Cherokee Leads The Way in Parental Involvement at Title I Schools

The Cherokee County School District recently was chosen by the Georgia Department of Education to host the fall regional Parent Involvement Coordinator (PIC) meeting in recognition of its outstanding parent involvement program

The meeting, which was held on Oct. 8, was attended by parent involvement coordinators, parent involvement facilitators, academic coaches, various district staff from school systems throughout the region and offered participants professional development for building a strong parent engagement program at Title I schools.

Title I schools serve a high percentage of students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

“Careful consideration goes into which districts we select as hosts,” Michelle Sandrock, parent engagement program manager for the Georgia Department of Education. “Only those that we feel are offering model parent involvement compliance and parent engagement strategies are asked. [I knew that CCSD would] do an excellent job of providing information to other school and district parent involvement coordinators throughout our state.”

Presentations were made by district staff on how it operates its parent involvement program, including best practices that can be replicated in other schools and districts.

The presenters and presentation topics were:

• Canton Elementary STEM Academy Parent Involvement Facilitators Gloria Davilla and Deana Bearden, “Academic Parent Teacher Teams” and “Family Leadership Institute”;
• Clark Creek Elementary STEM Academy Parent Involvement Facilitator Nora Vizuete, “Staff Training”;
• Hasty Elementary Fine Arts Academy Parent Involvement Facilitator Gwen Freeman, “Family Leadership Institute”;
• Oak Grove Elementary Fine Arts Academy Parent Involvement Facilitator Elaine Herrmann, “Summer Reading Program & Homework Assistance at Hidden Falls”;
• R.M. Moore Elementary Academic Coach Ginger Blanton, “Parent Training”;
• Teasley Middle Parent Involvement Facilitator Doris Cardenas, “Staff Training”;
• Woodstock Elementary Parent Involvement Facilitator Jessica Ruiz and Academic Coach Bonny Keheley, “Welcoming Families & Camp Learnalotta”; and,
• District Coordinator of Federal Programs Teresa Henry, “Parent Involvement Compliance.”

Photo: from left to right: Gwen Freeman, Deana Bearden, Jessica Ruiz, Nora Vizuete, Gloria Davilla and Elaine Herrmann. Credit: Cherokee County School District