The Orange Public School District has a notable minority population of students growing up in low-income households. Due to challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, there were many students who were struggling with academic performance, attendance, and engagement. The school district would like to see students more involved in the classroom, in addition to their parents being engaged with their children’s education.
The school district identified that there are some parents without extensive educational backgrounds. To facilitate this, the school district sought additional assistance to bolster their “Parent University Program” with interactive workshops, seminars, and training for parents to actively engage with their personal and professional development. In particular, they needed guidance in providing development workshops and training. The school district also wanted to educate parents with strategies to support their children’s academic journey.
EBEC met with key stakeholders from the school district to understand how to structure the Parent University Program. We wanted to include topics related to student engagement and parent development that were relevant to these parents.
To meet this challenge, we created 90-minute virtual workshops offered every 2 weeks throughout the school year. We created parent programs focused on 3 topics:
This workshop program was a success for the Orange Public School District. The Parent University Program inspired parents to be more involved with their child’s education, and they began interacting more with the school community. Parents’ participation also led to their personal and professional development, preparing them to support themselves and their families.