Mississippi PTA Convention meets April 18-19, Natchez, MS
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008MAKING THE DIFFERENCE
The 89th Annual Convention of the Mississippi Congress of Parents and Teachers, Inc. (also known as Mississippi PTA) will meet in Natchez, Mississippi on April 18-19, 2008 at the Natchez Convention Center.
Parental involvement is an essential ingredient in Mississippi ’s efforts to improve our public schools and our students’ academic performance. The MSPTA Convention will provide the tools needed to make a positive difference in in the lives of children. The Mississippi PTA has encouraged parent leadership at the local and state level since its inception in 1909.
Nationally recognized school leadership trainer Ako Kambon will kick off the Convention Friday morning (April 18 – 9 a.m.) as the keynote speaker. Mr. Kambon is president of Visionary Leaders Institute, and is known around the country as a leader in the field of educational consulting, cultural sensitivity training, and designing and conducting leadership seminars for public and private school systems.
Mississippi PTA is a vital part of the largest and most effective grassroots child advocacy group in the nation. For more than 100 years National PTA has been the premiere advocacy group for America’s children. For almost 100 years, MSPTA worked to make a positive difference in the lives of all Mississippi children.
Workshops on Friday afternoon will include grant writing, dropout prevention, closing the achievement gap, cyber bullying, obesity and health related issues, legislative matters, mentoring, new officer training and arts education, to name a few.
Miss Mississippi Kimberly Morgan will speak at the Friday evening (April 18 – 6:30 p.m.) Membership and Awards Banquet. PTA units from across the state will be recognized for meeting and exceeding their membership goals.
On Saturday morning (April 19 – 9 a.m.), the Reflections program will showcase and recognize students from across the state in the cultural arts. A first time youth involvement workshop will follow with college students from across the nation leading the dialogue.
The MSPTA Convention is an opportunity to celebrate the hard work that PTA parents do all school year to strengthen Mississippi ’s public schools. Your continued support of the children of our great state is appreciated. All supporters of public education are invited to this historic event!
Mississippi Parent Information Resource Center (Ms PIRC) will conduct workshops designed to empower parents as they identify needed resources. UniPerk, Inc. of Cypress, Texas will conduct website design workshops for interested PTA units. Dr. John Jordan will lead the discussion on Effecting Changes in Education. Senator Bob Dearing, Representative Robert Johnson, Adams County Supervisor Darryl Grennel will present legislative matters. Ashleigh K. Irving (FAMU) and Carita Winn (Xavier University) will facilitate a youth involvement workshop entitled “Introduction to College Life”.
National PTA representatives Nore Hare and Linda Sterling will join Dr. Samuel White , Mrs. Charm Powell, Mr. Thaddues Peters, Mr. Charles Orr and other presenters to make this Convention both motivational and informative.
If you have any questions, please contact the Convention Chair (Mrs. Deloris Irving) at 601-445-4679 or the MS PTA office at 1-800-795-6123.