SIMI VALLEY : PTA Council Wins Top State Award

The Simi Valley Parent Teachers Assn. Council has won the state’s outstanding council award for the 1989-1990 school year, officials said Tuesday.

The council was chosen by the state Parent Teacher Assn. Board out of 17 councils statewide, said Rae Hammell, a board spokeswoman.

This is the second time the Simi Valley council has won the award. The first was in 1985.

“It’s very exciting,” council member Janice DiFatta said after learning about the award on Monday. “We’ve had a lot of community support. Working together has paid off.”

DiFatta said the council represents 24 parent-teacher groups in the Simi Valley Unified School District with a membership of more than 10,000.

The award recognizes outstanding achievement in such areas as student drug counseling and parent education programs, designed to help parents assist their children in forming better study habits.

Gail Bennett, another council member, said the group has also helped organize an annual health fair, held in October last year. Medical and law enforcement officials set up booths at the fair to provide information to parents, students and teachers on what to do in emergency situations. Free blood pressure and cholesterol screenings also are given.

“We’re working with the parents trying to get them involved in their schools,” Bennett said. “It’s just a lot of hard work. But we have fun along the way.”

The Simi Valley Council will be honored at the annual Parent Teacher Assn. convention in Oakland, scheduled for May 1-4, Hammell said.