Academies for parents link moms and dads to kids' classrooms

When the first 90 parents completed the Academy of Powerful Parents program in the Inver Grove Heights district last spring, they donned graduation caps for a special ceremony attended by the superintendent.

It was the first time some parents had ever worn graduation gear, recalled Michelle Anderson, the program's coordinator. That was meaningful both for the adults and for their children, who were watching.

Parents were so excited at the program's end that they kept asking what was next, Anderson said.

"We love this program here and we've seen the difference it's made," she said. "I can't stress enough: Having parents involved in their kids' education is huge."

Inver Grove Heights is part of a growing number of metro-area districts sponsoring parent academies as a chance for parents to learn more about how schools work, as well as ways they can better support their students.

West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan will start its Parent Academy this week. Burnsville-Eagan-Savage has a winter start date planned. Minneapolis, St. Paul, Brooklyn Center, Robbinsdale and South Washington County schools have similar efforts.

The program is beneficial because all parents want their kids to be successful in school, but some don't know exactly how to make it happen, said Sarah Egberg, West St. Paul's equity and integration coordinator.

The programs target groups that might not feel connected to school. Immigrant parents or those who speak a first language other than English are encouraged to participate, for example. But any parent or caregiver can join.

The goal is to build relationships between school and the parents, Egberg said, since research shows that kids do better in school when their parents are involved and invested.

There's a different curriculum for elementary, middle and high schools, and every district does it a bit differently.

West St. Paul will begin with a program in Spanish at Garlough Environmental Magnet School, where 43 percent of students are Latino and 36 percent are learning English as a second language. The district was hoping for 20 to 25 parents for its first group, but 33 signed up and there's a waiting list, Egberg said.

Inver Grove Heights offers selected seven-week courses in the Spanish language for Spanish-speaking parents. And interpreters are available to translate into languages like Somali or Hmong at the English sessions. Typically, schools provide a meal and child care so that it's convenient for parents to come.

Now, he makes a point to visit school more often. It also gave him the chance to meet other parents, which was "pretty awesome," he said. "If my schedule allowed, I would go again," he said. "I would go every year."

Many schools that have started parent academies use materials from the Parent Institute for Quality Education, a national curriculum started in the '80s in California. The founders were a group of mostly Latino parents who wanted to address issues that were keeping their kids from being successful in school, the group's website says.

Other districts offer parenting classes with similar themes through community education.

Parent academies run from six to nine weeks. They cover topics such as self-esteem and student achievement, positive discipline, state academic standards, parent-teacher conferences and college readiness, said Anderson.

The sessions are meant to be dynamic and engaging. For example, parents might brainstorm ways to bring literacy into their daily lives and then share ideas with the class, said Egberg.

Last year, the district hired Somali and Spanish-speaking cultural liaisons to connect with its two largest immigrant populations. The Somali liaison began meeting with parents at a large apartment complex where many Somali students lived, and realized that the parents had fundamental questions about how schools worked.

Drew Goeldner, principal at Burnsville's Sky Oaks Elementary, a diverse school with a large Somali population, said the district soon realized it gives out a student handbook each year and expects people to understand it, but no one ever explains what it means.

He began going on visits to the apartments over his lunch hour, helping the liaison answer questions about everything from busing to standardized testing data. "It was a very effective tool," he said. "By the end of the year I felt we were able to better communicate with the parents."

This fall, the school hosted a successful parent information night in Spanish, Somali and English. Now, the district is working to create videos about school-related subjects in other languages, he said.

Starting the parent academies, which will be offered in multiple languages, is another part of that effort, said Stacie Stanley, the district's director of equity and integrated student services.

Stanley, formerly a principal in Roseville, said that more schools are realizing that getting all families involved can require innovative approaches. "You just know that you have to shift and do things a bit differently," she said.

Anderson said Inver Grove Heights will continue the program, which has not only helped parents feel connected to school, but allowed them to network with other parents. "It's a powerful seven weeks," she said.