GREENSBORO, N.C. — For many schools, a strong Parent Teacher Association is vital for student success. The newly established PTA at Southern Elementary School in Guilford County is hard at work creating a positive and exciting culture for teachers and students.
WFMY Anchor Lauren Coleman sat down with PTA President Justin Mitchell to find out what the group has been up to.
What kind of projects has the PTA been working on this year?
“This year we’ve been working on several different projects including our Eagle Rock, spirit shirts that have been given to all the kids inside the school. The new spring raffle/movie night, garden projects, and beautification days, the list goes on and on. There’s stuff going on during the school year and even throughout the summer. We’re having meetings and planning to get ahead of the game.”
How did the new flowerbeds at the school come to be?
“We have a very active parent Carmen in the PTA. She’s very active outside and outdoors and she was able to obtain two different grants through the county and Home Depot. They came out and installed the flowerbeds, and provided the dirt and the seeds. We used the other money for resources to buy water equipment and other items to go towards the project.”
Why is parent involvement so important in the school system?
“Parent involvement is very important to the school system, and being in your child’s life, or grandchild’s life, and being able to be there for learning and knowing what’s going on in the community, as well as being support for the staff.”
The Southern Elementary PTA recently coordinated a spring raffle/outdoor movie night that raised more than $15,000 for the school.