Dear Parents & Council Members,

I am so pleased to have the opportunity to serve the Cherokee County Council of PTA for the 2011-2012 school year. Cherokee County PTA is very much alive and active; in fact, we are in every public school in Cherokee County working with parents, teachers and administration to provide the best possible educational opportunities for the children of Cherokee County.

Cherokee County School District has an amazing record of student success and we are all so very proud of the testing and graduation scores that prove our schools provide one of the top education programs in the State. That success is borne on the vision and commitment of our School Board, and Dr. Frank Petruzielo, Superintendent of Schools. They have all worked hard to implement the School Board’s Mission, and plan for our continued success. This requires considerable planning and forethought. Their vision is the reason our School Board has been preparing for our current budget crisis for some time. Because of their dedication, fewer Cherokee County teaches are seeing job cuts, and the impact to our classrooms is being kept to a minimum.

With the struggling economy and the budget crisis our school system is facing, we will for the first time in many years have increased class sizes and fewer resources available. Our teachers, who already give with so much passion and purpose, will be asked to do more with much less. Money for the latest technology and textbooks simply is not there. It is for these reasons, and many more, that PTA will be more important and more active than ever before in the role of advocating for our children and their education.

PTA encourages family engagement and believes it to be a vital part of educational success. We strive to involve and educate parents to work with teachers and administrators to help students achieve more.

PTA’s Mission is to:

• Encourage parent and community involvement in the public schools.
• Assist parents in developing the skills they need to raise and protect their children.
• Support and speak on behalf of children and youth in schools in the community and before governmental bodies and other organizations that make decisions affecting children.

To further its mission, PTA offers a variety of print and online resources to help develop excellent parenting skills. I encourage you to view these sites at georgiapta.org or pta.org for more information.

As parents, we have been blessed not only with a duty to see our child’s education, but with the responsibility to nurture the character of our children as well. Their character by their moral, spiritual, social and emotional growth; and parents must work with the education community to ensure the success of their child’s well being. The future of our country depends on the job we do teaching our children let’s do it well!

Sincerely,
Amy Yarber
President, Cherokee County Council PTA