Tag Archive: parents


Talking Parental Involvement

Filed Under: Families by Briana Kerensky — Leave a comment
December 27, 2012

Today’s blog post is by Communities In Schools of Georgia President Neil Shorthouse.

Caption: Neil Shorthouse (center) discusses some of the challenges facing Georgia education. Also pictured: (Left) Dawn Bading, Vice President of Human Resources for Kaiser Permanente and (Right) Fran Millar (Chairman, Georgia Senate Education & Youth Committee).

According to numerous reports, Georgia has one of the worst graduation rates in the country. At Communities In Schools of Georgia, we believe parents are essentially a child’s first and most influential teachers and play a critical role in shaping each student’s perception of successful education.

With this in mind, we invited more than two dozen working parents, government officials, business and education leaders to come together on December 6 in Atlanta for the first-ever Georgia Graduates: Parents Hold the Key education roundtable.

At the event, representatives from AT&T, Kaiser Permanente, Delta Airlines, The Coca-Cola Company, JCB North America, the Office of Governor Nathan Deal, the Georgia Dept. of Economic Development, the Georgia Parent Teacher Association, the Georgia legislature, the Georgia Department of Education and the Latin American Association passionately discussed the important role parents play in student success in the classroom and how we might work together to better support Georgia parents and their children.

We identified multiple barriers to parent involvement, such as access to technology and a lack of support from employers; resources that should be available to help parents get involved, including existing programs from Communities In Schools of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Parent Teacher Association.

Recommendations and solutions discussed by the roundtable included:

* Developing special trainings for educators and parents on how to work together for student success;
* Creating a more welcoming environment for parents in all Georgia schools;
* Leveraging corporate “best practices” to reach working parents.

Although the event was a wonderful starting point, we’re not done. We’re inviting the participants to reconvene in the coming months to continue this important discussion and develop a 12-month strategic plan for reaching Georgia parents.

Communities In Schools of Georgia has also launched a new online Parent Resource Center, which provides a wide variety of free information for parents and educators, including ensuring a smooth transition to middle school and high school, test preparation tips, how to help students with homework and much more.

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What We’re Reading

Filed Under: What We're Reading by Tracey Savell Reavis — Leave a comment
November 16, 2012
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. Photo courtesy The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images.

Huffington Post: On Nov. 6, the citizens of San Antonio, Texas, made their voices heard, casting their votes in favor of their children. They voted to adopt the education initiative Pre-K 4 SA, introduced by the mayor of San Antonio, Julian Castro. It is an initiative that calls for a sales tax increase of one-eighth of a cent in order to provide funding for full-day pre-kindergarten programs. The new legislation will increase the number of children enrolled in full-day pre-kindergarten in San Antonio over the next eight years. Castro’s support of education, mirrored by San Antonio City Councilman Rey Saldaña, a Communities In Schools alum, is in line with his vision for the city to create a more educated workforce that will ultimately lead to economic prosperity.

Education advocates have long supported pre-K programs, pointing to numerous studies that show evidence of increased academic performance. And initiatives that bring students to school better prepared to learn and succeed will go a long way in helping Communities In Schools’ mission to help students achieve.

Los Angeles Times: Parent engagement is high on the list when it comes to providing support for students. The Los Angeles Unified School District is taking steps toward increasing parent involvement after receiving funding to improve on-campus parent resource centers.

In these centers, free classes and workshops can help parents with anything from understanding their child’s homework to learning English to financial literacy. The centers aim to make parents feel as if they are an essential part of the campus and are helping in their child’s education.

The LA Board of Education allocated $20 million to revamp outdated centers throughout the district. In this article, the school board noted that it has found having resourceful and engaging parent centers “can result in long-lasting positive effects on improving student achievement.”

The Bunsen Burner: Dr. Francine R. Kaufman used the term “diabesity” in her 2006 book of the same name to appropriately describe the connection between obesity and diabetes. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fact sheet, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. Children and adolescents who are obese are more likely to be at risk for health problems such as type 2 diabetes.

And if that news was not bad enough, a new study by two Yale University researchers reveals that diabetes has a substantial impact on the high school dropout rate and wage earnings. The study found the high school dropout rate was six percentage points higher among students with diabetes. The research also showed that young adults with diabetes who have one or more parents with the disease are less likely to attend college. And, a person with diabetes can expect to lose more than $160,000 in wages over his or her working life, compared to someone without diabetes.

The good news is diabetes can be managed, or even prevented, through changes in diet, regular exercise and medication. At Communities In Schools, introducing students to programs such as community gardens and cooking demonstrations teaches the value of nutrition, and fitness initiatives place emphasis on physical activity. We provide resources that surround students with support so they graduate and succeed in life. Helping students acquire healthy eating and exercise habits is a great way to accomplish this.

 

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Site Coordinator Snapshots: Helping Students Smile

Filed Under: Site Coordinator Snapshots by Erica Rafferty — Leave a comment
November 6, 2012
Teresa Leslie was an educator for 20 years before she started working for Communities In Schools of Northeast Kansas

Teresa Leslie was an educator before she started working for Communities In Schools of Northeast Kansas.

Teresa Leslie was an educator for 20 years before she started working for Communities In Schools of Northeast Kansas. As a result, many of the students who Leslie serves at Highland Park High School in Topeka, Kan., are some of the same students she taught. This transition from educator to site coordinator further opened Leslie’s eyes to some of the challenges faced by the students in her community, and how help sometimes is just around the corner.

“It has heightened my awareness of the humanity of people – no matter how much money they have, they all want the same thing,” Leslie said “Parents want what’s best for their kids. They may not have the means to get there, but they want the best. Communities In Schools is able to assist in that endeavor.”

Leslie witnessed this value first-hand when one Highland Park student’s mom came to the school seeking help. Her daughter had TMJ, a joint disorder that affects the jaw. Every day, simple actions we take for granted – like smiling, talking and chewing – caused the girl extreme pain. The mom had found a dentist who could perform surgery to help, but even with health insurance, it was too expensive. The mom needed help, and so the school principal introduced her to Leslie.

The site coordinator and Highland Park’s social worker worked together to brainstorm a solution. First, they and the mom volunteered to work the concession stand for the high school’s football game because they would be able to keep a portion of the night’s proceeds. In addition, the social worker e-mailed school staff and asked if they could donate for the girl’s surgery.

On the coldest night of the season, Leslie, the student’s mom and social worker manned the concession booth, and combined with the funds donated by the school staff, raised enough money to cover the surgery’s down payment. The site coordinator said the mom was overwhelmed by the generosity of the school community.

“This is a great school, and this is just one example of how generous and committed our teachers are to the student population,” said the site coordinator. “I was just happy to be part of the process – it was a collective effort.”

Leslie said the TMJ surgery has been transformative for the student, who now can eat lunch and talk with her classmates in the cafeteria, volunteer to read aloud or answer a teacher’s question in class, and smile without pain.

“Every time I see her, she just smiles.”

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Muffins for Moms

Filed Under: Families, Programs by Briana Kerensky — Leave a comment
October 23, 2012
woman and child eating breakfast

Muffins for Moms provides an opportunity for positive female role models to join students for breakfast and enjoy quality time together. Photo courtesy Communities In Schools of Jacksonville.

Today’s blog post is by Erin Ocobock, Resource Development Specialist for Communities In Schools of Jacksonville, Florida.

Communities In Schools is about more than checking on students’ grades and attendance to see if they are staying on track for graduation. It’s about providing resources to help students choose success by offering support in every way we can. One way we can accomplish this is by appealing to adults who have the potential to be a positive role model on students’ educational achievement.

On Wednesday, October 10, Communities In Schools of Jacksonville hosted their 5th annual Muffins For Moms Breakfast at Biltmore Elementary School. This event provides an opportunity for mothers, grandmothers, sisters and other positive female role models to join students in the school for breakfast and enjoy quality time together.

More than 50 students and adults who attended the event in the school’s media center were greeted by all things “girlie”: pink tablecloths, sweet pastries, soft jazz music in the background and a powerful female role model: Santhea Brown, the first lady of Jacksonville. As the Mayor’s wife and a mother of two, Mrs. Brown knows a thing or two about educational issues and being involved with your child’s school. She spoke to the families about the importance of making a connection between school and home, and about how important it is for family members to be there for a student and be active in his or her education.

To the surprise of the staff, and Mrs. Brown herself, the Mayor decided to stop by in support of his wife’s presentation. The Mayor’s office has been a major supporter of Communities In Schools of Jacksonville, helping to secure funding for an after-school program and partnering with the affiliate on a mentor initiative, The Mayor’s Mentors.

Site Coordinator Bramley Ross has hosted Muffins For Moms once a year for the past three years. She also hosts its counterpart, Donuts For Dads, which will be held this year in January.

“These events have been such a success. After each one, family members always ask when the next one will be!” Ross said. She creates a relaxed atmosphere, making it easy for students and adults to be comfortable and excited to spend the morning together, taking in the words of encouragement from an influential guest speaker.

“The family members and students love being able to have this time at school to spend with one another – time that they might otherwise not have due to jobs and other life responsibilities.”

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Watch D.O.G.S. Helps Dads Engage

Filed Under: Families, Uncategorized, Volunteers by Tracey Savell Reavis — Leave a comment
September 13, 2012
One of the dads who volunteered with Watch D.O.G.S. at Shertz elementary last year. Photo courtest Communities In Schools of South Central Texas.

One of the dads who volunteered with Watch D.O.G.S. at Shertz Elementary last year. Photo courtesy Communities In Schools of South Central Texas.

It turns out the mother of all parent engagement programs at Communities In Schools of South Central Texas is a recently launched initiative made up of volunteer fathers.

Parent engagement initiatives are not new to Communities In Schools, as they have long been recognized as a critical strategy for helping with student academic success. So when parent engagement became a priority for Stephanie Armendariz, a Communities In Schools of South Central Texas site coordinator at Schertz Elementary School, she worked with the parent teacher association on specific ways to help more dads get involved. Armendariz believes in the importance of providing positive male role models.

The program Armendariz was able to partner with and secure funding for at Schertz is called Watch D.O.G.S., which stands for Dads of Great Students, a father-involvement initiative of the National Center for Fathering. They have more than 2,000 active programs in 41 states. The organization provides guided training, seminars and resources that helped the Communities In Schools staff, the teachers and the parents prepare what they needed to help dads become engaged in their children’s education.

The first step in launching the program was to have a kickoff event providing information on how the dads could donate their time to their child’s school. In February of this year, in the school cafeteria, there was pizza, information and a turnout of close to 300 dads, granddads, stepdads, guardians and uncles.

“It was great!” said Armendariz, who serves as the bilingual liaison for the Watch D.O.G.S. program. “We never would have anticipated such a large turnout. It was clear everyone who showed up had an interest in how to help his child be a successful student.”

That night, the dads learned about volunteer opportunities in the school, how they could help if they could not volunteer, and other ways they could continue being a supportive and engaged parent. Nearly 65 dads signed up and were given a schedule of when they would volunteer for a day at the school.

Each volunteer day starts the same – with a morning announcement that lets all the students and staff know a dad is on campus. Then,  wearing  Watch D.O.G.S. t-shirts, the dads were assigned various tasks such as helping with morning drop-off, monitoring students in the cafeteria or library, patrolling hallways to keep order or even sitting in on their own child’s classroom.

“You should see the kids’ faces when they see their dads walking around,” said Armendariz. “They love it. And the dads – when I ask them how their day was, if they say, ‘I had a good time,’ and ‘I’d like to come back,’ that means they feel like they’ve made a difference.”

There are plans for another orientation event at the school next month. Armendariz and the Communities In Schools staff are hoping to bring out even more volunteers, and keep supporting students with programs that help to engage their parents.

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