If you live in Issaquah you often hear words like ISF, VIS, LEV, and PTA. These are acronyms (a word formed from the first letters of each of words it represents) for different organizations which help our kids in the Issaquah School District. I have made each acronym a link. It may be hard for you to see depending on what kind of screen you have, but all red words in this blog are links to useful websites.
So, what do these acronyms mean? What are these organizations? What are they doing?
One of the big things that PTA does for our kids is advocate! That is what I do for the Issaquah Valley Elementary School. I attend the Legislative Forum for the Washington State PTA and represent the PTA of our school (IVE) there. The former Legislative Advocate for IVE was City Councilman Tola Marts, who served for several years. Thank you Tola!
At this forum we decide on what kind of "platforms" we have. That means we have identified a problem or we have an idea for policy change or support/oppose something the legislature is doing. The platform is where PTA stands on issues and contains the details of how it, as an organization stands on the issues. This platform is then presented to the WA State Legislature. Forming a platform is a lot of work, and involves a lot of discussion. This year's is October 19th-20th, and I look forward to going. I will be updating you on the issues and results of the forum in this blog as we go.
Sources:
http://www.issaquahschoolsfoundation.org/. information on fundraising and grants from "about" section, Retrieved 6/19/12.
http://www.educationvoters.org/lev-foundation/. Copied from "about" section and "mission," Retrieved 6/19/12.
http://www.wastatepta.org/advocacy/index.html. information on advocacy and platforms, Retrieveed 6/20/12.
Kelly Munn, State Field Director LEV, VIS Co-Director, quote taken: 6/21/12 from email.
So, what do these acronyms mean? What are these organizations? What are they doing?
Kelly Munn, Co-Director of VIS and State Field Director of LEV explains VIS: "Volunteer for Issaquah Schools is a community based, non profit organization that runs the campaigns to pass the Issaquah School District bonds and levies."
- ISF stands for Issaquah Schools Foundation. ISF is a nonprofit organization which does fundraising to offer grants to our kid's schools. Their two major fundraising events are the Nourish Every Mind Luncheon and the All in for Kids Annual Fund Campaign. You can visit their website to see what types of grants our kids get from ISF.
- VIS stands for Volunteers for Issaquah Schools. This is a non-profit, citizen organization which works to pass bonds and levies to support funding for Issaquah public schools. Levies are local taxes which go to operational costs of public schools such as teacher's salaries, textbooks, library materials, extra curricular activities etc. Bonds go to the building, and maintenance costs of our schools, and can be used for some technology. These are the only things Bonds can be used for. Levies and Bonds expire, which is why the school district runs them every few years. If you would like more information on bonds and levies, the Woodland Public Schools has a great explanation on their website.
- LEV stands for League of Education Voters. "The League of Education Voters Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to engaging ordinary citizens, educators, policymakers, and the media in the effort to provide a quality education for all students in Washington State – from preschool through college.
Through its activities and publications, including an annual Citizen’s Report Card, LEV Foundation serves as a source of credible, timely information about the state’s education system. LEV Foundation helps highlight best practices, measure progress, and motivate people across Washington State to be a part of the solution." (http://www.educationvoters.org/lev-foundation/ Retrieved 6/19/12.
Your School ~ Local Council ~ Region ~ State ~ National
- PTA stands for Parent Teacher Association. You may also see certain schools use the acronym; PTSA. In this case it stands for the Parent Teacher and Student Association and has a seat for a student body representative or accepts input from student governments. PTA is a large organization and has many pieces.
One of the big things that PTA does for our kids is advocate! That is what I do for the Issaquah Valley Elementary School. I attend the Legislative Forum for the Washington State PTA and represent the PTA of our school (IVE) there. The former Legislative Advocate for IVE was City Councilman Tola Marts, who served for several years. Thank you Tola!
At this forum we decide on what kind of "platforms" we have. That means we have identified a problem or we have an idea for policy change or support/oppose something the legislature is doing. The platform is where PTA stands on issues and contains the details of how it, as an organization stands on the issues. This platform is then presented to the WA State Legislature. Forming a platform is a lot of work, and involves a lot of discussion. This year's is October 19th-20th, and I look forward to going. I will be updating you on the issues and results of the forum in this blog as we go.
Sources:
http://www.issaquahschoolsfoundation.org/. information on fundraising and grants from "about" section, Retrieved 6/19/12.
http://www.educationvoters.org/lev-foundation/. Copied from "about" section and "mission," Retrieved 6/19/12.
http://www.wastatepta.org/advocacy/index.html. information on advocacy and platforms, Retrieveed 6/20/12.
Kelly Munn, State Field Director LEV, VIS Co-Director, quote taken: 6/21/12 from email.
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