CAZENOVIA — All three of Cazenovia’s parent teacher association (PTA) programs recently received recognition and/or opportunities from the state and national PTAs.

The Burton Street PTA, Middle School PTA, and Cazenovia High School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) are members of both the New York State Parent Teacher Association (NYSPTA) Leatherstocking region and the National Parent Teacher Association (National PTA), the oldest and largest child advocacy association in America.

According to the Cazenovia Central School District website, the mission of its PTA programs is “to support and speak on behalf of children and youth in schools, to assist parents in developing skills they need to raise and protect their children, and to encourage parent and public involvement in the public schools.”

Since the start of the school year, the elementary, middle school, and high school programs have all earned membership badges through NYSPTA.

Each year, the individual schools are challenged to meet a membership goal established by NYSPTA based on the previous year’s membership.

Burton Street’s goal for this year is 149 members, the middle school’s goal is 57, and the high school’s goal is 79.

All three programs reached a minimum of 25 PTA/PTSA members by Oct. 31 to earn the “On Target” 2022-23 badge.

As of Dec. 2, all three programs had also met the membership requirements for NYSPTA’s “Trailblazer” and “Savvy Membership” badges. The former is awarded for achieving 75 percent of a school’s membership goal, and the latter is for reaching 100 percent of that goal.

The PTSA met its membership goal in October.

On Nov. 29, PTSA President Kathleen Benedict reported that the organization had 48 individual members (parents/guardians), 22 teacher/staff members, and 16 student members, for a total of 86 members.

According to Benedict, anyone can join the association through April of each school year.

“The PTSA is here to serve all students, teachers, and parents of the high school, but there are some benefits to being a member,” said Benedict. “Regular forms of communication about school events are delivered to members by email and members can vote on PTSA business. Membership must be renewed each year, so it is easy for parents and teachers to forget to sign up [during] the busy times of the new school year. . . Joining the PTSA does not come with any time commitment, but we welcome volunteers, always.”

Benedict also stated that a portion of all membership dues goes to NYSPTA and National PTA, which play major roles in advocating for education and children.

“We are also able to apply for national grants and receive organizational support and discount insurance from NYSPTA as a unit of NYS and National PTA,” she said.

According to Middle School PTA President Liz Cobb, the middle school also met its membership goal in October.

“Our PTA members are critical to not only continuing our current efforts but also [to] growing and strengthening our impact and support of the entire school,” said Cobb. “Each member brings energy and ideas to make our program successful. Our PTA members as well as families, friends, and community members who participate in our fundraisers throughout the year help to raise money for class field trips, guest speakers and programs, teacher and classroom needs, student yearbooks, teachers’ appreciation, as well as so many other opportunities [that hep] to provide our children with the best school experience possible.”

Burton Street PTA Secretary Kate Sinsabaugh said the elementary school hit its membership goal on Nov. 22.

On Dec. 2, the PTA was informed by NYSPTA that Burton Street will also receive the “Super Teacher/Staff” badge in recognition of having more than 75 percent of the school’s employees (teachers/staff) registered as PTA members.

Grant funding

In November, the Burton Street PTA was one of 50 local PTAs to receive $2,500, sponsored by the New York Life Foundation, to equip families with the tools they need to build healthy minds as part of the National PTA’s Healthy Minds program. The goal of the program is to empower families to make mental health an everyday priority.

According to Sinsabaugh, the PTA plans to partner with the mental health team at Burton Street to explore how best to execute the grant program in the elementary school.

Sinsabaugh explained that each grant recipient is required to accomplish three tasks.

The first is to build the knowledge and skills of parents and families to support their child’s mental health and help enhance their child’s social-emotional skills and resilience by distributing resources and hosting learning sessions.

The second is to provide resources and support so parents take action to strengthen their family and child’s mental health.

The third task is to partner with the school to build and strengthen mental health and social-emotional learning supports and services.

“The format and structure of each program will vary based on the unique needs of each school community,” said Sinsabaugh.

The PTSA was also named a recipient of program funding from the National PTA.

The high school was one of 30 schools nationwide to receive funding through the Fall 2022 PTA Connected + Discord Grant Recipients, sponsored by Discord, an online gaming chat app.

The PTSA has been awarded $1,000 to facilitate meaningful conversations between teens and their caregivers about ways to work together to protect privacy, be safer, and support one another online. The goal of the program is to help families explore ways to foster positive relationships, navigate digital dilemmas and build belonging in the digital world.

“The program is intended to help families explore the use of social media, such as Discord, as a communication and relationship tool,” said Benedict. “. . . Through this program, the PTSA hopes to educate families and teens on positive, safe ways to interact online. Many teenagers feel like they do not belong, and this can lead to a sense of loneliness, a growing concern nationwide.”

Benedict explained that the Connected + Discord Grant program can be executed in a variety of ways and each PTSA is given flexibility in its approach. Ultimately, however, each PTSA will host one or a few sessions for parents and students to engage in activities where they learn how to maintain privacy online, make the most of online community experiences, and set limits surrounding social media.

On Nov. 19, Benedict said the PTSA was in the planning stages and looking for volunteer PTSA members to help put together the sessions.

The in-person sessions for families are expected to begin in February 2023 and continue into the spring.

“The sessions should be engaging and highly educational, especially for parents,” said Benedict. “The program is also focused on building skills for teens. One of my favorite things about the sessions is the lessons/activities that are meant to empower teens to have positive and safe experiences online. There’s an emphasis on taking control and working through potential problems, which are skills that teens can apply in many different online situations.”

Benedict added that the PTSA recognizes that this program is just one of many ways to educate youth and families about navigating the digital world.

“Having a sense of belonging is important to us all, [and] this program is just a small way to build this sense of belonging in our youth for a stronger, more resilient community,” she said.

To learn more about becoming a member of the Burton Street PTA, visit burtonstreetpta.weebly.com or burtonstreet.memberhub.com. Join the Middle School PTA at cfox296.wixsite.com/cazmspta or cazmslakers.memberhub.com, and the PTSA at cazhs.memberhub.com.