Laguna Beach High Has Orange County's Best PTA

Story submitted by Kathleen Fay, Laguna Beach High School PTA President

Laguna Beach High School PTA is the winner of the 2012 Outstanding PTA Unit Award for Fourth District PTA. Fourth District PTA is the nation’s largest PTA district, encompassing all PTA units (schools) within Orange County, plus the southeastern region of Los Angeles County.  LBHS PTA was selected as the best PTA of the year out of over 420 schools in the region served by Fourth District PTA, across all grade levels.

LBHS PTA’s executive board has launched several innovations this year that impressed the selection committee, chief among them being the parent education forums now presented at each monthly meeting.  After regular business has been handled at the top of each meeting, LBUSD school board members, the superintendent, and the principal are invited to personally speak with parents about crucial school matters, and parents have the chance to directly question and interact with their local education and youth leaders. The bulk of the meeting is then devoted to a condensed parent education seminar to present practical, relevant information and guidance on issues important to parents and teachers of teens.  This year, LBHS staff, local experts, and students presented on such topics as what to do each year to prepare for college; student testing issues; Regional Occupational Program opportunities and details; activities to increase student engagement; how discipline and remediation are handled at school; kids and the law; and teen driving.

Other factors that qualified LBHS PTA for the award include improved and expanded communications to keep members better informed and strengthen the home-school connection;  active participation in advocacy efforts; partnership and outreach efforts; increased parent engagement; state convention representation; and full compliance with California State and National PTA management guidelines and practices.

PTA is an all-volunteer organization.  It supports LBHS programs such as extended library service hours; academic incentives; college preparatory events; teacher and department grants; confidential economic assistance for students; parenting resources; and other programs that promote education and the physical, social, and emotional health and welfare of LBHS students and their families.