The Adkins Elementary School PTA on Thursday will honor its school’s namesake, Dorothy Adkins, with the Life Achievement Award, the highest honor given by the National PTA to leaders across the country.
The presentation coincides with Adkins’ 101st birthday. The prestigious award and celebration will be commemorated at 6 p.m. Thursday during the school’s December PTA Membership Meeting, which will take place virtually, via Zoom.
Adkins, a longtime Denton ISD teacher and school board member, was instrumental in the desegregation of Denton schools in the 1960s, breaking down racial barriers in the community, according to a Denton ISD news release. Her reputation as a child advocate and champion of public education is legendary in the Denton-area community.
Adkins Elementary opened in August 2014 in Lantana. The Adkins Elementary PTA previously honored Mrs. Adkins with the Texas PTA Honorary Life Membership Award & the Texas PTA Extended Service Award. The National PTA Life Achievement Award recognizes a person who lives out his or her commitment to children on a daily basis and tirelessly advocates for children’s education, health and well-being.
Thank you @NationalPTA for recognizing a living legend. Denton ISD would not be the great place that it is today without Dorothy Adkins. She is very deserving of your Life Achievement Award… and what a life it has been. All 101 years of it. pic.twitter.com/vbEkvVEWU1
— Denton ISD (@dentonisd) December 16, 2020
