AACPS Holds Convention to Engage Parents in Student Success

was open for business on Saturday, with parents playing the role of “student” for the day.

The all-day seminar, a Convention to Further Dialogue Between Parents and the School System About Student Success, was designed to encourage parents to become engaged in the education of their children.

“The purpose of this event is to help parents become engaged in the school system,” said Akeda Pearson-Stenbar, school-community engagement liaison for Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS), who organized the event. “The greatest thing parents can do to help their children succeed in school is to become knowledgeable about how to navigate the school system.

“Today, we've given parents the opportunity to speak with school officials and to learn what resources are available for the needs of their children,” Pearson-Stenbar said. “One of the five goals of the Board of Education is to involve the community in the school environment. There are several community organizations out there that are valuable resources for parents and students.”

The entrance hall of Freetown was lined with tables representing some of these community organizations. Mentoring programs, county organizations and health care specialists such as Priority Partners, a low-cost managed care insurance plan, were present to speak with parents.

Restoration Community Development Corp., which was one of the community organizations on hand, offers a wide array of programs and assistance for the community, ranging from raising awareness about the dangers of tobacco use to providing mentoring programs for youth.

“We work closely with the Anne Arundel County Department of Health and provide services for the parents such as HIV and AIDS screenings and breast and cervical cancer prevention,” said Catrice Down, a representative of Restoration Community Development Corp. “Depending on their needs at the time, we often offer several resources that help parents and their children.”

The event also was designed to educate parents on ways to prepare their children for college.

“One of the greatest ways parents can cultivate an interest in college in their children is to introduce them to various careers. The more exposure they have to things they can do as a career, the better,” said Pearson-Stenbar.

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department, representatives from the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and several other organizations were present to showcase their careers for the parents and children in attendance.

Parents in attendance said they gained valuable knowledge about the resources available to them. Cassie Pinder, the parent of a third grader at Freetown, said she was thrilled with the information she gained from the program.

“I love meeting other people and finding out what resources are available to me,” Pinder sad. “I don't want my daughter to make the same mistakes I did, and I love finding out what resources are available to me to help her and push her to do well in school.”

Pinder, who serves as the PTA President at Freetown, was joined at the event by PTA Vice President Christine Baldwin.

“It has been great to learn about the mentoring programs that are available,” Baldwin said. “Also, one of our goals for the PTA is to increase parental involvement, and we got some great ideas today for engaging the parents of Freetown.”

Overall, organizers said they felt the event was a success.

“The response to this event has been phenomenal,” said Pearson-Stenbar. “From the community partners present to the involvement of the parents, we are thrilled with the success.”