Horizon Elementary School PTA members with the Family-School Partnership Award for Communications are Karen Purser, front from left, Erin Cornelius, Mary Dougherty, Leanne McGee, and Kristin Ott and, back from left, PTA President Chris Cornelius and Horizon Principal Rodney Richardson. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – For the second consecutive year, the Horizon Elementary School PTA has been selected as the statewide winner of the prestigious Family-School Partnership Award for Communications.

Horizon Principal Rodney Richardson attributes the award to the teamwork of PTA board members, administrators, teachers, staff members, parents and students.

PTA president Chris Cornelius accepted this award at the 2015 Alabama PTA Convention in Montgomery on April 24-26.

“This year, Horizon PTA wanted to continue providing quality communications about our school’s successes, to keep families advised of all the goings-on at school and with PTA and to help strengthen relationships between Horizon families and our school,” Cornelius said.

“We are so pleased to have met those goals and to be recognized by the State of Alabama PTA,” Cornelius said.

Cornelius acknowledged the “two-way communication” between PTA and school families by individuals visiting the Horizon PTA website (HorizonElementaryPTA.com), subscribing to the Horizon Facebook and reading the monthly PTA newsletter.

“We would like to give special thanks to our vice president of communications, LeAnne Letize McGee, for managing PTA’s communications this year,” Cornelius said, “and to Terrica Johnson for writing each month’s ‘Leader in Me’ column.”

Cornelius also credited teachers Elizabeth Bero, Tamara Caudle, Camie Coker and other contributors for developing story ideas. “And to all of the students who have written newsletter stories for us this year,” Cornelius said.

Cornelius thanked Rodney Richardson and assistant principal Kimberly Stewart for supporting communications efforts. “This award is truly a group effort, and we are so proud to have won it for our school,” Cornelius said.

In other business at the PTA convention, Dorinda White, Rainbow Elementary School Principal, was named “‘Alabama PTA Principal of the Year.”