June 2, 2007 – A dynamic Warlene Gary, the PTA’s national chief executive officer, was preaching to the choir at the sixth annual Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) convention Saturday when she said, “We are at the time when the wagon driver says, 'If we are going up to make it up that hill, those of you who can, need to get out and push.' We are the adults here, and we have got to get to the top of that hill.”
The all-day convention was filled with speeches, workshops, and a little entertainment at the Wyndham Hill Sugar Bay resort and spa. It culminated in the election of new officers, who will serve for the next three years.
After welcoming remarks from outgoing PTSA President Margarita A. Greenidge-Benjamin, Gov. John deJongh Jr. briefly spoke to reiterate his support and commitment to improving the educational system. “I am not here just as governor, but I am also here as a father.”
Delegate Donna Christensen said, “Gov. deJongh has demonstrated that he is dedicated to education by increasing its funding in his budget.”
Christensen commended and thanked the PTSA for its dedicated and diligent work and for persevering through great challenges. She said that the new Democratic-controlled Congress is refining No Child Left Behind and asking for an additional $10 billion beyond President Bush’s budget.
Board of Education chairperson Deborah Smith-Wattlington said that it was a parent’s right to ask questions at schools, at PTA meetings and at Board of Education meetings. She cited the motto, “Engaging families through community partnership,” and pointed to the new Saturday and evening meetings as more accessible.
“There is a direct correlation between parental involvement and achievement,” said Smith-Wattlington. “Thus far, we have not achieved our goals.”
PTSA’s incoming president, Sherry Ann Wiltshire, introduced the keynote speaker, Gary, and it was the dynamic and charismatic Gary who said what many in the room wanted to hear. “Why do we have to take the long road home? I am tired of meetings. I am tired of studies. The only people who are going to save our children are us!”
According to Gary, schools can be no better than the communities that surround them. She advocated increased learning time, an early start to education and a commitment to a college education. She encouraged promoting high expectations, recruiting teachers of quality and developing stronger connections between schools, community and families.
Quoting Martin Luther King, Gary said, “We have paralysis through analysis.”
She ended her remarks by reiterating, “We need to get out of that wagon and push.”
The rest of the morning session and the early afternoon were filled with workshops on various topics, including utilizing volunteers successfully, child abuse prevention, effective communication strategies, closing achievement gaps, and increasing parental involvement.
The late afternoon session included the installation of the new officers by Gary. In addition to Wiltshire being elected president, Deborah Gonzales was elected president-elect; Sharon Jackson, secretary; and Gracie Fahie, treasurer.
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