Thomas Jefferson Elementary Named National PTA School of Excellence

National PTA® has recognized Thomas Jefferson Elementary and TJ PTA as a National PTA School of Excellence for their achievement in building effective family-school partnerships, Lakeland district officials announced.

Thomas Jefferson ES is one of only four PTAs in New York State selected for this honor this year and the only one in the Hudson Valley. They join the Van Cortlandtville ES PTA as a National School of Excellence in the Lakeland Central School District.

“The partnership between Thomas Jefferson Elementary and TJ PTA is a true example of what can be accomplished when schools and families work together,” said Otha Thornton, president of National PTA. “Thomas Jefferson Elementary and TJ 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.”

To celebrate their achievements, National PTA presented Thomas Jefferson Elementary and TJ PTA with a National PTA School of Excellence banner.

“The TJ PTA is dedicated to being welcoming, to communicate often and to include all students, parents, teachers, staff and administration in our efforts. We understand that family involvement and family-school partnerships is key to secure students success in education and beyond. We are very fortunate to have a Principal, School District and family community that share the same view,” said Lynn Cannizzaro, President of TJ PTA.

Research shows that when families and schools work together, student achievement increases, schools improve and communities grow stronger.

“Regardless of family income or background, students with involved parents are more likely to: Earn higher grades and test scores, and enroll in higher-level programs; Be promoted, pass their classes, and earn credits; Attend school regularly; Have better social skills, show improved behavior, and adapt well to school; and Graduate and go on to postsecondary education (Epstein 2004),” said Thomas Jefferson ES Principal, Karen Gagliardi, Ed.D. ”This school community thrives not only because of our qualified staff but because of our dedicated energized PTA for without their efforts and support TJ would not be as dynamic a school as it is.”

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. At a National PTA School of Excellence, 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 with demonstrated improvement in the family-school partnership and significant progress toward their goal.

Thomas Jefferson Elementary and TJ PTA have strived to work together to improve family engagement in education. The main objective was to facilitate consistent meaningful two-way communication between families and school.

Among the steps:

• The PTA introduced a super website that is secure and extremely informative.
• On-site bulletin boards were installed at school to contain important PTA information and school events.
• The PtA holds a Committee Fair in September both in the evening and during the day for parents to learn all the exciting and different ways they can get involved at school.

For more information about the National PTA School of Excellence program, visit PTA.org/excellence.