After the Resolved Making Resolutions Work For Your PTA

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After the Resolved Making Resolutions Work For
Your PTA
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What is a Resolution?

• resolution (plural resolutions) noun
  Definition
• 1. process of resolving the process of
  resolving something such as a problem or dispute
  the resolution of a difficulty2. decision a
  firm decision to do something3. determination
  firmness of mind or purpose4. solution an
  answer to a problem5. expression of collective
  opinion a formal expression of the consensus at
  a meeting, arrived at after discussion and
  usually as the result of a vote

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PTA Resolutions Position Statements

• PTA resolution and position statements are
  official documents outlining the opinion, will,
  or intent of the association to address national
  problems, situations, or concerns that affect
  children and youth and require national action to
  seek resolution on the issue. They serve an
  important purpose in formalizing and focusing the
  positions of the organization on various
  important and relevant issues. National PTA has
  adopted hundreds of position statements and
  resolutions on a wide variety of national
  education, health, and safety issues since its
  first convention in 1897

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In The Beginning

• Where to find topics?
• The News
• City Council Meetings
• School Board Meetings
• Other State Organizations
• Friends and Neighbors
• Personal Concerns

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Research!

• Resolutions must be submitted with background
  material that is relevant, timely and reliable.

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Some National PTA Guidelines

• Contain background materials that are factual and
  verifiable. It can include, but is not limited to
  copies of information such as education, safety,
  and welfare articles or updates documented
  research pertinent laws government publications
  and regulations and articles from professional
  publications (examples of non-verifiable
  documents include, personal letters, logs of
  phone calls, or e-mail printouts, which are not
  good documentation because they cannot be
  verified.)

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Guidelines Continued

• Include primary source materials (examples of
• non-primary materials include newspaper
  articles, abstracts, editorials, and materials
  from other organizations intended for lobbying
  and advocacy purposes).
• Include on each page the author, title,
  publisher, and date for each source. Online
  sources should include the URL.
• When including articles, submit them in their
  entirety.

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Writing the Resolution

• National PTA E-Learning Course
• Welcome to Writing and Proposing PTA Resolutions,
  an e-learning
• course that will guide you in the development and
  proposal of
• resolutions that benefit your child, your school
  community, your
• state, and the nation.
•   After completing this course, you will be
  prepared to
• Describe what resolutions are for.
• Identify the components of a PTA resolution.
• Identify situations that could benefit from
  being addressed by a PTA
• resolution.
• Perform the steps necessary to develop and
  present a PTA resolution for
• adoption at the local, state, or national
  level.

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Writing Continued

• There are two main parts of a resolution
• Whereas statements
• 2. Resolved statements

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Writing Continued

• Whereas statements
• Whereas These are the preamble of the
  resolution, statements that describe the problem,
  show the reason for the resolution, and give
  information about the situation. You use
  whereas statements to make your case.

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Writing Continued

• Resolved statements
• Resolved These are the main motions. You use
  resolved statements to state the action called
  for by your groupwhat you have resolved to
  accomplish in response to the problem. Set forth
  concisely, clearly, and completely what you want
  done.

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Sample Resolution

• Children Left Unattended In or Around Vehicles
• Whereas 1 Whereas, Each year children are left
  unattended in and around vehicles that can
  lead to deadly consequences and
• Whereas 2 Whereas, These consequences include
  the dangers of abduction, heat stroke,
  strangulation, trunk entrapment, being backed
  over, and personal injuries to themselves or
  others by causing accidental and uncontrolled
  movement of the vehicle and
• Whereas 3 Whereas, Nationally, four children are
  killed in preventable non-traffic automobile
  incidents every week therefore be it
• Resolved 1 Resolved, That the National PTA and
  its constituent organizations advocate for and
  support legislation that prevents children
  from being injured or killed in non-traffic
  automobile accidents, including being left
  unattended in or around vehicles, and be it
  further

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Sample Resolution

• Resolved 2 Resolved, That the National PTA and
  its constituent organizations identify and
  promote educational programs for families,
  teachers, administrators, and community
  members on the dangers of children being left
  unattended in and around vehicles, and be it
  further
• Resolved 3 Resolved, That the National PTA and
  its constituent organizations partner with
  national, state, and local child safety
  organizations to address the issue of non-traffic
  automobile related incidents involving our
  children and youth, and be it further
• Resolved 4 Resolved, That the National PTA and
  its constituent organizations support efforts
  to improve or enhance automobile safety
  technology that would prevent non- traffic
  automobile related incidents.

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Submit Your Resolution

• Your submitted resolution must be adopted by
  majority vote of the executive board or general
  membership of your local, council, or district
  PTA before it is submitted to your state or
  National PTA. A resolution should come from a
  unit, not from an individual person.

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Submit Your Resolution

• Local units can choose to submit a resolution to
  their state or National PTA. The requirements for
  submitting a resolution to a state vary. The only
  requirement from National is that you get a
  signature from your state president indicating
  you are a unit in good standing.   Usually, if a
  state adopts a resolution and it is national in
  scope, the state will forward it to National
  PTA.

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Submit Your Resolution

• Before you submit your resolution for
  consideration,
• Make sure each whereas statement is accompanied
  by sufficient background material. Three (3)
  items of support per clause is recommended.
• Make sure each resolved statement directs the
  PTA to take some form of action to help solve the
  problem and also states the action you want taken
  by others to help solve the problem, if
  applicable. This may include administrators,
  legislators or other influential parties.

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National PTA Resolution guidelines

• 1. Deadline for submission is December 15th.
• 2. Must include a synopsis (150 words) that can
  be encompassed into a position statement.
• 3. Issue must be national in scope and not an
  existing position.
• 4. Background material must be not dated more
  than 6 years.
• 5. Be accompanied by the appropriate and
  properly completed cover sheet.

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Now What?

• ADVOCATE
• EDUCATE
• PARTNER
• LEGISLATE

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Evaluate Resources

• What is our capacity for action?
• How many volunteers do we have?
• What is their availability?
• Are there funds available?
• Are there possible partners?
• Are there existing resources?

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Develop An Action Plan

• Action Plan
• Definition
• Steps that must be taken, or activities that must
  be
• performed well, for a strategy to succeed. An
  action
• plan has three major elements
• (1) Specific tasks what will be done and by
  whom.
• (2) Time horizon when will it be done.
• (3) Resource allocation what specific funds are
  available for specific activities. Also called
  action program.

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SMART Goals

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable                              
           
• Realistic                                  
                     
• Timely

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Specific

• A specific goal has a much greater chance of
  being
• accomplished than a general goal. To set a
  specific goal you
• must answer the six "W" questions
• Who      Who is involved? What    What do
  I want to accomplish? Where   Identify a
  location. When    Establish a time frame.
  Which   Identify requirements and constraints.
  Why      Specific reasons, purpose or benefits
  of accomplishing the goal.

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Measurable

• Establish concrete criteria for measuring
  progress toward the
• attainment of each goal you set. When you measure
  your
• progress, you stay on track, reach your target
  dates, and
• Experience success that can spur you on to give
  the continued
• effort required to reach your goal.
• To determine if your goal is measurable,
• ask questions such as......
• How much?
• How many?
• How will I know when it is accomplished?

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Attainable

• Goals you set which are too far out of your
  reach, you probably
• won't commit to doing. Although you may start
  with the best
• of intentions, the knowledge that it's too much
  for you means
• your subconscious will keep reminding you of this
  fact and will
• stop you from even giving it your best.
•      
• A goal needs to stretch you slightly so you feel
• you can do it and it will need a real commitment
• from you.

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Realistic

• To be realistic, a goal must represent an
  objective
• toward which you are both willing and able to
  work.
• A goal can be both high and realistic you are
  the
• only one who can decide just how high your goal
• should be. But be sure that every goal represents
• substantial progress. A high goal is frequently
  easier
• to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts
• low motivational force.

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Timely

• A goal should be grounded within a time frame.
  With no time
• frame tied to it there's no sense of urgency. If
  you anchor it
• within a timeframe, "by May 1st", then you've set
  your
• unconscious mind into motion to begin working on
  the goal.
• T can also stand for Tangible - A goal is
  tangible when you can
• experience it with one of the senses, that is,
  taste, touch,
• smell, sight or hearing. When your goal is
  tangible you have a
• better chance of making it specific and
  measurable and thus
• attainable.

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National PTA - Next Steps

• 1. Distribute the resolutions to your members.
• 2. Research the web or organizations to identify
  current relevant resources.
• 3. Contact other organizations, businesses, or
  agencies to see if there might be new
  partnerships with which to join forces.
• 4. Ask if there are already programs within the
  state providing resources to help a resolution be
  more successful.
• 5. Work with other people, or groups, who have a
  shared interest in the intent of the resolution.
• 6. Contact your State PTA, or the National PTA
  for assistance if needed.

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What National Has Done

• Updates on National PTA
• Resolutions And Position Statements
• Anne Thompson Resolutions Committee Chairman

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Time to Practice!

• Work as a group at your table
• Open the resolution envelope
• Write a statement of your groups capacity
• Write an action plan
• Give examples of what you would do for each step

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• Tammy Bartels Anne Thompson
• PO Box 393
• Tonganoxie, KS 66086
• tammybartels_at_gmail.com
• PTA National Headquarters
• 541 N Fairbanks Court, Suite 1300
• Chicago, IL 60611-3396
• Phone [phone]
• Toll-Free (800) 307-4PTA (4782)
• Fax [phone]
• E-mail PTA at info_at_pta.org