Hillside Elementary PTA Recognized Nationally as a School of Excellence

From Hillside Elementary PTA:

ROSWELL, GA — National PTA® has recognized Hillside Elementary and Hillside Elementary PTA as a National PTA School of Excellence for their achievement in building effective family-school partnerships. Research shows that when families and schools work together, student achievement increases, schools improve and communities grow stronger. Being recognized as a National PTA School of Excellence demonstrates Hillside Elementary and Hillside Elementary PTA’s leadership and commitment to supporting student success and continuous school improvement.

“The partnership between Hillside Elementary and Hillside Elementary PTA is a true example of what can be accomplished when schools and families work together,” said Laura Bay, president of National PTA. “Hillside and Hillside Elementary PTA have put strong practices into place that involve families in the life of the school, and we are pleased to recognize them as a National PTA School of Excellence.”

National PTA launched its National PTA School of Excellence program to help strengthen family-school partnerships across the country and make measurable progress in the areas of education, health and safety and arts and cultural exploration. As a National PTA School of Excellence, families at Hillside families feel welcomed and empowered to support student success, and PTA is a key partner for continuous school improvement.

To be recognized as a National PTA School of Excellence, PTAs evaluate their current family engagement strategies and submit a goal for school improvement that families, teachers and administrators have set together. They improve upon their family engagement strategies throughout the year, while focusing on their goal. The National PTA School of Excellence designation is awarded to those schools that have demonstrated improvement in the family-school partnership and significant progress toward their goal.

“The inclusive school-wide PTA partnership we have at Hillside is invaluable,” said Principal Maisha Otway, Ed.D. “It represents a true focus on supporting all members in the school; from the teachers all the way to the academic programming for learners and their families. Our work here is thatmuch easier with PTA on our team.”

"Our PTA has been built on an outstanding foundation and continues to grow because of our parent's commitment to the success of our children,” said PTA President Christy Sniecinski. “We are honored to receive this award for excellence in family-engagement. Our parents and volunteers are truly amazing!"

Hillside’s PTA was also awarded the Model PTA and Outstanding PTA awards for the North Fulton chapter of the Georgia PTA. Hillside was the only elementary school to win these awards in North Fulton. On the state level, the Hillside PTA was awarded Model PTA and the Phoebe Anderson Hearst award for communicating effectively.

The Hearst-Family partnership award is awarded to one school in the state for each of the 6 pillars: Welcoming allfamilies, Communicating effectively, Supporting Students, Speaking up for every child, sharing power and collaborating with the community.

Hillside Elementary is a public elementary school in Roswell, Georgia.

Photo courtesy of Hillside Elementarly PTA: Hillside PTA’s Executive Board – From Left to Right – Chrissy Holbrook, Lynda Sharp, Christy Sniecinski, Elizabeth Warren, Sandy Craig, Caroline Koenigshof, Denise Deitchman, Kelli Koski and Carissa Donges