Veronica Palmer has seen firsthand the importance of family engagement in a child’s education. She grew up in a household that emphasized getting good grades and attending university, something she says was passed down from her grandmother, a former gang member who escaped poverty through education. “She just woke up one day and said ‘there has to be a better way'” says Palmer, explaining her grandmother’s decision that eventually lead to a master’s degree in social work from the University of Denver. “That decision to pursue an education completely transformed my family for decades to come.”
Palmer believes that family investment is vital for kids’ educational success. She encouraged that involvement in her classroom when she served as a Teach For America Corps member back in 2006 and continues to do so today as she serves as the co-founder of RISE Colorado, an organization that educates and empowers minority families to take greater ownership in their kids’ learning.
Tag: parental involvement
A High School That’s Open Late — But Not for the Kids
These days, Hackensack High School in New Jersey stays open long after the kids have gone home. The classrooms are filled by students’ parents, seeking their own education.
“To take ESL classes in the U.S. is very expensive, so when I heard they are giving English class in the high school, I said I want to go,” says Albina Cruz, who came to the U.S. as a teenager, but didn’t feel pressure to learn English until she had children of her own. “I know that it’s very hard when [they] do homework and don’t have anyone to check if it’s right or wrong,” Cruz says.
The mother of two is one of 350 parents who have participated in the new program — launched in 2012 by the Hackensack school district where 60 percent of students are Hispanic — designed to help immigrant parents become more involved in their children’s education. Diana Bermudez, parent outreach facilitator for the school district, spearheaded the program and says parent attendance at school meetings has more than quadrupled since the program began.
A recent study published in the New York Times confirms there is no clear consensus on whether parental involvement does improve a child’s academic performance, but Bermudez says thats not just about academics, its also about building a stronger community. “We try to work as a team where everyone can give back, everyone can do a little something to help us all move on and that’s the culture we’re creating.”