Issaquah Special Education PTSA

Welcome! We are the Issaquah Special Education PTSA 2.6.13, formed in 2022. We represent teachers, students and families across all Issaquah School District schools. You can find us on Instagram and Facebook or email us at: hello@issaquahspecialeducationptsa.org

Our last General Membership Meeting is April 24!

Join us on April 24th at 7 pm at Skyline High School for our last meeting of the 2022-2023 school year. We begin our meetings with 30 minutes of socializing and start the business portion at 7:30. School Board Director Harlan Gallinger will be our guest speaker and we will also hear from Special Services Executive Director Sharine Carver.

Nominating Committee Report

April 14, 2023

The Issaquah Special Education nominating committee hereby places the following names into nomination for the 2023-24 (school year) Board of Directors:

Co-President: Kartik Mithal and Katelyn Shriber
Vice President of Community Building: A’me Dunn
Vice President of Communications: Melinda Gage
Vice Presidents of Membership: Meg Sloan and Yeon Kim
Vice President of Parent Education: Jessica Braswell
Vice President of Advocacy: Kelly Butterworth
Co-Treasurer (non-signing): Kelly Minaar
Co-Treasurer (signing): Sarah Porter
Student Representative: Nadiya Mithal
Secretaries: Renee Wheeler and Sarah Brown

The incoming Board of Directors will be elected at the next Issaquah Special Education PTSA General
Membership Meeting on April 24, 2023.

Our Remaining Schedule of Events

April 24, 2023, General Membership Meeting, Skyline High School, 7 pm
April 26, 2023, Evening Parent Power Hour, 55 Sunset Coffee, 6 pm
April 28, 2023, Daytime Parent Power Hour, 55 Sunset Coffee, 10 am
May 24, 2023, Evening Parent Power Hour, 55 Sunset Coffee, 6 pm
May 26, 2023, Daytime Parent Power Hour, 55 Sunset Coffee, 10 am
June 7, 2023, Evening Parent Power Hour, 55 Sunset Coffee, 6 pm
June 16, 2023, Daytime Parent Power Hour, 55 Sunset Coffee, 10 am

Announcing a new program: Ask the Experts!

Our new program, Ask the Experts, is a video series enabling families to access advice from experts themselves in various fields that are pertinent to a special education journey. Each series is offered in two parts: the expert’s recorded talk
and a recorded Q&A session available the following week. A TLDR (Too Long/Didn't Read) fact sheet will also accompany each video.

This month we are proud to present Episode 4: Evelyn James, DEA Special Agent (retired). Her video will be available on February 12th with a Q&A follow-up video available on February 19th.

Go to our YouTube channel to view: YouTube.com/@issaquahspecialeducationptsa and please like and subscribe!

Each Episode comes with an accompanying fact sheet:

Episode 1 TLDR Fact Sheet: Nancy Colburn of Engage ADHD Coaching
Episode 2 TLDR Fact Sheet: Denise Allen of Simplify Experts
Episode 3 TLDR Fact Sheet: Rachel Nemhause of the ARC of King County

Issaquah Special Education PTSA Facebook Group available for members

Have you joined our PTSA but are not on our Facebook Group yet?

If you are already a member but have not joined you can search and join us on Facebook, just look for our quilt background to know you've found the right group! Go to: groups/issaquahspecialeducationptsa

One of the benefits of joining Issaquah Special Education PTSA is our Facebook Group. Open to all members, this group is a wonderful way to ask each other questions, share resources and build an online community. When you join you will receive the Facebook Group invite in an email.

Facts for Families—Monthly Fact Sheets

Each month Issaquah Special Education PTSA will present a Facts for Families week with daily posts providing tidbits of information on a specific topic. These tidbits and additional information is also compiled into a downloadable fact sheet.

Fact Sheets:

Become a PTSA member today!

We are the first and only district-wide PTSA in the Issaquah School District. Join today to become part of this new community!

About our Membership

Our yearly membership fee is $25.00 and covers PTA council, state and national dues, with the remaining membership fee covering the organizational costs to running a PTSA and non profit.

Go to our Join Us page for membership details.

Announcements

Parent Power Hours

Each month the Issaquah Special Education PTSA hosts parent connection events, which is an opportunity to meet other parents, ask questions and share ideas and resources with each other.

We have daytime and evening events each month to accommodate both working and stay at home parents. Our daytime events are on a Friday at 10 am. Evening Parent Power Hours are hosted at 6 pm on Wednesday evenings.

All are hosted at 55 Sunset Coffee, 55 W Sunset Way Issaquah. See our schedule of events at the top of this page for dates.

General Membership Meeting Dates for 2022-2023

Our meetings are in-person and begin with an informal meet-and-greet at 7 pm, and the business portion of the meeting begins promptly at 7:30 pm. This school year's meeting schedule is:

October 3rd, Issaquah High School
January 9th, Liberty High School
April 24th, Skyline High School

FAQ about the Issaquah Special Education PTSA

Why do we need a special education PTSA?

While we have amazing PTAs at every school in our district, our PTSA’s mission is different: we focus solely on the special education community. Since our students are spread out across the 26 schools in our district it can be difficult for families to know each other.

As the only district-wide PTSA in Issaquah, our objective is to create a community that learns from each other, shares resources and advocates for the needs of special education students and their families.

Should I still join my school’s PTSA?

Absolutely! Individual school PTA’s serve a critical purpose at each school, supporting the teachers and staff and programs for students. Please consider joining both your school as well as our PTSA!

Whom does this PTSA represent?

This PTSA represents all students that receive special education services, as well as teachers, staff and district staff in special education or the special services department at the district.

Students that fall under this category would be those in the Academy for Community Transition (ACT), Early Childhood Education Special Education Classroom Program (ECEAP), and those with IEPs (Individualized Education Program).

While students that receive only 504 accommodations are not technically considered to be a student in special education, they still access some of the same accommodations. For that reason we welcome 504 students and families to also be part of Issaquah Special Education PTSA.