School centers help parents help kids

By Gracie Bonds Staples

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Michelle Tims is a frequent visitor to the parenting center at Summerour Middle School in Norcross.

She knew she could get tips on helping her daughter do math homework or find volunteer opportunities. But what she hadn't counted on was tips to buy her first home.

"What they do here is unbelievable," Tims said.

Summerour's center is part of a quiet effort at schools across metro Atlanta to help boost student achievement and encourage parental involvement in education, a benefit for both families and teachers.

"The amount of services that we provide to parents has increased dramatically since we opened our first center,” said Celeste Strohl, Title I coordinator for guidance and compliance for Gwinnett County schools. “In addition, we’ve gone from having a half-time parent coordinator to centers that are staffed full-time with a certified teacher.”

Gwinnett has 47 parenting centers, including 15 that opened since the 2008-2009 school year, Strohl said.

"Every time we open a new Title I school, they open with a parenting center," she said.

A school typically qualifies for Title I status if at least 40 percent of its students come from low-income families as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In Gwinnett, performance at Title I schools is rising. Strohl said that last year the number of Title I Distinguished schools rose to 34 from 22 the previous year.

"That means that they have made Annual Yearly Progress for three or more consecutive years," she said. "That’s probably the best indicator we have that this is having an impact."

Once relegated to a corner office or cubbyhole in the hallways of Title I schools, new parenting centers are more akin to lounges decorated with tables and chairs, wide screen televisions and banks of computers where parents can check on grades, write  resumes, search for employment or even volunteer their time.

"The research is clear that when schools, families and communities work together, students of all backgrounds and ability levels achieve at higher levels," said Michelle Tarbutton, Parent Engagement program manager at the Georgia Department of Education. "This translates into higher grades, test scores and graduation rates as well as fewer discipline problems and better attendance."

Creating a welcoming environment in the school, she said,  is the first step to getting parents in the door and ensuring continuous parental involvement.

Michelle Tims, mother of the student at Summerour, is a believer.

“I love it,” Tims said. “It keeps you updated and makes the parents feel welcome.”

She was among more than a dozen parents who crammed into Summerour's center last week for the school’s annual update on topics such as what it means to be a Title I school, parents'  rights to student and teacher information and volunteer opportunities.

“It takes a village to raise a child,’ school principal Dorothy Jarrett told them. “We are that village.”

Rosanna Carlson, who is in charge of the center, said the school is required to hold 10 mandatory sessions, including the Title I orientation, how to monitor their child’s progress and understand progress reports and report cards.

The rest of the sessions, she said, are dictated by the needs of the parents. Those have included programs and discussions about drugs, discipline and sex.

In Cobb County, parents can learn how to help their child academically. For example, Skyview Elementary has a kinder camp where parents can learn how to read to their kindergartner, said Fran White, the district’s Title I consultant.

But parents also come to the district's 32 centers for answers about how to get  a driver’s license and Social Security card or how to get custody of a child after a parent is incarcerated.

“We didn’t used to do that,” she said.

As the function of the centers has changed, so have their look and size.

Tri-Cities High School in Fulton County has by far one of the most impressive centers in the district having nearly doubled in size since it opened a year ago.

Out of 59 Title I schools in the district, 40 have resource centers, said Pam Baisden, parent involvement specialist.

“Our job is to promote learning at home,” Baisden said. “To do that we have to provide parents with the educational resources they need.”

She said that means workbooks for all grade levels; learning games that help students prepare for coursework, the CRCT and Georgia graduation tests; and help for parents as they prepare for the GED.

“The only thing we need to know is, what’s the problem,” said Marilyn Udeh, Tri-Cities center’s parent liaison.