September 17, 2021
Highlands Elementary students and faculty gathered alongside other school and district staff Friday afternoon to celebrate the Highlands Elementary School PTA being designated as a National PTA School of Excellence. Highlands joins a select group of only 351 schools and PTAs in the U.S. to achieve the prestigious status this year.
“We have one of the best PTAs in the nation,” said Highlands Elementary Principal Hovet Lee Dixon, Jr., “they have made much of what we do to support our families possible.”
Holly Jones, a member of PTA leadership at Highlands, spoke about how the collaboration between parents and school staff on a variety of literacy initiatives has helped to drive student success.
The National PTA School of Excellence program is designed to recognize, support, and celebrate partnerships between local PTAs and the schools they work to enrich. Enrollment in the program represents a school’s dedication to growing and transforming the way it engages families. Enrolled schools complete a year-long program to gather feedback from parents and then use that feedback to make improvements to their PTA program.
Huntsville Council PTA President Chasity McMillon said that “setting out on the path to receive this distinction first meant the leaders of Highlands had to create a sincere and genuine partnership with the community.”
Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Christie Finley thanked students, staff, and community stakeholders for the hard work and dedication that went into receiving the designation. “This truly is an example of what we want all our schools to look like,” she said.
Ms. Finley then challenged other schools in the district to continue growing their PTA programs. “That really is the essence and the foundation,” she said, “of growing education.”
