Northeast Will Introduce Parent University Program

will be hosting a free dinner on Feb. 2 to kick off their new Parent University Program.

The Parent University Program is a new incentive for increasing parent involvement. The program focuses on rewarding parents for participating in school events that lead to an overall better experience for Northeast students.

“We are rewarding the parents for attending different events at our school, like back-to-school night,” assistant principal Joe Rose said. “Basically any event at our school, besides a sporting event, that the parent attends to support the child’s education, we will give them credit for. When the parent receives 10 credits, they will earn a bachelor’s degree and we will have a banquet at the end of the year for them.”

The program emphasizes parent support of student activities. So, when parents attend an event like back-to-school night, or hosts a team dinner for a sports team at their home, they will receive a credit for their efforts. The school will keep track of how many credits each parent earns and reward involved parents at the end of the school year.

The free dinner at the school on Feb. 2, serves as a launching party for Parent University.

“It is the official kickoff of Parent University,” Rose said. “We are starting this program this year so we wanted to have a kickoff and provide dinner and just get information out to the community.”

Besides being an introduction to the new program, the dinner will also provide information to parents about different community resources. Representatives from different organizations across the county will be there to speak with interested parents.

Those organizations include: Anne Arundel County Department of Health; Anne Arundel County Partnership for Children, Youth, and Families; Anne Arundel County Systems of Care; Anne Arundel County Crisis Response System; Juvenile Intervention Family Independence Project; and Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks.

“We want to provide families with information on resources that they may not know are available,” Rose said.

The kickoff event will also feature a variety of giveaways. Those who attend will have the opportunity to win yearbooks, athletic passes, tickets for the school play, senior caps and gowns, homecoming tickets, school clothing, and senior parking passes.

Rose also said that just for attending the kickoff, parents will receive four credits towards their end-of-the-year total.

The kickoff event will be held at Northeast High School on Feb. 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. For more information, contact the school at 410-437-6400.