ACCPTA Newsletter article
Dr. Carlee Simon
As both the parent of children in Alachua County Public Schools and an educator, I recognize the
importance of effective home-school connections to the success of our students. I’m so pleased to be
serving as Superintendent in a district that enjoys the active support of so many families through the
ACCPTA, individual school PTAs and other school-related groups. It will certainly make my job easier!
PTAs/PTSAs/PTOs are such a valuable part of any school community. I appreciate the ACCPTA’s ongoing
efforts to establish and assist local PTA chapters, particularly in our high needs schools, and I pledge to
support those efforts in any way I can.
I’m also impressed at the work ACCPTA has done to benefit the entire district. Your efforts to promote
both the Half-Cent and the One Mill ballot initiatives will have a long-lasting, positive impact on our
schools and students. The workshops ACCPTA has organized on issues such as mental health and ESE
have been very popular with families. And your advocacy at the local, state and national levels are
critical to the survival of public education.
Like most districts in Florida and throughout the nation, Alachua County Public Schools is facing
significant challenges. Obviously COVID has created a lot of pain and anxiety for our students, families
and staff. It has also made existing issues worse, including funding shortages and the achievement gap.
As I’ve shared before, it will take a community effort to address and overcome those challenges. We will
certainly need your support in the future to increase equity and adequacy across the district.
I look forward to listening to and working with critical partners like ACCPTA as we all work toward
fulfilling the district’s mission of ensuring that every child achieves success!
Sincerely,
Carlee Simon, Ph.D.
Superintendent
Alachua County Public Schools