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

SPECIAL EDUCATION PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION Interested in starting a SEPTA? Contact CT PTA at office@ctpta.org or call us at 203-891-6140 What is SEPTA? SEPTA is a PTA within a school district. SEPTA bring together people who are interested in special education and children with special needs. SEPTA support, strengthens and promotes the welfare of children with special needs. SEPTA promote an understanding of special education and strive to enrich the lives of children with special needs. ARE THE GOALS OF SEPTA? -To ensure that all children receive an education that allows them to reach their full potential. -To bring together parents, families and teachers of children with special needs in order to share their experiences. -To educate parents about special education, including the identification and placement procedures for children with special needs. -To inform legislators, school boards, and the community about the importance of special education programs. -To improve the lives of children by providing cultural, social and physical enrichment. -To advocate for children with special needs and their right to a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. WHO ARE SEPTA MEMBERS? -Anyone that has an interest in the welfare of children with special needs. -Parents, families, teachers, school administrators, students, friends. -Membership is open to all. HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT SEPTA? Join a SEPTA Attend meetings Participate in programs Volunteer your time Get Involved SEPTA BROUCHURE- CLICK HERE SEPTA Locations in Connecticut with Unit Presidents Visit our SEPTAs below Cheshire SEPTA- Aimee Sobkowiak Easton SEPTA- Jill Madeo Fairfield SEPTA - Trisha Pytko Hamden SEPTA - Alexander Valentine Monroe SEPTA- Maria Dulas Newtown SPED - Amanda Perna Trumbull SEPTA- Jenny Zambrano United SEPTSA of Stratford - Melody Lehrman Wilton SEPTA- Kara Berghaus Easton SEPTA Fairfield SEPTA Hamden SEPTA Monroe SEPTA Newtown SPED PTA Wilton SEPTA Cheshire SEPTA Trumbull SEPTA United SEPTSA of Stratford Contact CT PTA fror questions office@ctpta.org http://wondermoms.org/resources/ MINDS IN MOTION Minds in Motion™ offers exciting, fast-paced, interactive workshops for every child with every interest, Kindergarten – 8th grade. Adults can attend a keynote and thought-provoking, special-interest workshops, free of charge at every MIM™ event. At Minds in Motion™ you'll also receive free literature, network with fellow parents, and learn about resources, after-school programs, camps, books, and other educational tools beneficial to your child. Other Links Network of Care for Behavioral Health SPED*NET Autism Families CONNECTicut CACLD Students with Autism Guide to Helping Kids with Autism Sleep Better Autism Resource Center Creating an Autism Friendly Home How ASD affects sleep along Moving with Kids with Autism 30 Ways to Celebrate Autism Awareness Month Traveling with Kids with Autism

Register for the Local PTA Leader Kit : your free, year-round resource to support all of your PTA leadership needs. You will find strategies, tips and turn-key tools to ensure your success. REGISTER HERE

Resources for You Click here to visit the resources below In This Section Run Your PTA Advocacy Family Resources Parent Toolkit Center for Family Engagement Notes from the Backpack Podcast Parents' Guide to Student Success Our Children Magazine College and Career Readiness Assessments and Standards Health Safety Family Guides Special Education Toolkit Summer Learning and After-School Opportunities In the Classroom Kids in Art Class Children Arriving at School Raising Hands In the Classroom Teacher and Young Student Kids for Peace Classmates Teacher and Kids Teacher & Student Fun in the Pool Playing with Animals Summer Camp Kids

NOW PART OF OUR SYMPOSIUM! More to follow..... CT PTA to provide more information as these events come closer!

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!

The attached proposed amendments to the Connecticut PTA Bylaws were approved by the CT PTA Board of Directors at the January 28, 2017 BOD meeting and will be presented for consideration at the Connecticut PTA 117th Annual Meeting. The Connecticut PTA Annual Meeting will be held Wednesday, May 31, 2017 . Meeting will be held at CT PTA , 540 Washington Avenue, North Haven Meeting begins at 6:00 pm. click here to review CT PTA bylaw changes

NATIONAL PTA UPCOMING EVENTS

MEMBERSHIP FLYERS 10 Reasons to Belong > go Why your school needs a PTA> go Myth vs Truth> go Membership dues help you succeed > go Zooming into Membership Kit The Zooming into Membership Kit teaches your region, district, council or state PTA how to organize and host Zooming into Membership events. We share examples, templates, ideas and best practices from other PTAs who have done it. Here is how it works: Read What You Need to Know about Zooming into Membership (en español ) or watch the video and then check out the eight steps below to find out how to use the Kit

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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