The details for this page reflect the 2021-2022 school year. Stay tuned for updates for the new school year!

Medina PTA advocates for our children's health and wellbeing at the local, state, and national levels: from parent education events at our school to legislative action through WSPTA and National PTA.

Jump to: PARENT EDUCATION:

Parent Education Events: Mental Health Resources | Emergency Prep, Executive Functioning, Online Safety Webinar, Mental Health Strategies for Parents During COVID-19

Parent Education Resources: COVID, Anxiety in Children, Learning Disorders, ADHD

Jump to: LEGISLATIVE: Updates, 2020-2021 WSPTA Legislative Platform

Parent Education

2022-2023 Advocacy Chair: Maria Barrios

advocacy@medinapta.org

Medina PTA's 2020-2021 advocacy priority is supporting families through the challenging times brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to provide educational resources to help our families during these times.

Mental Health Resources

October 14, 2021 at 7:00pm

Zoom Link

October is “Mental Health Awareness” month.

Join us in an important conversation with Medina Elementary’s Principal Dr. Laurie Harvey, Counselor Elise Geck and Child’s Mental Health Advocate Maria Barrios to learn about helpful resources and initiative in our school to support our student’s Mental Health wellness.

Nowadays it’s extremely important for our children to be aware that it is okay to struggle and learn how to properly deal with their emotions.

Emergency Preparedness

March 25, 2021 at 7:00pm

with Jan Bromberg of the American Red Cross

Watch now!

Watch the Event!

The current COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the importance of being prepared for all types of emergencies.

Floods, hurricanes and wildfires are becoming more frequent and can be devastating to our loved ones, homes and communities. Build confidence by learning simple steps you can take now, to help prepare and protect your family.

Hosted by the American Red Cross, Be Red Cross Ready is a national, standardized, FREE preparedness education curriculum for adults taught by certified presenters. The program is designed to help people understand, prepare for and respond appropriately to disasters.

Executive Functioning Webinar

January 28, 2021 at 7:00pm

with Dr. Robyn Kostowitz

Watch now!

Watch the Event!

Parents learn how to foster executive functioning skills in their kids and how to train children in habits and routines that will increase their learning and self-control capacities.

Online Safety Webinar

November 19, 2020 at 7:00pm

with Rebekah Brown

Watch now!

Watch the Event!

The Internet can be wonderful for kids. They can use it to research school reports, communicate with teachers and other kids, and play interactive games. But online access also comes with risks, like inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and online predators. What Parents should be teaching their kids before they use any app or go online?

What should be the rules when the kids are using these apps?, What are the potential risks of kids exchange personal information, such as address and phone number, pictures etc.

What are the Online Protection Tools to let parents monitor and control kids' access to adult material and help protect them from Internet predators.

Join us in a conversation with our own Medina parent Rebekah Brown, a cybersecurity professional specializing in threat intelligence & personal safety.

Mental Health Webinar

September 24, 2020 at 7:00pm

with Kathleen Goodman, Family Therapist

Watch now!

Watch the Event!

As parents, we are struggling to balance work, child care and self-care while keeping both your children’s worries and our own under control. You don’t have to do it alone! Join us for a Zoom Webinar with Family Therapist Kathleen Goodman.

Dr. Goodman will be focused on parent's own social and emotional well-being as we look to support the social and emotional development of our kids during remote learning. This unique opportunity will provide a 40-minute presentation and an hour to answer all your questions. Please email your questions in advance to: advocacy@medinapta.org. All questions will be answered anonymously.

A huge thanks to the Advocacy and I-Connect chairs, Maria Barrios, Maria Ortega, and Carmen Gomez Alzaga for making this much needed event possible!

COVID - Interviews with Experts:

How to Handle Parent's Mental Health During COVID - Interview with Family Therapist Kathleen Goodman
How to Support Your Child's Back-to-School Anxiety - Interview with Dr. Andrea Hartman, Clinical Psycologist, Seattle Children's Hospital

(Source: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)

More resources (from community submissions)

Free mental health services from UW School of Psychology Clinic: learn more

Anxiety in Children

Anxiety is a major problem interfering with kids’ emotional well-being. Learn and understand your anxious child’s reactions:

Learning Disorders

Today I want to share information about important learning disorders that can be part of your child’s life. Learning about these will help you see your child from a different perspective.

Here is a brief description:

📌Dysgraphia: A learning difficulty specific to writing
📌Dyslexia: A learning difficulty specific to reading.
📌Dyscalculia: A learning difficulty specific to Mathematics
📌Dyspraxia: A learning difficulty specific to fine & gross motor.

Sometimes we don’t know why our child is struggling at school and because of that it’s crucial that we learn about these neurological variations that can affect the way your child learns. Ignoring the signs will only hold back your child and your family.

Families can benefit from early intervention by being able to better meet their children's needs from an early age and throughout their lives.

Let’s Speak Up for our kids, they need to know that People with neurological differences are not broken or incomplete versions of normal people, they just learn and think differently and they only need to be accepted and understood.

ADHD

Legislative

CONTACTS

Local Contacts

2022-2023 Medina Legislative Rep: Fanny Xie

legislative@medinapta.org

2021-2022 WSPTA Region 2 Advocacy Chair: Position open

State Legislature

Let your state legislators know how important funding our children’s education is to you via emails and/or phone calls! Click HERE to go to the Washington State Legislative page for contacts.

To check on the status of a bill or to comment, go to: http://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/

LATEST UPDATES

Updates can be found in our Bellevue/WA/National PTA News Blog.

WSPTA

Focus Day: January 22, 2022

Focus Day is a day where Washington State PTA (WSPTA) members travel to Olympia for a day full of engagement around our mission. Members meet with legislators, tour the capitol, and demonstrate advocacy in action.

For 2022, WSPTA is dedicating an entire week to these important issues! Learn more about Focus on Advocacy week here and on the WSPTA website.

Legislative Assembly: October 23-24, 2021

Legislative Assembly is the official membership meeting where WSPTA’s members determine the endorsed platform for the association.

Next WSPTA Convention: May 20-22, 2022

Keep up with the latest Advocacy news at WSPTA Advocacy Blog.