and councils Contact each local unit at least once annually Provide assistance as requested by local units, using the Board of Directors as a resource∞ Recommend PTA member(s) within the region for appointment by the Executive Committee to the position of deputy regional director. Each Regional Director is allotted up to two deputy regional directors as needed and requested by the Regional Director Work with the Vice-President of Leadership to develop and implement at least two region-wide leadership training opportunities for local units and councils annually Work with the Vice-President of Membership to supervise the organization of new local units and take necessary actions with delinquent and defaulted units Represent the Connecticut State PTA at the request of the Connecticut State PTA President within the region and, at times, in other areas of the state. How is a Region Director Chosen? The Nominating Committee for Regional Directors, prepares a slate of Regional Directors prior to the Annual Meeting in the same manner as the slate of officers is prepared per the Connecticut State PTA Bylaws. Region Directors must reside within the region s/he represents and be a member of a PTA within that region. Annual Meeting delegates may only vote for a Regional Director from their own region. Want to learn more? If you would like to contact your Region Director, click here to find out what region your local unit is in, and who your Region Director is. For more information on becoming a Region director, contact the CT PTA office.

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National PTA partnered with Safe Routes to School National Partnership and Kaiser Permanente for Fire Up Your Feet, a physical activity program that encourages families to get more physical activity while raising money for their PTA or school. The two main components to the Fire Up Your Feet program: fundraising and the activity challenge. Fire Up Your Feet Website Partnership

Connecticut PTA History Frances Sheldon Bolton founded the Connecticut Congress of Mothers in 1900, three years after the National Congress was organized Washington, D.C. in 1897. Utilizing the same Goals and Objects of the National Congress, Connecticut's mothers directed their efforts toward bringing the system of education closer to excellence and making the home environment a positive and healthy experience for the children and youth. CT PTA's record of accomplishments for the well being of all children and youth is impressive. It has helped the secure child labor and school attendance laws; juvenile courts; maternal and child health services; public school kindergartens; school lunches; funds for enrichment education programs, libraries, and vocational education; juvenile delinquency research and control; and other legislation that benefits children and school. Our members continue to identify the to the interests of children and to take action to achieve the PTA's legislative objectives. Since its founding, three crucial areas have formed the framework of the PTA and have given direction to all its efforts for children: advocacy, service and parent education. As children's need have changed, the CT PTA's specific objectives have been redefined, but these three traits have remained constant. Children need the PTA as much today as they did in 1900, and their needs will be as great in five, ten, twenty years. To achieve the goals of our founder and our present leaders, our organization is continuing work on projects begun and is reaching out into new areas of concern. Problems of children and families in the urban setting; standardized testing and minimal competency standards; teacher preparation and in service training; school finance; special need of single-parent families and teenage parents; the energy crisis and the schools; hazardous materials in the environment; and utilizing technology in today's schools for tomorrow's workplace have been concerns throughout the years and continue to be concerns. CT PTA is proud of its past and traditions it has established. It is dealing with conditions of the present with courage and vigor; and it looks to the future with a strong commitment, knowing that children will always need friends and advocates who will speak out and take action on their behalf. International Connections As early as the fall of 1897, Alice McLellan Birney suggested international connections for the National Congress of Mothers. She was corresponding with women in many foreign countries about their ways of reaching and teaching mothers. Requests for information about the growing Congress had already been received from England, China, Japan and the Netherlands. Belgium invited the Americans to take apart in an international meeting on home education in 1905. With the cooperation of President Theodore Roosevelt, who was chairman of the Congress' Advisory Council, the national convention body voted in 1905 to hold the First International Congress on the Welfare of the Child in 1908 in Washington, DC. A letter was sent to 48 countries accompanied by a letter from the U.S. State Department. Twelve countries from four continents were represented, as were 32 U.S. states. A second International Congress was held three years later in conjunction with the Congress of Mothers' 150, annual convention. A third and final International Congress met in April 1914 at the Congress' 18th annual convention, including representatives from Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Bulgaria and Germany. The Congress' influence continued to spread around the world, where child welfare and mothers' organizations were organized under various names. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Mothers' Club expanded its activities for under privileged children; India and Japan promoted mother's study groups; and Canada organized the Canadian Federation of Home and School. In 1927, the International Federation of Home and School was founded in Canada on the University of Toronto campus with the National PTA president serving as the international group's president as well. At the end of World War II, General MacArthur invited the PTA to help establish a Japanese PTA as a means of democratizing that country. The National Congress of Parents and Teachers organized the European Congress of Parents, Teachers and Students in 1958 to serve parents of children in Department of Defense schools. A number of units were active in Hong Kong during the early 1980s but later disbanded. Then in 1991, the Pacific Congress of American Parents, Teachers and Students was granted a charter, making it the 53rd congress and in 1998 the 54th congress, the U.S. Virgin Islands, was chartered. The Connecticut PTA is proud of its past and the traditions it has established; it is dealing with conditions of the present with courage, and vigor; and it looks to the future with a strong commitment, knowing that children will always need friends and advocates who will speak out and take action on their behalf. Read Full History Here

VIRTUAL LEADERSHIP TRAINING 2020 Presidents & Treasurers Required Training New Presidents : Choose Presidents 101 and 1 workshop of choice. New Treasurers: Choose Treasurers 101 and 1 workshop of choice. All other President & Treasurers: Two workshops of choice. Choose workshops below. Power Points and or live recordings. When you are ready, Answer the questions from each workshop attended and return to CT PTA via email at office@ctpta.org . (2 minimum per leader) Questions? Call or email us at 203-691-9585 or office@ctpta.org Workshop Power Point Pre recorded live session Diversity & Inclusion Power Point Click Here Click here for Video Questions for Training Click here; Advocacy 101 Power Point Click Here Click here for Video Questions for Training: Click here NEW Membership Campaign Power Point Click Here Click here for Video Questions for Training: Click here Bylaws Power Point Click Here Click here for Video Questions for Training: Click here Family Engagement Power Point Click Here Click here for Video Questions for Training: Click here Treasurers 101 Power Point Click Here Click here for Video Questions for Training: Click here Be Internet Awesome Power Point Click Here Click here for Video Questions for Training: Click here Presidents 101 Power Point Click Here Click here for Video Questions for Training: Click here: Secretaries 101 Power Point Click Here Click here for Video Questions for Training: Click here: 7-21-2-20 The workshop provided an updated COVID-19 information relevant to PTA leaders and parents as we consider the re-opening of public schools. Presenter: Asha K. Shah, MD MS, Stamford Hospital, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Columbia University College of Physician and Surgeons COVID re-entry workshop.mp4 Dropbox link https://www.dropbox.com/s/h3nbkwwc5p9r4z8/COVID%20re-entry%20workshop.mp4?dl=0 Power Point Presentation Presentation cannot be reproduced without permission from CT PTA Click here for Power Point CLICK HERE FOR RESOURCES FROM NATIONAL PTA Take advantage of Elearning. Great tools for leaders offered by National PTA. Please note, Elearning DOES NOT count as required trainng but are great tools for all leaders!