Lake Washington PTSA Council’s calendar is below. Here are additional links to find district, state and national events of interest:
- Lake Washington School District Calendar
- Washington State PTA Calendar
- National PTA Events and Calendar
- National PTA’s 2024-2025 Multicultural Calendar | Calendario Multicultural
Training Opportunities
Are you looking specifically for training opportunities to fulfill your yearly requirement? Find available classes here:
For the latest information on our upcoming events, please see the list below. We are in the process of upgrading our calendar system to provide you with a better experience.
- April 2 (9:45–11:15 am): LWPTSA Council Membership Meeting (Board Room)
- April 7 (10–11:30 am): LWPTSA Council Sustainability Committee Meeting (Sammamish Room)
- April 8 (11 am–12:30 pm): LWPTSA Council DEIB Meeting w/Issaquah (Virtual – Register)
- April 21 (10 am–12 pm): LWPTSA Council E-Prep Chair Meeting (Virtual – Register)
- April 21 (6:30–8:30 pm): LWPTSA Council Special Education Group (SEG) Meeting (Board Room)
- April 23 (12–1 pm): LWPTSA Council Lunch & Learn (Virtual – Register)
- April 24 (6-8 pm): Sustainability Fair (LWSD Resource Center)
Lake Washington PTSA Council is excited to co-sponsor a special event, along with Lake Washington School District: Come hear from Erin Jones, local and national award-winning educator and author of the book Bridges to Heal US: Stories and Strategies for Racial Healing.
At this free, interactive speaking session, families and educators can expect to learn about strategies to help you move your community toward racial justice. Child care is available on-site. Can’t attend in person? Request the Teams link when you register. You won’t want to miss this incredible opportunity.
Erin Jones is a biracial, transracial adoptee who was born in Saint Paul, Minn., where she was adopted by parents who had been raised in Northern Minnesota. Her father took a teaching job at the American School of The Hague in the Netherlands, where Erin was raised and where her parents taught for over 30 years. By the time Erin was 17, she could speak four languages and had played soccer, basketball and softball in 10 countries. Upon graduation from high school, Erin returned to the United States for college. She attended Bryn Mawr College in suburban Philadelphia, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Literatures of the African Diaspora in English, French and Spanish. She later earned her teaching certificate from Pacific Lutheran University and another certificate in Language Immersion instruction from Concordia College.
Erin has worked as an athletic coach, a substitute teacher, a classroom teacher, an instructional coach, a state assistant superintendent and a school district executive. Erin has earned awards as Most Innovative World Language Teacher, the Washington State Milken Educator of the Year, a White House Champion of Change, and the Inaugural Hanford Education Leader. Erin ran to lead the Office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2016 and lost that race by 1%. Her loss propelled her into full-time consulting on issues related to equity and public speaking at conferences, in schools and at churches. Since 2017, Erin has spoken to 500,000+ students and provided training and keynotes to a similar number of adults. She has three TEDx Talks and recently published a book, “Bridges to Heal US: Stories and Strategies for Racial Healing.”
Erin has been married for almost 30 years to her husband, James, a high school teacher and head football coach. They have three adult children: one who is a para-educator and football coach, one who serves as the communications and project manager for an education foundation, and one who works for an independent video game design company.
LWPTSA Council is partnering with Lake Washington School District to host a free education event for parents and caregivers in the LWSD community. Come experience a potentially life-saving training from the University of Washington’s Forefront Suicide Prevention program. The information presented in this session will help you recognize when someone might be at risk for suicide and how to connect them with immediate help.
RSVP here to reserve your spot
Speaker Peter Loft is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. He is a volunteer with the University of Washington’s Forefront Suicide Prevention. Forefront’s mission is to help people take action to prevent suicide in their communities. For more information about the LEARN toolkit, visit Forefront’s website.
Hosted by LWPTSA Council and the Lake Washington School District, “Hidden in Plain Sight” is a webinar to educate and empower parents and caregivers to communicate with their children about risky behaviors that lead to substance use.
Marnie Maraldo, Executive Director of Influence the Choice, will present this hourlong webinar using a virtual re-creation of a teenager’s bedroom to show parents the potential signs of substance misuse. Parents will leave armed with tools to help them talk to their children.
Register to attend this free virtual event
Information about National PTA’s 2023 Virtual Convention will be forthcoming.
National PTA’s School of Excellence recognition program opens the lines of communication and critical thinking within school communities to make data-driven decisions that yield positive, long-term results. School of Excellence is committed to supporting and recognizing partnerships between local PTAs and schools to enrich the educational experience and overall well-being for all students.
Once enrolled, local PTAs will gain access to all of the tools needed to run their School of Excellence program. Local PTAs are encouraged to enroll early to start building their Excellence Teams and to familiarize themselves with the program process. Enrollment for the 2023-2024 program will be open until October 15.
Visit National PTA for information and to enroll your PTA.
National PTA is seeking a theme for the 2025-2026 Reflections Program Year.
Washington students at schools with an active PTA/PTSA may submit their theme ideas (with parent/guardian authorization) via this form. The Washington State PTA Programs Committee will select a top 5 to submit to National PTA. The top 5 will be announced in November after the submission deadline.
The student who submits the ultimate winning entry will receive $100 and have their theme presented at the National PTA Convention in 2024.
Please review the past themes listed here, as repeat themes will not be considered. Please direct any questions to ptaprogdir@wastatepta.org.
The submission form itself should take about 5 minutes to complete. Here’s a brief summary of what you will find on the application form, to assist with your preparation:
- Student Name
- Student’s Theme Idea
- Student Address
- Student’s School
- Parent/Guardian Contact Info
- Local PTA Name
Need help navigating the application? Here’s a 5-minute video that walks through the process.
Town Hall With District Leadership
Join our November SEG meeting, where LWSD Deputy Superintendents and Board Members will share about the inclusion rollout and the school year priorities. Discussion and Q&A will follow.
Special Education Group (SEG) meetings in 2023-2024 will be held in person at the LWSD Resource Center (16250 NE 74th St., Redmond WA 98052). An unstructured networking time will be held from 6:30 to 7 pm, offering an opportunity for members to connect with one another. The formal portion of the meeting will begin at 7 pm.
On-Site Child Care Is Available!
If you require child care during our meetings, please contact specialservices@LWSD.org by Nov. 9, 2023, with your student’s name and age.
This month, join us as we welcome LWSD Director of Student Services Johnny Phu, who will discuss how we as caregivers can support our children’s mental health.
Check back on Feb. 22 for the Zoom link.
The Lunch & Learn series consists of short presentations and discussions on topics of interest to all community members, from noon – 1 pm on select Thursdays online via Zoom. Grab your lunch, log on, and learn with us!
Event links will be shared on our website calendar, social media and newsletters close to the event dates. Topics and featured speakers are subject to change and will be updated as they are finalized.
Join PTA members and other passionate advocates for National PTA’s 2024 Legislative Conference (LegCon) in our nation’s capital March 5-7 to …
- Network with fellow PTA advocates
- Get an update on issues impacting children, families and schools
- Hear from members of the Administration and congressional champions
- Learn how to make an impact on policy decisions
- Speak with your members of Congress about issues important to students, families and schools at Hill Day
Meeting Resources:
