Monday, December 10, 2007

From Tom Jennings, New District President

As you all know Amy Gibson the 20th District President had to resign for personal reasons. As of December 6, 2007 I have had the pleasure of being elected as your new 20th District President. I welcome the challenge with the utmost respect for those that I follow and hope to meet all of your and their expectations.

Please remember that I and the other officers of the 20th District are here to help your PTA’s succeed in all of your endeavors so anything you need or questions you have please don’t hesitate to ask. Training for units will be held soon so plan on attending and watch you’re E-mail for updates.

There are four Vice Presidents on the District Board that cover the following geographical areas of our District. For Monterey, Michael Silver, michael-silver@sbcglobal.net. For Santa Cruz, Mary Marasco, marymarasco@yahoo.com. For Salinas, Sherrie Payne, sherripayne@sbcglobal.net. For South Monterey County, Karen Gibbs, kareng1971@yahool.com. Please use your VP as your first point of contact on the District Board.

District General Meetings will be January 17, 2008, and April 17, 2008. Each unit should have at least one representative at each of these meetings. Please add these dates to your calendar now and plan to attend or send a representative from your school’s PTA.

Please feel free to contact me via email (tjenni@sbcglobal.net) or by phone @ 831-241-8128 at anytime for questions or problems that you might have. I make every effort to answer e-mails daily in the evening, and I answer my phone as long as I’m not in a meeting if I don’t answer just leave a message and I will get back to you ASAP.

I look forward to working with all of you and remember you are among the elite citizens in our community that have cared enough to be involved and help when help is needed. Let this serve as a reminder that there can never be any better reward than to know you helped contribute to the education of a child.

Thanks for all you do
Tom Jennings
831-241-8128
tjenni@sbcglobal.net

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Proposition 92 - PTA position

Still on the advocacy topic, CAPTA recently sent out a Legislative Action Alert on Proposition 92. Check out the Ballot Measures page of the CAPTA.org website for more information on why the CAPTA voted NOT to take a position on this proposition. Interestingly, it is just as important as taking a position one way or another.

PTA: an Advocacy Organization and Legislation Conference

Most people view PTA as a fundraising organization. Even many local PTAs themselves, feel this is their main purpose - it sure takes up most of the time, sometimes. But, actually PTA is an advocacy organization. The very first purpose listed on the California PTA website is "To promote the welfare of children and youth in home, school, community, and place of worship."

So, today I'd like to get on my soapbox about advocacy. I started in PTA as the district Legislative Chair 4 years ago and learned a lot about what the PTA does for children, on the State level. It's a LOT! Many meetings are held to review policies, write resolutions and decide what propositions to support. Trust me, the state board puts in a lot of work for our children to guide our state government in the right direction.

And, it works. With the many members we have, we have a loud voice in Sacramento so when the PTA puts its weight behind something, it usually happens.

So, what does this mean to you on the local level? The district would like to encourage you to look at your focus and decide how you can do more in terms of advocating for our children. Some suggestions are:

1. Elect an Advocacy Chair. This would be someone to research and spearhead projects or activities around advocacy. They could also attend the Legislation Conference (info below) to learn what is happening on the state level. Having someone on your board dedicated to advocacy will take the weight off of you as the President.
2. Learn about CAPTA advocacy programs. Check out the Local PTA Advocacy page on CAPTA.org for lots of ideas of things your PTA can do.
3. Get involved on a local level. Find out local issues that you can be involved in. Do not endorse any candidates, but otherwise you can be for or against any local issues that your board approves in a general meeting. Then your Advocacy Chair can help take action!
4. Send someone (maybe your Advocacy Chair) to the Legislation Conference. Here's the latest info from CAPTA on the conference in January. I have been to these and they are fascinating!

The California State PTA Annual Legislation Conference, scheduled for January 27-29, 2008, will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel-Riverfront Promenade, 100 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA. The conference will begin at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 27, and will end at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 29. A proposed agenda, housing and registration materials are available online at www.capta.org.

Due to the popularity of the conference, the housing and registration forms must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on January 3, 2008.

Questions? Call the California State PTA office at 916-440-1985 ext. 104.

The California State PTA Legislation Team looks forward to seeing YOU in Sacramento!
I hope these ideas get you started toward increasing your focus on advocacy for our children. We can do the most good for them by doing this.

Monday, December 3, 2007

PTA Insurance and Worker's Comp

Insurance will be $176 this year. Please submit this to the 20th District before Jan. 18th 2008 along with the Unit Remittance Form.

At the same time, the annual Worker's Comp reports need to be submitted with $14. This needs to be submitted even if you do NOT have any people employed by the PTA.

You can mail these items to:
Robin Martinez
3157 Lynscott Drive #9
Marina, CA 93933

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Spanish Materials

The California State PTA is trying more and more to provide materials in Spanish. You can download all or part of the PTA Toolkit in Spanish. It takes quite a bit of time to translate the toolkit, so the newest 2007 one is not in Spanish but you can get the 2005 Toolkit in Spanish.

Also, there is a list of publications that you can order from the CAPTA in Spanish.

And, just recently, the Membership Committee of the CAPTA has released popular articles in Spanish. Take a look at:
Beneficios de la pertenencia a una PTA (Benefits of PTA Membership)
Lo que puede hacer una carta constitutiva de PTA (What a PTA Charter Can Do)
¿POR QUÉ UNIRSE A LA PTA? (Why Join PTA?)
¿POR QUÉ LA P T A? (Why PTA?)

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

UCLA's Information Studies on California Schools

The UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies has just released its state report which looks at the outcomes in California schools in light of the conditions we provide.

They have highlighted two sorts of gaps: a) the national gap whereby California schools on average provide less resources than almost all other states; and b) the racial opportunity gap whereby California schools serving the highest proportions of African American, Latino, and American Indian students experience far more opportunity problems than other schools in the state.

You can access this state report, as well as supplementary reports on Latino and African American students, at www.EdOpp.org.

Please share this valuable information with your districts, councils and units.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Grant Opportunities

California State PTA offers grant opportunities for PTA Units in good standing. Most have a November 15 Deadline which is coming soon. If you're interested, go to: http://www.capta.org/sections/programs/grants.cfm, where you'll find information and applications.

Grants are available to assist unit, council, and district PTAs and California State PTA commissions and committees to develop and implement programs in parent education, cultural arts, and leadership development. Grants are also available to assist unit, council and district PTAs to translate PTA materials into other languages.

Applications may be obtained from the California State PTA office, on the website at www.capta.org, or from Fax-on-Demand at 877. 406.3680.

Another Grant Opportunity:

Deadline: March 5, 2008
American Academy of Dermatology Announces 2008 Shade Structure Grant Program
To assist organizations in creating sun-safe outdoor areas, the American Academy of Dermatology has announced the availability of grant applications for its Shade Structure Program.

The program is open to United States nonprofit organizations or educational institutions for permanent shade structures over outdoor locations which are not protected from the sun, such as playgrounds, pools, eating areas, and other locations.

The 2008 program will have a longer grant cycle in order to allow AAD members to work with local schools and organizations to develop sun-safety programs and initiatives, one of the criteria for application. Also please note, the 2008 program is only open to schools and organizations that serve children and teenagers, ages 18 and younger.

Visit the AAD Web site for complete program guidelines, an application form, and information on locating a member dermatologist in your area.

NOTE: Here’s a direct link to the 2008 Shade Structure Grant Program:
http://www.aad.org/public/News/2008+Shade+Structure+Program.htm

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Let's go Shopping!

I've been getting lots of opportunities to buy stuff for PTA lately so I thought I'd share.

PTA Store: http://www.captastore.com/
The PTA Store should always be your first stop when looking for items you PTA needs. From pins to Reflections awards to gifts, they are stocked up. In the meeting section, you can find signs to advertise your meetings as well as official Secretary and Treasurer's books and even a gavel. In the Pins section you can find all the official PTA officer pins and some fun ones, too. And, if you're looking for gifts to give your board at the end of the school year, check out the gift, mugs and wearables sections. All this and more at your PTA Store!

Gavels: www.gavelstore.com
Want more choices for gavels, check this site out.

Auction time - just in time for Christmas! http://www.pta.cmarket.com/
National PTA is hosting a nation-wide auction, starting October 31st.
Check out the auction catalog for great items at bargain level prices.
Proceeds from the auction help PTA further its Mission of being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for the education and well-being of every child. Auction categories may include the following and more:
  • Electronics
  • Toys
  • Jewelry
  • Trips & Vacation Getaways
  • Gift Cards
  • Books
  • Education Items
  • And much more!
Donate: If you have valuable merchandise, rare collectibles, business or personal services, or access to unique events, we need your contribution today.

Tell Your Friends: Do you know someone who would be interested in supporting our cause? Please share the news of the online auction with your friends so they can be part of the excitement. Refer a friend to the auction so they can get involved.
So tell you friends, family, and community to get ready to point, click and bid on quality items at bargain level prices. The auction begins October 31, 2007 at 6:00 a.m. EST.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Updated OMDR Batch Uploads

I have great news from National. They have developed a new way to do a batch upload in OMDR that allows for uploads directly from an Excel spreadsheet...and the new feature is live today!

With this new way, users must use the formatted template or it can be found in the "Add Local Members Batch Upload" screen for users to download. Users can input their information into the template, save it to their computer, and then upload it into OMDR. Please note that the header row has to remain in this format and in the file.

Here are instructions on creating Excel files for upload. These instructions are additionally found on the "Add Local Members Batch Upload" screen.

Users who do not have Excel can continue to use the upload feature by changing the file into a csv and then txt file. Instructions for uploading ASCII/test files are also on the "Add Local Members Batch Upload" screen.

The live webinars do reflect the new upload feature and National will be archiving a new webinar soon. Please go to http://registration.intercall.com/go/nationalpta.
The following are the local unit OMDR webinars that are scheduled for the rest of the month and for November. Please encourage your local unit officers to attend a webinar if they are new to OMDR.

All times listed are Central time.
Oct. 22, 11:00 am
Oct. 30, 1:00 pm
Nov. 7, 3:00 pm
Nov. 16, 10:00 am
Thank you in advance for helping us to spread the good news about batch uploads!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Got Members? Have You Invited Everyone To Join?

Here are some simple tips to help:
1. Make sure you have a PTA poster at the entrance to your school inviting everyone to join.
2. Invite every student, teacher, and administrator to become a member.
3. Solicit business sponsorships to show community involvement.
4. Take a look at areas of your community that are not represented and create a plan to welcome them to PTA. If dads are not represented, focus on getting more dads involved.
5. Plan an evening or weekend father/child activity and don’t forget to set up a membership enrollment table.


How are your PTA association meetings going? Does everyone feel free to participate in the discussions? Here are some tips to help you run effective and efficient meetings:
1. Prepare an agenda and make sure everyone gets a copy.
To help keep the meeting on track, list the approximate times for agenda items.
2. Help members understand and follow basic meeting rules.
This assures that everyone is treated with courtesy, all viewpoints are heard, and the majority makes decisions.
3. Ask chairmen to prepare written reports, in place of lengthy oral reports, unless action must be taken at the meeting.
Written reports may be sent to members via email prior to the meeting.
4. Be sure members stick to the agenda item.
Bring the discussion to a conclusion when it becomes too lengthy or repetitive. Details for events, fundraisers, or programs should be decided in committee, not at association meetings.
5. Make sure members understand what they are voting on by repeating the motion
before taking a vote.

Need help?
We’ve put together ideas and resources you need to get started:


OMDR Webinars
Learn how your unit can use the Online Membership Data Reporting system to maintain officer and membership lists, communicate with members, and more!
http://tinyurl.com/yt9xwq

Membership Ideas
http://tinyurl.com/2v89ye

Membership Brochures
http://tinyurl.com/2ddfe8

Sample Meeting Agenda
http://tinyurl.com/3dhky4

Be a Good President from the Start
http://tinyurl.com/3dxxf2

PTA Meetings
http://tinyurl.com/2jmvpu

Collaboration and Decision Making
http://tinyurl.com/2fs794

Looking for more ideas?
Visit the Great Idea Bank to learn what other PTAs are doing to help welcome parents to their PTA.
http://www.pta.org/local_leader/idea

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Reflections Art Program

From: Bettina McBee Hohmann
Reflections Chair -20th District
PTA President – Marina del Mar Elementary

I invite you to encourage your students and children to participate in a great art program!
It is called REFLECTIONS. Participation and appreciation of the arts is the goal of the Reflections Program. This program encourages ALL children across the nation to express themselves artistically and creatively. The Reflections Program also gives children the joy of receiving positive recognition for their original works of art inspired in 6 fantastic areas.

Students are asked to submit an entry in one of the following categories:

  • Visual arts
  • Photography
  • Literature
  • Dance Choreography
  • Film/video production
  • Musical composition

The theme of this year’s competition is “I can make a difference by….”. Please encourage your child or any child from preschool to grade 12 to submit an entry. Winners will have their art displayed at the national convention. Please support your child’s artistic expression. The excitement and enthusiasm that the program generates for children, parents, schools and communities is unmatched.

Deadline for entries to me on or before: January 9, 2008
Deadline for entries in the State PTA office on or before: January 18, 2008

*** Theme Search deadline for NEXT year is November 1st** http://www.capta.org/sections/programs/downloads/ReflectionsThemeSearch2009-2010.pdf

To learn more about the Reflections Program, please visit http://pta.browsermedia.com/cs/about_reflections
For more rules, marketing resources and entry forms, please visit
http://www.capta.org/sections/programs/reflections.cfm

Please feel free to contact me: mcbeebettina@comcast.net
3089 Lake Drive
Marina, CA 93933
**********************************************************
For general information about art advocacy resources feel free to visit
Americans for the Arts, http://www.amercansforthearts.org/
Support Music, http://www.supoortmusic.com/
The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, http://www.nasaarts.org/
The Arts Education Partnership, http://www.aep-arts.org/

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Fundraising ideas - share yours!

This week, I thought we'd share fundraising ideas. Below are a few that we at the district have heard of and we encourage you to add comments to this post to share your PTA's fundraising ideas. Remember we are not endorsing any of the for-profit companies. These are simply ideas for you to explore.


Escrip - If your school is not using escrip, this is an easy way for your parents to earn funds for your PTA just by doing their normal grocery shopping. They spend no extra money, grocery stores will donate based on the groceries parents buy. Check it out at http://www.escrip.com/.


KidFit Connections - healthy cookbooks:

KidFIT Connections will give $4.00 to school/district fundraisers for each nutrition education based Cooking With MyPyramid cookbook ordered by your parents, school staff, or community members. The book can also be used with your staff wellness program or as an incentive for completing goals. Included in the book is a MyPyramid 25 Stars Challenge to encourage parents or staff to prepare meals, use healthy ingredients, and be active. The book is based on MyPyramid - the USDA food guidance system that teachers use in the classroom to teach nutrition. All the recipes list food group amounts from MyPyramid and each recipe encourages the messages from MyPyramid.gov - increase whole grains, eat colored vegetables, sweeten with fruit, use healthy oils, make protein low-fat and get calcium with low-fat dairy. The cookbook is a nutrition education tool for teachers and parents that enhances the classroom nutrition education lesson.
Each book comes with a slide guide to help teachers, staff, parents, and students determine their daily food group recommendations from MyPyramid (based on their activity) and a Healthy Snack wheel that can be used by students, parents, staff and foodservice to select healthy snacks at the store and school that fit within the USDA's Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Copy and paste http://www.cookingwithmypyramid.com/ in your web browser for more information, and look at the fundraising section. Also look at the IDEAS for fundraising that promote good nutrition and physical activity. Don't hesitate to email or call with any questions.

Susan Patton MS RD LDDirector, KidFIT Connections CookingWithMyPyramid.com or KidFITConnections.com
http://us.f522.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Susan@kidfitconnections.com
614-204-1663


MerMan Productions/Entertainment That Educates (fundraiser or assemblies)
James McCubbin - http://us.f522.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=mer-man@mindspring.com http://www.bebullyfree.com/ http://www.mermansmagic.com/
PO BOX 14121 Norfolk VA 23518 toll free 1-800-815-0364
Home of:
"The Bully In All of Us" (adult workshop)
"Bully You Bully Me Learn to be Bully Free" (assemblies)
"The YAM Show -You Are Magic" (character ed show)
"The Magic of Being Bully Free" ( Family night on character ed)
"MerMan's Comedy and Illusion Show" (fund-raiser, family night)
"MerMan's Magical Mania" (assemblies, special events)
"MerMan's Magical Pirate Adventure" (Dinner & Show)

We are running some specials until Oct 15th. We have one date left for Oct and two dates left for Jan. and will be offering great discounts. Please let us know if you are interested.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Why Join PTA?

The number-one reason to join the Parent Teacher Association is to benefit your child. In doing so, you also help your school. But there are many more advantages. Here are just a few:

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 provide opportunities to meet other parents and teachers, build rapport and discuss parenting issues that are on your mind.

Watch yourself Grow. By volunteering with your PTA, you gain valuable experiences and personal confidence. It’s an opportunity to put your skills and hobbies to good use for a good cause.

Speak Up. Because PTA is a forum for exchanging ideas, you are encouraged to make suggestions and more effectively suggest change at your child’s school.

Help Your Child Succeed. PTA fosters parent involvement. Parent involvement has been proven by three decades of research to be the greatest predictor of student success.

Witness Improvement. By getting involved at your child’s school you’ll be part of the solution, helping to make positive changes. Local PTAs play an important role in fundraising to provide building improvements, curriculum-based programs, social events – all vital to a school’s success.

Be a Role Model. By becoming a PTA member, you’ll be demonstrating to your child the importance you place on education.

JOIN US TODAY!

For approximately 3 cents a day, you can become a PTA member, joining nearly 6 million other people who share your interest in issues affecting children. Everyone – parents, educators, students and other citizens active in their schools and communities – are invited to join our not-for-profit organization.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Member Per Capita Dues and Deadlines

Hi everyone, it's that time again to start turning in your membership per capita dues. You can start anytime using this Remittance form with the correct address for you to send those to.

Remember, you should be sending in dues every month. Below are the deadlines for the first remittance, as well as the remittances for the membership awards - Early Bird and Chairman's club.

It's not hard to get these awards, it's just a matter of getting those dues in on time and for the Chairman's club, you need 50 members.

Our District Treasurer is Robin Martinez. Her number is 831-884-9619. Give her a call or an email (therobinjm@netzero.net) if you have any questions.

Due dates to have those into Robin are:
Early Bird (15 members) October 17
Chairman’s Club (50 members due) November 1
First membership remittance November 16

If you don't have 15 members sent in by November 16th, you will be deemed "not in good standing" by the state PTA. After that, things get messy so don't miss this deadline!

Also, look for information coming in the next day or two about OMDR, the National PTA's new member database system.

OMDR - National PTA's Wave of the Future!

Introducing! National PTA's new Online Membership Data Reporting system (OMDR). You should have received information about this new system in your summer service mailing.

OMDR is required to comply with federal law and to provide members information in a timely manner. It gives PTA units certain functions, like sending email blasts to their members and making mailing labels from the database as well as the ability to print their PTA membership cards using the information that has been entered.

Below is important information for you and your membership chair to get started with OMDR. Please, read and digest this information soon so that you can begin inputting your members into OMDR as soon as possible.You will need the following 2 numbers to get started (sent to unit presidents by email)

National Unit ID
Your Membership #

An easy way to streamline your process is to use the excel spreadsheet in place of your current tracking system. Once you do this, you can easily upload your members in a batch, to minimize the time it takes.

I will also be providing training on OMDR at our upcoming district training. Please, ensure your membership chair attends to get that valuable training. Or, your membership chair can attend one of the online webinars, described below.Please, let me know if you have any questions. I will do my best to answer them.

Information from the National PTA:
PTA expects every PTA unit to be using the Online Membership Data Reporting system beginning this fall. Per capita (membership dues) will still be remitted in the same way as always, but when you enter your members into OMDR, they will be offered the chance to choose for themselves which information and offers they want to receive from National PTA.

You can learn about OMDR when you participate in the webinars (online training sessions) offered by PTA. The webinars last approximately one hour and will take you step by step through the main features of OMDR. The webinar schedule is available online and you can see the schedule and register at http://registration.intercall.com/go/nationalpta
Bulletin Board to ask questions and share information at http://www.pta.org/

An online "bulletin board" that can be used for questions about OMDR and to find information on the latest upgrades is now up and running. To get to the bulletin board, go to "Leadership Resources" on www.pta.org and then to "Leadership Bulletin Boards." You'll need the username and password on the back of your membership card to access the bulletin board.

There are two ways to enter member information into OMDR:
The first and easiest, although somewhat time consuming if you have a large membership, is to individually enter basic contact information for each person who has joined your PTA.

The other option is to "batch upload" using member data that you have entered into an Excel spread sheet. That spreadsheet must have the 22 specific required fields. Not all the fields must have information inserted into them but they must be present as part of the spreadsheet. A list of the required fields is attached.

Once members are entered into OMDR, they will receive a welcome email from PTA telling them how to opt in to get various resources, like e-newsletters, information on benefits available to PTA members and offers from PTA partners. Each member chooses the items desired.

Below you will find:
Accessing OMDR for the first time
Excel Fields for a Batch Upload to OMDR
Some Typical Questions and Answers
For assistance, please contact your PTA District, your PTA Council or National PTA at 800 / 307-4782 .

ACCESSING OMDR FOR THE FIRST TIME
Initial access to a local unit’s OMDR site is given to the local unit president (LUP).
To access OMDR the first time, the local unit president needs the National PTA identification number for the local PTA unit and his/her individual member identification number.
In California, these numbers can be provided to units by either their PTA district or their PTA council. The responsibility for entering the contact information for local unit presidents into OMDR belongs to the PTA district, so be sure that your PTA district knows of any changes in leadership. (If that information is in OMDR, the unit can also obtain access information from National PTA).
Go to https://www.pta.org/omdr.
Click “First Visit” in order to create your username and password.
Enter your first name, last name, member ID, and local unit ID in the appropriate boxes (be sure member and unit ID numbers are 8-digits and include the leading zeros). Choose your position (example: local unit president= LUP) from the drop-down menu. Enter your desired username. Click submit.
Enter your desired password, then retype this password in the appropriate boxes. Enter your e-mail address, choose a secret question from drop-down list, and answer the secret question in the appropriate boxes (this information is used to recover password, if necessary). Click submit.
You will receive a confirmation page indicating that your OMDR account was successfully added.
You can click from this page to go to the local unit sign-in page, or return to the OMDR main menu.
You can now sign in to OMDR using the username and password you just created by going to www.pta.org/omdr and signing on.
Note: As the local unit president (LUP), it is possible that you will not be the primary person within your unit in charge of using OMDR. In many cases, the membership chair, treasurer, or another board member is responsible for keeping track of membership and will need to use OMDR. In order for others to access the system you have two options (but the first option is the preferred method):
The Local Unit President (LUP) can enter into the system the person who needs access and provide them with their Member ID number so that they can go through the "first visit" process and create their own username and password for future use.
The Local Unit President (LUP) can provide his/her username and password to any other individuals within the unit who have been authorized to use OMDR. This option is not recommended because it means that there is no way to take away access should someone leave (without taking away access from all people using the same password).

OMDR - REQUIRED EXCEL Spreadsheet Fields for Batch Upload
These are the 22 "fields" that are required in an Excel spread sheet to "batch upload" data into the OMDR database. Ten (10) of the fields must have an entry (indicated below by "REQUIRED"); the other fields must exist but can be empty.

A. "LU ID number" (local unit identification number) is the 8 digit National PTA identification number (include all the leading zeros to make it an 8 digit number). REQUIRED
Note: all entities in OMDR (both PTAs and individuals) have a unique 8 digit identification number.
B. Name prefix can be: none (default), Dr., Miss, Mr., Mrs., Ms., c/o.
C First Name - REQUIRED - 40 characters maximum.
D. Middle Initial or Name is optional (40 letters maximum)
E. Last name - REQUIRED - 40 characters maximum.
F. Name suffix, such as: Jr., Sr., I, II, III ("none" is the default)
G. Home address #1- REQUIRED - maximum length is 40 characters.
H. Home address #2 - If applicable, use for apartment number or suite number; maximum length is 40 characters.
I. Home Address #3.
J. Home city - REQUIRED - maximum length is 25 characters.
Use the postal service correct spelling/spacing of cities (Fort Wayne, not Ft. Wayne).
K. Home state - REQUIRED - must be two (2) characters only.
L. Home zip code - REQUIRED - Use 5 digits or 9 (zip + 4) but no hyphens. Maximum is 15 characters
M. Home Area Code
N. Home phone – Recommended - Use format xxxxxxx (no spaces). Required for unit presidents
O. Work Area Code
P. Work phone – Recommended - Use format xxxxxxx (no spaces).
Q. Fax Area Code
R. Fax Phone number - Optional. Use format xxxxxxx (no spaces).
S. E-mail is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED since this is the most efficient way for communication
to take place. Maximum length is 60 characters.
T. PTA Position - REQUIRED -
(LUP=Local Unit President, LUM= Local Unit Member).
Abbreviations for most other positions can be provided.
U. Begin Date of being in the position or the membership year - (07/01/2007) REQUIRED Format: MM/DD/YYYY
V. End Date for the position or end of the membership year. REQUIRED Format: MM/DD/YYYY (06/30/2008)

Questions and Answers:
Why do names and addresses of members need to be entered into the National Online PTA database?
In order to comply with federal and state laws requiring all corporations to be in touch with their members.
When will use of the database start?
Some PTAs in California are already participating and National PTA expects everyone to be using the system starting in the summer of 2007.
How do I access this database?
As the system moves from its pilot phase into full implementation, National PTA is getting ready to provide information on its website, www.pta.org. You can reach the database at www.pta.org/omdr
Do I need a password to access this database?
Each PTA president can access the system with their unit's National PTA identification number and the PTA president's individual identification number (which is assigned when the PTA district enters the PTA president's contact information).
Will other people be able to access the database for our units and see our confidential information?
Each level (unit/council/district) can only access its own information. The entire system is password protected.
What will this database be used for?
Record-keeping to comply with federal law and to provide members information in a timely manner. It gives PTA units certain functions, like sending email blasts to their members and making mailing labels from the database as well as the ability to print their PTA membership cards using the information that has been entered.
Can I print out this database so that I don't have to do a separate database on my own computer for our unit? Absolutely! Whatever information you enter will be accessible to you. Also OMDR allows you to send email blasts to your members. Additionally, no longer will membership information be lost when the membership person moves or when the membership records are misplaced.
What if people don't give information like addresses or phone numbers?
Enter the information you do have. If an email address is provided, the member will receive a welcome email that explains how they can opt in to receive various offers and information from PTA.
Does PTA have a "privacy policy" and how can I access it?
Yes, you can access the policy at www.pta.org/privacy_policy.html
OMDR Membership Dates and Card Printing


The California PTA membership year is July 1 to June 30. Our membership card expiration date is October 31. This allows our members to renew their membership during those four months. During this grace period, members are entitled to their full membership rights, including approval of the PTA’s budget and program at the summer or fall association meeting.
Each PTA must keep a record of the actual date that a member has joined. Rights of membership are extended to those who have been members for 30 days.


OMDR includes a convenient membership card printing function found on the unit site. Unit name, unit ID number, member name and dates of membership are printed on the card. October 31 must be used in OMDR as the end of term date in order to be printed on the card. Keep in mind that any members added with a future begin date will not be seen in the system until that date.


When one enters a member individually, one has no option of providing dates for the member’s membership year. Therefore the dates printed on the membership card for that individual correspond to the unit’s membership year entered in the “Local Unit Update”. Set the Local Membership Year dates to begin July 1 and end October 31.


When one renews members from the previous year that were entered individually, there is also no option for dates. The membership years printed on the membership card will be the ones set in the “Local Unit Update”.


Members entered into the OMDR system will remain in the system for exactly one year past their member expiration date in order to allow for renewal of membership.


When members are entered via a batch upload, one has the option of entering begin and end dates for each member. Use the date each member joined in the “begin date” column and 10/31/08 in the “end date” column for the current year in order to print cards from the OMDR site.


Each member’s term date should begin with the date he/she joined and end with October 31 of the following year (or in the same year as the end of term, June 30).
There are two options to print membership cards.
To print with all of the information including names, click “Membership Card PDF”. To print all the information except the names, click “Membership Card PDF (Blank)”.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Welcome from Amy Gibson

Welcome to a New School Year!

My name is Amy Gibson. I am the 20th District President for the 2007-2009 term.

I find myself with one child in his final year of high school and another in her second while I am in my first year as your District President. So much responsibility...whew!

I want to take this opportunity to welcome you all to your new term, as well. For some of you, welcome to PTA!

I look forward to working with you all to make the 20th District the best it can be.

The District General Meetings will be September 20, 2007, January 17, 2008, and April 17, 2008. Each unit should have at least one representative at each of these meetings. Please add these to your calendar now and plan to attend or send a representative from your school’s PTA.

Our first General Meeting on September 20th is at Foothill Elementary School, 1700 Via Casoli, Monterey. We will be finalizing the calendar, goals, training, etc. and we want to hear from you.

There are four Vice Presidents on the District Board that cover the four geographical areas of our District. Please use your VP as your first point of contact on the District Board.

For Monterey, Michael Silver, michael-silver@sbcglobal.net. For Santa Cruz, Mary Marasco, marymarasco@yahoo.com. For Salinas, Sherrie Payne, sherripayne@sbcglobal.net. For South Monterey County, Karen Gibbs, kareng1971@yahool.com.

Please feel free to contact me via email (ladylocksmith3051@sbcglobal.net at any time for questions, problems, etc. that you might have need of. I make every effort to answer emails within a day or two.

Again, welcome to the New School Year! I look forward to meeting you all on September 20th.