Educators go beyond back-to-school night to get parents involved
| Tuesday, Oct 20 2009 12:00 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Oct 20 2009 12:00 PM
Loading Stories
Advertisement
PARENT RESOURCES
The Parent Institute for Quality Education works with Bakersfield City and Kern High school districts to promote community interaction. The organization runs a nine-week parent involvement training classes in Bakersfield and nine other California cities.
The course coaches parents on how to help their kids succeed in elementary and high school. Since 2004, more than 5,351 parents have graduated from the local program, said director Juan Avila.
Some of the parents are so motivated by their re-introduction to education through PIQE that they go back to school to earn a GED, associate's or bachelor's degree, Avila said.
More info: www.piqe.org
Bakersfield City School District Parent Involvement:
Web site: www.bcsd.com/parentinvolvement
Parent Summit: 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Nov. 14, Stiern Middle School, 2551 Morning Drive.
Topics include how to help your child with school work, where to go for community assistance, how to get money for your child's education.
Parents with children in all school districts welcome to attend.
On Bulldog Day at Rosedale Middle School last week, parents were re-introduced to endoplasmic reticulum, experienced a heart-pounding indoor marching band practice and assisted in measuring the freezing point of an Otter Pop in 8th grade science class.
The full-day event drew more than 225 parents, representing more than a third of the student body, offering an up-close, hands-on view of the challenges faced by 7th- and 8th-graders.
Bonding, connecting and eye-opening are buzz words for the day: a dad and daughter each played saxophone in the marching band class; some parents struggled to match students' acumen in a game of science Jeopardy.
"It lets each parent know they need to stay involved with their student's progress," said Principal Jennifer Keyes.
Parent Randy Nielson stood at the back of his daughter Kennedy's science class and marveled at how different school is these days compared to when he was a 7th-grader.
"It inspires me to do more at home to help her," Nielson said.
That's just the reaction Rosedale and other districts want to hear as they promote increased parent involvement.
An analysis of 77 national studies assessing parent involvement by Cal State Long Beach professor William H. Jeynes showed a consistent link between parent involvement and higher student achievement measured by grades and standardized test scores.
Parents need to maintain high expectations and read and communicate with their children even more so than attending parent functions at school, Jeynes found in his survey.
Parent participation is a two-way street; it's incumbent upon schools to offer multiple ways to get involved in addition to the standard avenues of classroom volunteering, back-to-school night and conferences, said Lacy Wood, project director with the National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools.
The center promotes "very meaningful involvement," according to Wood, who said that could be as simple as creating lessons for students to take home and do with parents.
In the Bakersfield City School District, Parent University courses during the school year and a parent academy in summer are structured so parents and kids can come to school at the same time.
A reading class teachers parents how to track sentences with a finger and stop to ask questions about the story. Last year 92 parents "graduated," from the course, about the average since the courses began in 1992, said Ruth VanWorth-Rogers.
A BCSD parent summit Nov. 14 will offer more than 20 one-day classes on topics ranging from Pre-K to the Gifted and Talented (GATE) program.
"There's always been a need for parent information," said Randall Ranes, director of instructional support services.
And with the increased emphasis on standards, and the need for parents to better understand the academic language used in schools, the interest in classes is increasing, Ranes said.
As past president of the Thorner School booster club and an active classroom volunteer, Stephanie Holladay wondered if it was worth attending a parenting course.
Comparing notes with a mom of six and her heavily tattooed boyfriend at an "active parenting" course over several weeks was an eye-opening and a positive experience for Holladay. Now she's talking up the course with Thorner's booster club, and several more parents have signed up.
Holladay regularly volunteers at the school, organizes family picnics and contributes to a parent-run blog. She's also working with VanWorth-Rogers on strategies to encourage further parent interaction.
This is another important way to develop involvement, Wood said.
Parents are very good leaders and mentors for other parents in that community, Wood said.
"I think sometimes we as parents forget our role as teachers, that we need to be the examples of what we're doing for their education," said Holladay, whose kindergartner and 5th-grader attend Thorner.
Kindergarten classes are dependably stocked with parent volunteers. But when kids hit 6th grade and adolescence, it's just as important for parents to stay connected, said Norris School District Superintendent Wally McCormick.
Schools are too often asked to take on the role of parenting, but it's the school's job to educate, not raise kids.
"I have too many parents in my office that say, 'I didn't know my kid was doing ...blank... for the expulsion,'" McCormick said.
Go to their football game. Watch your kid. Be involved. Check their homework. Have them explain it, he suggested.
Panama-Buena Vista Union School District runs a drop-in parent resource center complete with book and DVD library. A quarterly parent club president meeting supports communication with each school.
Principals play a key role in facilitating parent interaction in schools, said Pam Bianchi, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction.
"It comes back to a relentless approach, trying various strategies in a number of ways, and beginning to see success over time by increasing the number of parents who are involved," Bianchi said.
The process never ends.
"I think there are some schools doing better outreach," said Wood, "but there's a long way to go for schools to recognize and involved those parents who are harder to reach."
