| PRESIDENT’S CHECKLIST We hope the year is off to a great start. We have a few reminders to help make sure each PTA succeeds. It’s time to check in and make sure you have met all these organizational requirements at the beginning of the year. - POWs for all positions on your board approved by the Executive Board
- Budget amendments approved by Membership
- Ethics, Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest Policy signed by all Executive Board Members
- Records Retention Policy completed and adopted at a Membership meeting
- 990 filed with the IRS
- Financial Reconciliation Report adopted at a Membership meeting
- Adopt the E-Commerce Policy (if it is NOT included in your Standing Rules)
- Membership dues sent to Texas PTA (need at least 20 members to be in Good Standing)
- All First-time Board members have completed Foundations ESSENTIALS
- ALL Executive Board members have complete Foundations BASICS for their position (any position without a specific training completes the Basics Boardsmanship training)
Looking ahead: What should you look at before the end of the year?
- Review your By-laws and Standing Rules with the Parliamentarian (remember: By-laws and Standing Rules must be updated at least once every 3 years) If changes are deemed necessary, appoint, with the approval of the board, a Bylaws and Standing Rules Review Committee that includes the parliamentarian serving as ex-officio.
- Meet with your Executive officers and Standing Chairs. How are they doing with their PTA responsibilities? Where do they need help?
- Begin explaining to board members how to prepare and organize a binder, flash drive or Google drive for their position that includes a timeline of the work they are doing during the year, their POW, board reports, and other documentation. It's never too early to start preparing for passing information to the next board!
Jyothi Reddy President, Allen ISD Council of PTAs president@allenisdcouncilpta.org |
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Congratulations to Preston PTA and Preston Elementary for receiving the 2024-2026 National PTA School of Excellence designation.
Enrollment for the 2025-2026 National PTA School of Excellence Program is open until October 15th. CLICK HERE TO ENROLL IN THE SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE PROGRAM |
DEADLINES APPROACHING! Reminder to RSVP for the Educator Expo on September 25, 2025 You are invited to the Educator Expo sponsored by Keep Allen Beautiful and the City of Allen on Thursday, September 25, 2025, between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm (come and go), at the Allen Senior Recreation Center, 451 St. Mary Dr. Discover tools, partnerships, and Ideas to support student learning. Discover field trip opportunities, dynamic programs, guest speakers, and curriculum support. Please help advertise this event and pass the information to coworkers and friends who may be interested. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!
Waste Works Awards are due September 30, 2025. Use the link below to apply for the $400 award. CLICK HERE TO APPLY!
Arbor Day Poster Contest: It is for 4th and 5th graders only. They need to create an informational poster about trees! The Rubric tells them exactly how the posters will be judged. Contest will end September 28, with winners notified on October 1. The awards presentation will happen on October 11. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION!
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Treasurer’s Corner Welcome Back Treasurers! Hopefully, all of you have had a great start to the new fiscal year. Here are a few tips to ensure a successful year: - Reconcile all accounts on a monthly basis. At the end of each month, ensure all bank accounts have been reconciled with bank statements. Conducting timely month-end reconciliations ensure that you are presenting accurate financial reports at Board and Membership meetings.
- Know the deadlines for your sales tax filings.
- Yearly sales tax filings are due by January 20th, 2026
- Quarterly sales tax filings follow this schedule for the 2025-2026 fiscal year:
- File by October 20, 2025 to report July to September sales tax
- File by January 20, 2026 to report October to December sales tax
- File by April 20, 2026 to report January to March sales tax
- File by July 20, 2026 to report April to June sales tax
- NOTE: You must file even if you had zero sales tax.
- Adjust your beginning balance for the fiscal year in Membership Toolkit (MTK).
- If you are using MTK, don’t forget to adjust your beginning balance for the new fiscal year.
- This amount should match the amount in your bank account at the start of your fiscal year, which should be July 1, 2025 (if your fiscal year ends 30 June, 2025) or June 1, 2025 (if your year ends 31 May, 2025). This adjustment should be presented as a budget amendment for approval by Membership.
4. Has your PTA filed its IRS Form 990? - If your PTA has not filed its Form 990 to the IRS for the 2024-25 fiscal year, do so as soon as possible! The form is required to receive good standing status from Texas PTA.
5. In-Kind Donations & Gift Cards: - Here are the guidelines on tracking in-kind donations and gift cards in your PTA’s budget, as required by TX PTA. You’ll also find a sample in-kind donation form and donation receipt acknowledgement.
6. Treasurer Resources
Questions? Email Durga Karthikeyan at treasurer@allenisdcouncilpta.org. |
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VOLUNTEERS CITIZENSHIP AWARDS 2025-26 Citizenship Award Nomination Due Dates: • November 12, 2025 (for November 19 meeting) • January 7, 2026 (for January 14 meeting) • March 4, 2026 (for March 11 meeting) • May 6, 2026 (for May 13 meeting)
CLICK HERE to nominate volunteers for the Allen Council of PTA Citizenship Awards.
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THANK YOU! A BIG Thank You to our 2025-26 Allen ISD Council of PTAs Angel Members:
Platinum: Sandra Turner, Rachel Mitchell, Suzi Kennon, Shirley Bayles, Jason Lee Cook, Claudia Wayland, David Hicks, Bill Parker, Robin Bullock, Becca Kinnear, Audrey Reed, Polly Montgomery, Kellie Worcester, Jyothi Reddy, Tracy Longville
Curtis Gold: Sandra Park, Insiya Patwa, Ereckson Gold: Eva Kraft Ford Gold: Chelsea Posey, Tommy Baril, Tomeka Herod
It's not too late to become a Platinum Angel Member and join all 21 Allen ISD PTAs or a Gold Angel Member to join the Ereckson, Curtis or Ford feeder pattern PTAs.
-CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!
Congrats to the PTAs in Good Standing Status:
Allen Early Childhood, Allen High School/Lowery Freshman Center, Boyd, Story, Cheatham, Olson, Boon, Green, Reed, Marion, Kerr, Evans, Preston elementaries and Ford and Curtis middle schools,
Track your local PTA's progress (including Path to Good Standing) on the local PTA Roster-CLICK HERE
Congrats to the PTAs who earned the Head Start Award by submitting at least 75% of last year's membership in August:Boon, Boyd, Kerr, Norton, Olson, Reed, Story & Vaughan elementaries
Way to go!
Important Award Deadlines:
*Early Bird Achievement Award - Sep 30 (at least 100% of last year's membership)
*Snappy Increase Award - Oct 31 (more than 100% of last year's membership)
*Shining Star Award - Nov 30 (more than 101% & good standing status)
*Golden Apple Award - Dec 19 (100% school faculty membership)
Save the date for the Life Member Banquet
Monday, April 6, 2026 at the PAC
Please direct any questions to membership@allenisdcouncilpta.org.
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| ACPTA FALL TRAINING Allen Council of PTAs hosted our annual Fall Training for local PTAs at the STEAM Center on Saturday, September 6th. We heard a great message from Kelley Thomas of the TX PTA, we saw great engagement in a variety of breakout sessions, and we enjoyed a fantastic lunch provided by Dairy Queen!
Training sessions were led by ACPTA board members and also guest presenter Kellie Worcester. With over 40 people in attendance, we saw representation from nearly every campus PTA in the district!
Materials from that training will be available soon as On Demand training, watch for an email from the ACPTA Aide to President with a link to where those materials can be found. |
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HOSPITALITY Back to School Breakfast was provided to the staff at Anderson Early Childhood School & Dillard Special Achievement Center in August. The breakfasts consisted of bagels & cream cheese, fruit trays and beverages. |
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| Mark your calendars: April 23-25, 2026 will be our 5th Annual Allen ISD Council of PTAs Community Used Book Fair! While most promotion, donation collection & the sale itself happen in the spring, planning is underway now. And we’ve got some info to help you plan your PTA year.
Information Sessions: We recently held an Information Session during Fall Training and will hold another virtual one at the end of October, as well as an in-person update in January/February 2026. Dates for both TBA soon.
Resources: We are updating the Used Book Fair Section Council website, adding training slides, timelines, promotional items and more. Check it out!
Immediate Action Items for Local PTAs: • Local Contact: Choose a local contact for the Used Book Fair. This is the person we will collaborate and communicate with throughout the year. It can be more than one person. Link to notify council: Used Book Fair Contact • Participation Vote: Each PTA Board must vote on if you are participating, and if you are, what you are doing with the funds. You can choose to keep them or donate them back to Council for Allen ISD Staff grants. **Participation this year requires collecting, sorting and counting books at your campus as well as providing 4 volunteer hours during the setup, sale or tear down. That is down from 6 hours last year. Link to record vote with Council: Used Book Fair Participation Decision
Thank you to those PTAs who have already provided info!
Questions? Contact our Book Fair Chair Sandra Turner at: bookfair@allenisdcouncilpta.org |
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Thank you to our current business sponsors! |
Thank you EPI for sponsoring our first delegate meeting. We appreciate your continued support of Allen ISD Council of PTAs. We love the t-shirts!
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Want to become a business sponsor for Allen ISD Council of PTAs? |
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All board members should have trainings completed within 30 days of election. Any outstanding trainings should be completed ASAP.
To access videos and get info on which trainings you should take, visit: TXPTA- PTA TRAINING |
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TEXAS PTA CONNECT PROGRAMS Texas PTA Connect Programs work to empower parents, teachers, and students by providing relevant information to help navigate the evolving culture that our students and children are experiencing every day.
Programs include: - College Readiness
- Cyberbullying
- Cybersecurity
- Human trafficking
- Mental wellness for Primary and Secondary
- Men Matter
CLICK HERE to access more information on upcoming programs. |
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TEXAS PTA SCHOLARSHIPS Are you a graduating senior next year? Are you a current faculty member planning to continue your education? Add these dates and deadlines to your calendar so you won’t miss the application window: - Application Opens: September 15
- Application Closes: November 15
- PTA Membership Deadline: December 1
(All applicants must be PTA members. Details found in the guidelines)
Recipients Announced: April 1
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION |
FUNDING FROM NATIONAL PTA TO SUPPORT YOUR PTA Fall 2025 Program Grants: • Funding for PTA programs in STEM, arts, digital safety, healthy lifestyles, and more. • Grants cover costs like food and translators. • Easy application, no experience needed. • Deadline: September 24, 2025. • Contact: Programs@PTA.org for any assistance.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NATIONAL PTA |
✨🌿 Save the Date! 🌿✨ ACPTA is hosting our 2nd Annual Wellness Fair on Thursday, Nov 13th at the Allen ISD Service Center. 🎉
Take a break and recharge with: 💡 Informative wellness sessions 🧘 Yoga & mindfulness meditation 🥗 Nourishing bites 🌟 And other engaging activities
Can’t wait to see you there! Follow us on social media for updates and event highlights. |
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ADVOCACY Straight Talk - Mark your calendars for Monday, February 23, 2026
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ELECTION TIMELINE Oct 6 - Last day to register to vote or update your registration Oct 20 - Oct 31 - Early voting Nov 4 - Election Day
Collin County election info - https://www.collincountytx.gov/Elections |
ARTS IN EDUCATION REFLECTIONS 2025-2026: “I Belong” Local Level Reflections Training - Basics for the School Level (45-minute video) I will be sending out a recorded training session specifically to submissions for Allen Council this weekend.
Important things to note Reflections timeline: - Pick date for local judging/present results at Nov. mtg
- Entry deadline to Council is Nov 15th
- Judging will be completed digitally late Nov/Dec
- Reflections Reception will be held Dec/Jan
- TX PTA submission deadline Jan. 15th
- TX PTA winners usually announced mid-March
- National winner results usually in May
RESOURCES * ALLEN ISD Council of PTAs Reflection Facebook Group * ArtsEdtools |
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| ACPTA's Leadership Academy Our 2025-2026 Allen Council of PTAs Leadership Academy had it's first session on Thursday, September 18th. Eighteen current and future PTA leaders, representing 12 local PTAs across the district, began their Leadership Academy journey with presentations from our ACPTA President, Jyothi Reddy and Reed Elementary Principal, Monica Lemons.
Over the course of this school year we will continue their learning path with guest speakers from Allen ISD and Texas PTA. We will cover topics ranging from public speaking skills and strategies, to identifying, recruiting and organizing teams, and much more! |
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| Join Texas PTA And Allen ISD PTAs Share Pages On Facebook |
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| Need Help With Promoting Your Spirit Night? At Allen ISD Council of PTAs, we are here to help each of our local PTAs succeed.
If you would like council to help promote a spirit night please click here to fill out the request. |
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