A Message from Patreece
A GOOD PUBLIC EDUCATION

I am a product of the Atlanta Public School System having attended M. Agnes Jones Elementary School and graduating from Booker T. Washington High School. This is where I would begin to establish my roots. I still have a bond with many of my friends that has lasted for over 30+ years. All of us have received degrees from colleges and universities and have professional careers in various areas.

While at M. Agnes Jones Elementary School, a plethora of activities were offered for the student body. On Saturdays, our Principal, Dr. Jesse, would teach us how to use and program computers when no one else was readily using technology. Dr. Jesse believed in us and knew that we could master technology and we did. We learned how to read the NASDAQ and invest in the stock market. Mrs. Love, the sponsor of the Student Council, took the safety patrol to Washington D.C. when I was in the 5th grade. Mrs. Scrutchins, our 6th grade teacher, assigned a class project in which we were entrepreneurs who established our own businesses, including a CEO, president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. At the end of the project, we used our profits to go to Six Flags.

During my high school years at Booker T. Washington, I was involved in many activities including cheerleading, Future Homemakers of America, chorus, and many other things. However, I found my true niche when I joined the Marching 100 band with Mr. Allen Ward, Jr. as well as joining the Black Pearls, an all girl empowerment organization sponsored by Ms. Lynda Wolfe Smith. Being in these two organizations prepared me for my life’s work. While in the band, I embraced leadership, service, and duty. Mr. Ward instilled in us lifelong lessons such as, “To be early is to be on time, and to be on time is to be late.” Our band received many awards and accolades but my most memorable moments  included performing with pop star artist Michael Jackson during the opening of the Georgia Dome  and marching in the 1994 Mardi Gras Parade in New Orleans, LA. My teacher at the time and now lifelong mentor, Mrs. Smith, taught us how to properly run an organization with appointed leaders that wrote and instituted a constitution with by-laws. She instilled in us the desire to become great respected leaders, as well as to carry ourselves with dignity and honor.

The Atlanta Public School System prepared me and many others to become viable contributors to society. No matter our varying circumstances and backgrounds, the Atlanta Public School System, prepared us. Currently, I am a professional school counselor, and many of my APS former classmates and friends are now lawyers, medical professionals, fashion designers, artists, famous actors, and politicians. I plan to bring back the same type of support and respect that our educators received when I was in school. I will support educators so that they do not have to endure being terrorized with the dismantling of schools and communities. We have to bring back stability to our schools and communities. Now is the time to bring back the support that educators have been deserving all along. Vote for Patreece Hutcherson as the next board member of APS District 6.