05-496 Copiague Senior High School PTSA

Suffolk Region

When you reach the high school level, you often hear about how tough things can get and how burned out everyone feels. But I’d like to shift the focus a bit by sharing our story – what we, our school staff, and our community achieved together, and how you can do it too!

Last year, we decided to take a leap and apply for the School of Excellence designation. Honestly, we didn’t have all the answers or even know if we’d qualify. The process to qualify turned out to be a year-long commitment. It took dedication, consistency, and a lot of teamwork. We knew we had to change our approach, so we started by simply asking the students and staff, “How can we be of service? How can we help?”

We sent out surveys, emails, and even launched a social media campaign. The feedback we received was invaluable. It gave us a clear picture of our goals, our desire to collaborate with the community, and much more.

One thing that really helped us along the way was making sure that we all had a picture of our QR codes ready on our phones. It was a simple yet effective way to get new support and increase our membership.

We put our hearts into it, submitting all the events we could host and sharing our ambitious goals for our town. The outcome? We won!

Our school and board were overjoyed, and the news quickly spread through our community. To top it off, the town of Babylon and our Assemblywoman honored us with a citation and certificate of recognition for our service to the community. But the absolute best part was being introduced by the fabulous, amazing, and wonderful New York State PTA president, Helen Hoffman, on our big day.

Our journey culminated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony where we received encouraging words that continue to guide our board’s mission to “do good things for kids.”

This story reminds us that with dedication, collaboration, a little bit of heart, and a smartphone with a QR code ready to go, we can make a significant impact.