Posted: 11:43 a.m. Thursday, June 11, 2015

Officials: For students to succeed, they need supportive parents

By Rick McCrabb

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

While school is out for the summer, learning is taking place this week at the Highview Sixth Grade Center.

Teachers and parents representing the 10 schools in the Middletown City Schools District gathered for two days for extensive training to assist everyone in educating students. The district signed a one-year contract with Family Leadership Inc., based out of Fresno, Calif., to provide the training to teams of parent volunteers and teachers. The program costs $60,000 and is funded through Title I, a federal program, said Elizabeth Lolli, senior director of curriculum and instruction.

She said the cost includes training materials and toolkit, parent workbooks, evaluation reports and on-going site team contact and support.

After the two days of training, the parents and teachers will meet with additional parents for eight weeks of training starting on Sept. 21, said Carolyn Mack, director of staff development for the district.

“It’s all about increasing parent involvement,” Lolli told the board during a recent meeting.

Mack added: “We as educators, we see them as our children; we see them as a vital part of what we do every day; but that true missing element is that parental involvement.

When they get engaged, and the students see their parents engaged, we will see a difference.”

The national trainer with Family Leadership, parents and teachers agreed near the conclusion of the two-day seminar.

Trainer David Porter said data shows that districts must do more than invest in teachers, classroom sizes and curriculum.

“We need to get parents involved and supporting what’s taking place in the classroom,” Porter said.

He said the program builds “a bridge between the living room and classroom.”

After taking the training, Juley Lawson, a teacher’s aid and mother of a senior at Middletown High School, said she learned there are “things that I’m not good at” and she plans to look at things differently.

Cora Thompson, a MHS English, has been with the district for 17 years. During that time, she has seen a steady decrease in parental involvement. If the districts wants to improve its academic performance, the first step starts at home, she said.

“Parents must be the foundation,” she said. “We can see some improvement in the classroom and how the students conduct themselves at home and in school.”