Plant High School won, “One of the most prestigious awards given by the National PTSA,” Beth Garcia the president of PTSA said. This award is known as the National PTA School of Excellence Award. According to the National PTA guidelines, this award is only given to schools that have an exceptional relationship with their Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) while working together to enrich the educational experience and overall well-being for all students.

“The National School of Excellence Award is one of the most prestigious awards given by National PTA,” said Beth Garcia. This is the only school in the district to receive this award and continues to stand out on a larger scale. Plant is one of only 10 schools in the state and one of 165 in the nation to qualify for the award. “It is a pretty big deal,” Principal Rob Nelson said.

In order to qualify for National PTA School of Excellence Award, candidates must conduct surveys that reveal the overall family involvement within the PTSA. After submitting these surveys to the National PTA, the school must work to address and correct any problems addressed in the survey results, and therefore better the community.

In Plant’s case, two surveys were conducted within the last year to address student and family needs. “We chose ‘support student’s emotional and mental well-being’ as our goal for the year,” Garcia said. This included a Healthy Family workshop that brought in area psychologists and social workers to help families deal with stress and other challenging factors. After all this, an application is sent to the National PTA to decide whether the school exemplifies what it means to be a National PTA School of Excellence Award winner.

In comparison to other schools in the area, Plant High School has the largest PTSA in Hillsborough County and one of the largest in the state. However, besides the comparatively large size, what really marks Plant’s PTSA different from others’ is its mutualistic relationship with the school and their commitment to together serve families and students in the area.

“Our PTSA is very fortunate to have strong parental and administration support.” Garcia said. “The relationship that the PTSA has with the school benefits us in so many ways,” Nelson said. “From teacher and student scholarships, to community workshops, to teacher incentives, to our writing center.” The PTSA continues to succeed in achieving the highest status and serving the needs of parents, students and teachers alike.