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PTA is committed to developing a leadership base that reflects the diversity of America’s schools. The Emerging Minority Leaders Conference, now in its fourth year, is designed to prepare ethnic minority parents and caregivers to assume leadership roles in their local communities and schools. Each year, participants gather to network and develop as critical thinkers, stronger leaders, and better advocates for children and education. The Emerging Minority Leaders Conference is but one way to ensure that PTA moves closer to fulfilling our vision of making every child’s potential a reality.
The 2009 conference, Destination IV: No Leader Left Behind, to be held November 6-8 in Atlanta, will bring together some of the country’s premier authorities in education, advocacy, and professional leadership development. Attendees will participate in facilitated workshops in strategic planning, cultural sensitivity and awareness, urban community engagement, and partnership and collaboration building.
This conference is for you if you are
• An ethnic minority,
• Interested in growing as a PTA leader, and
• Want to learn how to better advocate for all children.
Please pass this information on to potential participants in your communities and schools. The PTA national office will sponsor the cost of conference attendance, hotel, airfare, and per diem for two ethnic minority PTA members per state PTA. Please contact your state PTA to express an interest in attending.
Online registration is underway. For more information and updates, please check the PTA.org/emlc website or contact the PTA Urban Development Department at nemlc@pta.org.
Do you need a course to help you be a better leader? Are you looking for refinement of your leadership skills? The PTA Center for Learning & Growth is just what you’re looking for. Introduced by PTA National President Charles “Chuck” Saylors at the 113th Annual PTA Convention, the PTA Center for Learning & Growth will be available to members some time in 2010. Once launched, the Center will provide leaders and members with
• Clear and consistent learning objectives,
• Great learning technology that’s easy to use, and
• The ability to perform a leadership self-assessment and target individual learning needs.
Courses will be offered both virtually and face to face.
Development of the Center will focus on key roles of members as leaders, with courses to help build their competency, while motivating, empowering, and aligning each member to reach their potential within PTA. With continuous input from PTA leaders and members, it is the goal to make the PTA Center for Learning & Growth a stellar volunteer- and leadership-training institute and center for other PTA-oriented educational services that can serve the organization for years to come.
Updates and more information will be available in the coming months.
With PTA budgets tight, and your schedule even tighter, traveling to workshops and seminars may be out of the question. Luckily, PTA e-Learning is available to you all day, every day. All you have to do is log in with the username and password found on the back of your PTA membership card and choose from the growing list of courses designed to help you improve your knowledge of best practices in PTA unit management. Each course takes 30–60 minutes to complete and can be repeated to help you hone your skills.
Current e-learning courses
• Preventing Theft in Your PTA—This course is a must for leadership.
• Cultural Competency—Learn culture awareness and how to build relationships across cultural groups.
• PTA Basics—Discover PTA’s history, structure, programs, and the issues for which it advocates.
• Grant Writing—Learn the basics of grant application.
• Conflict Management—This course is taught using a simulated real-life situation, and providing immediate feedback and expert advice.
• Planning and Goal Setting—Developed around a five-step process from time-management company Franklin Covey, this course contains printable tools and exercises to help you set and reach your goals.
• Parliamentary Procedure—Learn how rules of conduct positively affect PTA decision-making, while ensuring fair and orderly unit operations.
• Running a Successful PTA Program—Learn the steps for taking a program idea from concept to reality.
• Effective Advocacy for Your Child—Organize around local issues and address them to benefit the needs of children and your community. (Course designed for emerging local leaders.)
• Writing and Proposing PTA Resolutions—Stories from “the field” combined with practical advice make the resolution development and proposal process easy.
• Planning Your PTA Year—Learn to keep volunteers motivated by putting an achievable plan together for the year.
Two new titles are currently under development for 2009:
• Reflections 101—An overview and how-to for local units on running PTA’s popular Reflections program.
• Ethical Leadership—Learn how to accomplish your goals with fairness and integrity.
Available to PTA members at www.pta.org/e_learning.asp, PTA e-learning is no-cost way for you to expand your PTA leadership skills from the comfort and convenience of your home, or anywhere you can connect with the Internet.
The PTA National Convention connects members and other child advocates to learning opportunities, exhibits, issues, and resources that enhance their knowledge and effectiveness. This event has featured some of the world’s most notable celebrities, prolific thinkers, and awe-inspiring speakers who care about PTA’s mission and vision, including Dr. Maya Angelou, Bill Cosby, Dolly Parton, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Carol Channing, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Attendees select from a roster of workshops and presentations that are guaranteed to enhance and expand their knowledge base. In 2009, a new set of workshops was offered called “Critical Issues” that focused on the most important social issues facing today’s children and families.
Leaders and member also address the business of the organization at convention. The 54 states and congresses that comprise PTA are represented at the general meetings by their voting delegates and representatives who discuss and determine the direction of the organization, including proposing and voting on resolutions. The convention also allows attendees to network and meet members from across the country and around the world.
The national convention is one event that should be on every member’s calendar. The 2010 PTA National Convention will be held in Memphis, Tennessee, June 10–14. Updates and more information will be available in the coming months.
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