skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

AZ Schools Find New Ways to Involve Parents

play audio
Play

Thursday, August 11, 2011   

PHOENIX, Ariz. - Parents with kids in school are moving beyond tasks like classroom volunteering and making photocopies. They are becoming more fully involved in their child's education, as Arizona schools develop new programs to help parents learn how to help their children learn.

In the Alhambra District of Phoenix and Glendale, half-day workshops teach parents the same learning strategies their kids use in the classroom. Superintendent Karen Williams says one is called "Buzz with Your Buddy."

"You give me information on what you think the main idea of this paragraph is, and then I, in turn, give you the opportunity to share with me what you believe the main idea is."

Williams says the school has a full house every time the sessions are offered. When parents are involved in their children's education, those students are successful "without exception," she adds.

At Cheatham Elementary School, Laveen, a number of parent involvement programs come under the umbrella of the Parent Academy. Parent involvement coordinator Nicole Scales says the academy builds relationships between teachers and the community.

"We have 'take your parents to school day,' when the parent goes to school with the child. We have coffee with the principal. We have math night, reading night - basically, what these programs are supposed to do is to equip our parents so that they can help our students at home."

Scales says pairing community dinners with the evening workshops creates the time that working parents need in order to get involved.

"If they come from work, pick their children up and we serve them dinner, then they have time to sit and learn how to help their children."

With the Parent Academy program now in its third year, Scales says from one-third to one-half of all the school's parents are involved.

Williams points out that the greatest impact on a child's success in school is his or her parents' expectations.

"Even though I may not be able to assist my children with their algebra homework, if I have the expectation that my children are going to be successful, then my children are most likely going to be successful because that's the expectation."

Alhambra District also has a new parent-orientation program, when Williams meets each month with parents who move into the district, instead of waiting until the start of a new school year.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021