Alyssa Sneed is a juggler.
Not the kind you find at a carnival or fair, but the kind found in the modern-day family.
Some may think this 35-year-old woman, who works full-time and has three children at home, has her hands full already. But Sneed, who was elected PTA president at Skyview Elementary, says she is “kind of an over-achiever.”
“I want to be involved hands-on in my kids’ education,” Sneed says. “Being on the PTA is a good way to know exactly what is happening in the school and the school district – a child’s education does not stop with the teacher.”
Sneed works as a client manager for Centra Benefit Services, a company that processes health benefits information. She was promoted to manager on the same day the school year started. She hadn’t planned on the added managerial responsibility when she ran for PTA president, but so far, she says things are balancing out.
“I’ve learned to delegate a lot, but it’s not easy,” she says.
Sneed relies on a thick, black day planner for organization and her husband of 12 years for support. Her husband, a truck driver within the city, helps with the housework and the children, ages 11, 9 and 2 ½.
Sneed also has a few other tricks up her sleeve.
“I cook dinners on Sunday for the whole week,” she says. “That way, my children have a home-cooked meal every day. I get home in time to make sure homework is done, and my phone hits the voice mail around 9:30. I need to get my sleep if I’m going to do all the things I have to do.”
As if Sneed did not already have enough to do, she also attends meetings for the Skyview Local School Council, a group that discusses issues concerning Skyview and promotes positive changes at the elementary.
Sneed says her school involvement has taught her that teachers are approachable.
“For some reason, the parents of today are intimidated to walk through that school door,” she says. “Being involved with PTA teaches you that teachers are human.”
Sneed has been involved with Skyview PTA since 1991 and was vice president last school year. This year, she says she hopes to increase parent involvement in the PTA, which was on an upswing last year.
When not at PTA meetings or at work, Sneed says she spends much of her time at peewee football games with her 9-year-old, who is a cheerleader for the Lake Highlands Wildcat Association.
“I’m going to make time for my children,” she says. “Something else will have to go on the back burner – the motto for the PTA is ‘One Team, One Goal for All Children.’ My children go in there, too.”
