My School Rocks! 2014-04 Arlene Goldstein | Page 10

Mr. President

PTSA Leader Shares Best Practices
By Bea Quirk

M

ale presidents of PTAs, PTOs and PTSAs may
be uncommon within Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools, but they have almost become a
tradition at E.E. Waddell Language Academy, a CMS K-8
language immersion magnet with almost 1,400 students.
Eric Ackerson will complete his term as president on
July 1, and he is the third consecutive father to lead the
Waddell PTSA. So when he recently spoke to My School
Rocks!, the conversation focused on the school, its PTSA
and its accomplishments – not his gender.
He has two daughters at the school, in third and sixth
grade; his wife, Jihad, is a classroom volunteer.
MSR: How did you get involved in the PTSA? What
strengths do you think you bring to the role?
Ackerson: I spent 20 years in food service and am
now a construction manager for a general contractor.
Management is what I have been doing for a long
time, and I am used to keeping different balls in
the air at different locations. I started as the PTSA’s
communications vice president four years ago. My
father, Scott, was a teacher in this building when it was
E.E. Waddell High School. He now teaches at South
Mecklenburg.
MSR: What are the PTSA’s greatest accomplishments in
the last few years?
Ackerson: We now have a website, and we have
transitioned well into our new building, where we
relocated in 2011. That has meant more students, more
parents and more fundraising. We’re at capacity now
– but at least there are no trailers like at our previous
location.
We have increased our financing by 35 percent in the

10 – My School Rocks! | April 2014

last year by hiring a
company that helps
us run our annual Fun
Run. We write about
$5,000 to $6,000 in
checks at each of our
nine meetings. We
have filled needs –
like for bookshelves
and test preparation
booklets – that CMS can no longer afford because of
budget cuts. We buy technology, art and music supplies;
have purchased Promethean Boards and cases for
iPads; support a theater group and the orchestra; and
brought Rachel’s Challenge to the school, a national
program developed in memory of one of the victims of
the Columbine shootings that teaches students about
kindness. And we annually hold a Teacher Appreciation
Week and buy lots and lots of books.
MSR: What’s your major goal for the year?
Ackerson: We have a lot of mothers and fathers involved
in the PTSA who are working professionals with serious
job skills such as website design, marketing and
accounting. My goal is to complete the reorganization of
the board from a small grassroots organization to a large,
cohesive and focused one with chairs in each work area.
MSR: What best practices can you share with other
parents?
Ackerson: I recommend that PTSA members work to
establish strong communication from the board all the
way back to the classroom and the parents. The better
the understanding of the needs of the school, the better
a board can plan to address them. Also, utilizing the
professional skills of your par