Typical Tuesdays find school-age children everywhere dressing for the day, downing breakfast and heading out to bus stops and carpools. Tuesdays in Columbus, however, offer “schooling” for parents and mentors, too. The Columbus Municipal School District’s Parent Academy meets weekly for an hour of strengthening the parent-school connection. The initiative is a collaboration between CMSD and community-based partners to acknowledge, honor, support and promote family involvement in student achievement.
“We want to build bridges between school and home, to provide parents with information and a link to the school,” said Robyn Buxton, CMSD Professional Development and Parental Involvement coordinator. “Going into the community is one of the things the district has been wanting to bring for a while.”
It’s no secret that structure, guidance and encouragement at home generally set the foundation for any student’s success. Parent Academy champions that effort by inviting parents and mentors to meet every Tuesday. Sessions are offered at three different times and locations throughout the day for convenience. Each week’s material is grade-specific: kindergarten through second grade; third through fifth grade; sixth through eighth grade; or ninth through 12th grade. Every meeting, however, is open to those concerned with helping students of any age.
Buxton and other school district personnel discuss subjects ranging from homework-helper exercises to graduation requirements, depending on the focus group that week.
The environment is non-threatening and interactive, noted CMSD Superintendent Dr. Philip Hickman.
“We are building the knowledge base of our parents to be able to support our students,” he remarked. “Parent Academy gives you a lot of information, a lot of skills to be able to work with students. We’re teaching real-life applicable things that are happening in the classroom.”
Advocates
The most recent Tuesday sessions related to middle- and high school students. That didn’t keep families of elementary-age children from attending the 9 a.m. gathering at Sim Scott Community Center.
Billy Craig has had four children go through the Columbus school system; now he has a granddaughter in first grade.
Like many others, Craig has questions about helping youngsters with math. Current problem-solving methods differ from those in his own school days. He readily took part Tuesday in a homework-helper exercise Buxton introduced. It illustrated how playing cards could help a student better understand certain math skills. The “game” could be adapted to dominos as well.
“When my granddaughter gets in third, fourth, fifth grade and has these math questions, I’d love to be able to help her in how they do it now.”
Helen Robinson’s nephew is a third-grader. His mother, her sister, couldn’t attend, so Robinson was at the community center to gather material to pass on. “I thought it was wonderful, with good information,” she said. Students benefit from a strong home-school connection, she noted, when parents know what is going on and what is expected. The academy can help “parents be there for children once they go home,” Robinson said.
The 18 in attendance — 10 of them men — included Benjamin Porter. He supervises an after-school program at the Townsend Community Center every day. Students there can do homework and access tutoring, educational games and recreation. Parent Academy is a good resource, he said.
“I’m always interested in learning new methods of teaching students because I have to help them with their schoolwork, and I need to know how they do it at the school. It’s really helpful.”
Building partnerships
Tuesday’s format gave parents an opportunity to ask questions of Buxton, Columbus High School Assistant Principal Mary Phinisey and CHS Curriculum Coordinator Norma Jones. Topics touched on communication between school and home, access to computers and even courses for college credit.
Facilitators stressed that the school district wants to reach out to families, to bolster the coalition it takes to produce successful students.
Parents were urged to take advantage of the “For Parents” page on the CMSD website, to be sure they are signed up for Falcon Blast notifications and to utilize computer labs, if needed. Links are available to access learning tools and videos. Curriculum coordinators and counselors stand ready to help.
“Parent Academy’s focus is to communicate a clear understanding of the academic standards and demonstrate effective tools that parents can use at home to help their child be more successful,” Buxton summarized.
Response has been positive. Parents have been complimentary and seem excited about the program, Hickman and Buxton reported.
A goal now is to increase Parent Academy attendance, to get more and more parents involved.
Hickman said, “I’m looking forward to growing and running out of seats. When school and family are working together to educate, I think we will produce a better student.”
Editor’s note: For more information about Parent Academy, contact Buxton at 662-241-7160, ext. 2110, or email [email protected].
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Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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