HOMEwork helpers

Posted Aug 20, 2010 by Sherri Ackerman

Updated Aug 20, 2010 at 04:15 PM

While HOMEwork has my name on it, the blog will include posts from other Tribune reporters and parents including fellow education reporters Courtney Pastor and Ronnie Blair.

Courtney primarily covers schools in northeast and northwest Tampa, pinch-hits on school board meetings and knows more than anyone at the Tribune (except for maybe Michele Sager) about FCATs.

Ronnie has covered schools for years in Pasco County. He’s off from work today, but shared with me his first and very timely post:

Maybe the key to improving education is sitting right there in the family room.

Several candidates for school board in Pasco County seem to think so anyway.

They say one of their goals, if elected, would be to figure out ways to entice parents to become more involved in the schools.

“Parent involvement can raise student performance,” said Mike Ryan, a candidate for the District 3 school board seat.

Ryan previously was chairman of the board for Dayspring Academy, a charter school in Port Richey that expected a high level of participation from its parents.

Even these candidates realize, though, that there’s only so much a school board member can do to influence how much time parents spend volunteering or helping their children with homework.

“It’s not something you can legislate,’’ said Cynthia Armstrong, a former teacher who also is seeking the District 3 seat.

Still, a school board member certainly can take an active role in promoting the more-parent-involvement agenda, Armstrong said. She said schools often provide mentors for students. In the same vein, there could be more programs for helping parents do a better job of helping students, she said.

Alison Crumbley, a District 4 candidate, expressed a similar view. Even though schools can’t require parental involvement, Crumbley said, they can do more to make themselves parent friendly and volunter friendly.

Sallie Skipper, a district 3 candidate, said too often “kids are dumped off and teachers are expected to do everything.’‘

She said technology provides one answer. A father told her he wasn’t active in the PTA because the meetings took place before he got home from work. Skipper asked whether he might become involved if there were virtual meetings online or if parents could make suggestions to the organization via Facebook.

In that case, he said, he might join.

Karen King, a district 4 candidate, said one program she admires is Parent University at Lacoochee Elementary.

The school launched the program in 2008 to drum up parent involvement on campus and to give parents tips on communicating with teachers, helping their children read and becoming mroe confident as they guide their children through the school years.

At the end of that first year, 24 parents - all mothers - were awarded diplomas from Parent University.