Clayton County Council of PTAs

Selena Sloan Butler was born on January 4, 1872. She was an African American educator and community leader. She spent her childhood years with her mother and older sister in Thomasville, Georgia. Her father offered support but did not reside with the family. After receiving an elementary education from missionaries, she enrolled in Spelman Seminary (now Spelman College). After receiving her diploma in 1888, she taught English and elocution in Georgia and Florida. In 1893, she... married Henry Rutherford Butler. They moved to Massachusetts the following year, and she studied at the Emerson School of Oratory while he pursued medical studies at Harvard. He later set up practice in Atlanta and became a partner in Georgia's first African American-owned drugstore. Butler's interest in education intensified following the birth of her son (Henry Jr.) in 1899. Her community lacked a kindergarten for African American children, so she created one in her living room. During her son’s enrollment at a local public school, she formed the nation's first African American parent-teacher association. Its success led her to create the statewide Georgia Colored Parent-Teacher Association in 1920 and the National Colored Congress of Parents and Teachers (NCCPT) in 1926. The national group worked closely with its white counterpart, the National Congress of Parents and Teachers (commonly called the National PTA). When the two groups merged in 1970, Butler along with Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst were recognized as one of the founders of the National PTA. In 1929 then President Herbert Hoover appointed Butler to the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection. She also was involved with the National Association of Colored Women, the Georgia Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, the Georgia Commission on Interracial Cooperation, and several other social organizations. Following her husband's death in 1931, Butler moved to England with her son and worked with the Nursery School Association. They later lived in Arizona, where she organized a Grey Lady Corps at the hospital in which Henry Jr. practiced until he married and moved to California. After a few years living in Atlanta, she joined her son and his wife in Los Angeles. She died of congestive heart failure in October 1964. The Atlanta school where she developed the first African American parent-teacher association was renamed in honor of her husband, and the adjacent park was renamed in her honor. Selena Sloan Butler’s portrait hangs in Georgia's State Capitol. Reference: Black Women in America An Historical Encyclopedia Volumes 1 and 2, edited by Darlene Clark Hine Copyright 1993, Carlson Publishing Inc., Brooklyn, New York ISBN 0-926019-61-9

National PTA Statement on the actions at the Nations Capital: ALEXANDRIA, Va., (Jan. 8, 2020)The following statement can be attributed to National PTA President Leslie Boggs: National PTA condemns the storming of our nation’s capital. Like so many Americans, we were outraged by the violence, destruction and attack on our democracy. Wednesday was another hard day for our nation, and one that we should never have experienced.... Every parent, grandparent, family member, community leader, business leader and educational leader knows it is how we choose to react to situations that makes the difference. Out of every challenge is an opportunity to do things better, think differently and embrace resources we never utilized before. National PTA is choosing to react with hope. We are choosing to honor our association’s values of collaboration, commitment, diversity, respect and accountability. We are choosing to continue to believe in the supreme importance of our children and in our mission to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children. This is an important time for all of us to sit down together with our children and talk with them about how democracy and government works in our country, the importance of practicing civility, and the importance of using our powerful voices for good. National PTA offers tips to help families and educators have conversations with their children about incidents such as the riots at the U.S. Capitol and ways to use such situations to reinforce family and community values and beliefs. The tips can be accessed at PTA.org. PTA has a rich legacy in coming together to help solve the toughest problems facing our children, families and communities. It is imperative that we choose to be united and supportive during this difficult time in our country. As PTA members, we must continue to help lead the way with our powerful, collective voice to protect the voice of our futureour children. Together, we can move above and beyond the division of our country and build a shared experiencethe experience of working together as human beings, intent on building a better nation and world.

All schools and offices of Clayton County Public Schools (CCPS) will be closed Monday, December 21, 2020 through Friday, January 1, 2021, in observance of the 2020-2021 Semester Break. All schools and offices will resume virtual operating hours on Monday, January 4, 2021, for a Staff Development Day. Students will return to virtual instructional schedules on Tuesday, January 5. For more information, including an update on nutrition services and the announcement of the January 4, 2021 Clayton County Board of Education Work Session/Regular Meeting, please see the attached advisory and meeting agenda.

The H.R. 6515 Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act of 2020 is scheduled to end Thursday. December 31, 2020. Clayton County Public Schools' School Social Workers are pleased to announce a partnership with the Housing Plus Organization, Clayton County Community Service Authority, Inc., and UGA Extension Services - COVID Assistance to provide rent, mortgage, and utility assistance for our families who have been directly impacted by COVID-19. To ensure that as many families can rec...eive this assistance before Thursday, December 31, 2020, please contact the Social Worker at the school your student attends by Friday, December 18. You can determine your School Social Worker at the link below: https://sites.google.com//ccpsschool/school-social-workers

E.W. Oliver Elementary School PTA is beyond proud to announce that their Principal - Dr. Sheneaise Ratcliff - has won GA PTA’s Outstanding Principal Award. Way to represent