The Atlanta Educator Fall 2009 — 5
PARENTS AS PARTNERS IN APS
Dads make a difference Over the last several years, fathers have taken an increasingly more active role in their children’s education in Atlanta Public Schools. Consider M. Agnes Jones Elementary, where Quinton Gist became the Parent Teacher Association president this year. “I got involved last year to make sure my little girl gets the best education she can,” said Gist, who served as PTA treasurer last year. In a short period of time, Gist has proven to be a go-to person for Principal Margul Woolfolk. She turned to him last year when there was a behavior issue on a few of the bus routes, and she needed volunteer bus monitors. Gist willingly rode the school bus for most of the school year. “Mr. Gist has always been supportive,” Woolfolk said. “He’s not just talk; he makes sure it happens. He calls the office two or three times a week. His whole mission is to make sure the children and teachers have whatever they need.” Gist, whose daughter, Dream, is a second-grader at Jones, wants to set up a tutoring program for students preparing for the CRCT. He plans to get five parents at each grade level to work with students on reading, math, social studies and science. The Jones PTA also sponsors a game night on Fridays, giving children and their parents a chance to mingle in a fun setting. Last year, the PTA helped raise $15,000 for a playground at the school. “When kids see their parents around, they do better,” said Gist, an
Fathers get more involved with children’s education
Quinton Gist is PTA president at M. Agnes Jones, where his daughter, Dream, is in the second grade. APS graduate. He is currently taking classes at AIU Atlanta. Fathers are also getting involved at Sutton Middle and a handful of other APS schools that participate in the national All Pro Dad’s Day program, featuring a monthly breakfast for students and their fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers, or any significant adult male role model in their lives. All Pro Dad is Family First’s
innovative program helping men to become better fathers. All Pro Dad has 54 NFL spokesmen, multiple events with NFL teams, 1,000 All Pro Dad’s Day chapters, and Play of the Day daily e-mails that reach 40,000 fathers. At Sutton, single mothers are welcome, too, according to Principal Audrey Sofianos. “It gives the students and their parent or other significant adult a
chance to bond on a different level,” Sofianos said. Joe Shelton, whose son, Spencer, is a seventh-grader at Sutton, approached Sofianos with the idea last year. The program usually provides a guest speaker who addresses topics such as setting goals and overcoming challenges, and poses a question for the students and their guests for discussion. Sofianos said the breakfasts are
well attended, with at least 50 people showing up each month. Other APS schools that have participated in the national program include Gideons, Beecher Hills, Morningside, Parkside, Grove Park, Young and B.E.S.T. Academy. “This program shows the interest is out there (among fathers),” Sofianos said. “If we can find an event and a time for dads to participate, they will come.” And that is good news for students, who have proven to achieve more when fathers are involved in their education. A 2005 study by Brent McBride, a University of Illinois professor of human development and family studies, found that a father’s interest and involvement in his child’s life at school, when added to that of the mother, packs a powerful one-two punch in that child’s favor. The study also found that a father’s involvement lessens the impact of growing up in a low-income home or poor neighborhood, or attending a school that has limited resources. “When fathers are involved in their child’s education, it mediates some of the negative effects these environmental stressors have on the child,” McBride said. In the study, the researcher worked with 1,334 families with children between the ages of 5-12 to learn how men engage in the educational process with their children, how their activity compares to what mothers are doing, and whether father involvement makes a unique contribution to the student’s development.
Be There is here in Atlanta What’s the most important thing every parent can do for his or her child? Be there. That’s the concept behind Be There, the national campaign designed to inspire parents to become more involved in their children’s education. Be There started three years ago as a pilot project in Volusia County, Fla., and has since gained popularity throughout the United States and Canada. Through compelling images and words, the campaign suggests that parents connect with their children every day during the ordinary moments in life. Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall joined 13 Georgia school district leaders at WSB-TV studios in August for the kickoff of the campaign throughout the Atlanta metro media market. “Parents and guardians are our students’ first
teachers, and they set the course for their child’s success in life,” said Hall. “The Be There campaign offers very simple, everyday teaching and learning strategies that can be used to reinforce what’s taught in our classrooms. Children benefit when their parents are involved in their education. They have higher self-esteem, better academic performance and more positive attitudes toward school.” Hall was joined by state officials to stress the importance of parental involvement, including Georgia State Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox; Herb Garrett, executive director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association; and Sloan Roach, president of the Georgia School Public
Relations Association. “We have all the tools to stay connected with people at work and families across the country, but it’s hard to stay connected to our children, especially as they grow into teenagers,” said Cox. “Be There reminds us that parenting is our number one job. We’re not just our children’s first teacher; we’re their lifelong teacher.” The group’s national site, www.BeThere.org, offers great ways to become more involved with your child, including: X While eating dinner, ask your teen a question to stretch
his/her imagination, such as “If you were the smartest person on earth, what would you use your intelligence to do?” X In the grocery store, tell your child he/she may pick out three items to take home, but they must contain less than 10 grams of sugar each. X When driving in the car, ask your young child to find the letters of the alphabet in signs your pass. With the teenager, ask them to help you calculate how many miles per gallon you’re getting with each automobile you drive. X Read a story to your child. Before you get to the end, ask your child how he/she thinks it will end. Or, if the main character walked through your door today, what would you say to it? X As a surprise - leave a caring note in your child’s lunchbox or under his/her pillow that says you are proud of your child.