Your voice matters. ADVOCATE!
We need your stories. Your voice. We need you!
Advocacy is not a one-day event; it is an everyday action. And so, we encourage members to stay informed and engaged throughout the year, keeping our efforts focused on the mission. #WSPTAOneVoice
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
— Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
Why We Advocate
Advocacy is at the heart of the PTA mission! The role of advocacy within MCE PTA is ensuring that our children’s needs are being met by our systems. Did you know that the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) was formed on the basis of Advocacy?Â
The National PTA (est. 1897), Washington State PTA (WSPTA, est. 1905), and Mill Creek Elementary PTA (MCEPTA, est. 1988) have been a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Advocacy is our most significant opportunity to positively impact our community and its future. To create a better world for our children, have a seat at the table where decisions about children and youth are being made, and support those students who need someone to speak for them. Advocacy gives voice to the needs of all families.
WSPTA Top 5 Legislative Priorities (2024-26)
Closing the Funding Gap
Addressing the Student Mental Health Crisis
Addressing Funding, Inclusion, and Supports in Special Education
Preventing and Reducing Gun Violence and Suicide
Expanding School Construction Funding Options
Advocacy Update
Smartphone use and children - how it connects to the teen mental health crisis
At the PTA General Meeting in January, information was shared about data around smartphone use and children, and how it connects to the teen mental health crisis. This is part 1 of a series that will be shared over the next few months.Â
The statistics for anxiety, depression, emergency room visits for self-harm, and suicide in kids have dramatically increased since 2010. Why is this happening and what can we do? Smartphones, social media, and 24/7 connectivity are harmful for our adolescent children. According to experts, this data (among others we’ll be sharing) is proving causation (not correlation). We can lessen the culture of FOMO around smartphone use and roll back the culture of a phone-based childhood. When you wait on smartphones for your kids, you give other parents the courage to wait too.Â
Learn more and get involved at www.DumbphonePledge.org.Â
Additional resources:Â
https://www.anxiousgeneration.
https://www.waituntil8th.org/
Smartphone Q and A:Â What is a dumbphone?Â
A dumbphone has all the things parents want: Calling, texting, maybe a couple of other basics... It allows kids to be in touch with friends, while not allowing them to start mistaking online interaction for real, social, human experience. A dumbphone is an easy way to do “tech in steps” with your child. A dumbphone LACKS app stores, internet browsers, social media apps, games, and basically anything that might suck your child in when they should be interacting with the world.
Advocacy Contact Information
MCE PTA Advocacy co-chairs: Arianne McDonald
Everett PTSA Council Advocacy Chair:Â
Region 7 Legislative Chair: OPEN POSITION
WSPTA Advocacy Director:Â Samantha Fogg
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