Schools
PTA president makes Chesterfield Schools her top priority.
By Nick DeRatto
Jul 2, 2008 - 2:02:58 PM

Stella Edwards continues her long-time involvement with Chesterfield PTAs and PTSAs as she runs Chesterfield Parent-to-Parent blog, a blog that keeps parents up to date with Chesterfield school news.

Studies have shown that a key factor in improving student achievement is through the active involvement of parents in the school system. Few know this better than Stella Edwards. As President of Chesterfield County Council of PTAs/PTSAs, Edwards not only has stayed involved with her kids’ schools, but has also started the Chesterfield Parent-to-Parent blog to help keep other parents up to date with what is going on in Chesterfield County schools.

“This is another means to give parents information,” says Edwards. “This is a communication tool to show how parents can be more of a resource to schools.”

Started in August 2007, the blog allows parents to not only find out what is going on in Chesterfield’s schools, but also gives them an opportunity to express any concerns they may have.

“I get feedback constantly on the blog with people asking questions or making comments,” says Edwards. “When we get the numerous people with the same issues and concerns, we check with the county to help address those issues. The best thing about the blog is its ease of use. Information with the schools changes and becomes obsolete so quickly that it is paramount to have this ease of access and the quick turnaround time to post information.”

Edwards made her first forays into PTA involvement with the Enon Elementary PTA, where her children attended school.

“There was such a fine, wonderful and long history of strong parent and teacher involvement at Enon. Parents were always involved, even in leadership positions. I saw the need not just for my kids, but for all of the kids around my kids,” says Edwards.

Since then, Edwards has increased her involvement in educational organizations around Virginia. Along with serving as the President as the Chesterfield County Council of PTAs/PTSAs, she also serves as the Education Chairman and member of the Board of Managers for the Virginia PTA and has previously served the Virginia PTA in a number of capacities as well as served as past president of the Chesterfield County Responsible Growth Alliance. Most recently, she was elected as a Representative to the National PTA Board of Directors, selected from a pool of 5.7 million members across the country.

“With this position, I will be assisting in the decision making, helping create the budget and helping provide programs for the National PTA. I will also be working with legislative matters and assisting states in the work that they have to do,” says Edwards.

Despite her new appointment at the national level, Edwards continues to make Chesterfield schools a top priority. She already has big plans for using the blog to help improve Chesterfield County schools.

“I hope to include more posting of comments from people in the community and make their concerns known countywide so that there can be a conversation between them and county officials,” says Edwards.

One way that Edwards hopes to do this is by making county meetings more accessible.
“I’m a big believer in virtual meetings,” says Edwards. “I plan on posting the results and a summary of school board meetings. I don’t want people to be discouraged from attending, but I know that you don’t have to be there to know what is going on.”

With this kind of community involvement, Edwards hopes to foster more collaboration between the School Board, the Board of Supervisors, the Planning Commission, and the community.

“Parents need to know how these areas work,” says Edwards. “Hopefully, we can move forward hand-in-hand with the School Board and the Superintendent to go beyond excellence in our schools.”

The Chesterfield Parent-to-Parent Blog can be found at www.chesterfieldparent-to-parent.blogspot.com.

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