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

Officials: For students to succeed, they needsupportive parents

By Rick McCrabb

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

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

Teachersand parents representing the 10 schools in the Middletown City Schools Districtgathered for two days for extensive training to assist everyone in educatingstudents. The district signed a one-year contract with Family Leadership Inc.,based out of Fresno, Calif., to provide the training to teams ofparent volunteers and teachers. The program costs $60,000 and is funded throughTitle I, a federal program, said Elizabeth Lolli, senior director of curriculumand instruction.

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

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

“It’sall about increasing parent involvement,” Lolli told the board during a recentmeeting.

Mackadded: “We as educators, we see them as our children; we see them as a vitalpart of what we do every day; but that true missing element is that parentalinvolvement.

Whenthey get engaged, and the students see their parents engaged, we will see adifference.”

Thenational trainer with Family Leadership, parents and teachers agreed near theconclusion of the two-day seminar.

TrainerDavid Porter said data shows that districts must do more than invest inteachers, classroom sizes and curriculum.

“Weneed to get parents involved and supporting what’s taking place in theclassroom,” Porter said.

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

Aftertaking 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.

CoraThompson, a MHS English, has been with the district for 17 years. During thattime, she has seen a steady decrease in parental involvement. If the districtswants to improve its academic performance, the first step starts at home, shesaid.

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