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| School campaign's aim is parent involvement |
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Officials with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools have started a new program to try to get parents more involved in their children's education. The "Be There" campaign aims to inspire parents to become involved and use ordinary moments to teach their children as part of their daily routine, officials said during last night's school-board meeting. The school system is one of 15 in the Triad area that have come together as a group to ask parents to become more involved in their children's education, said Theo Helm, a school-system spokesman. Schools in Davidson, Davie, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin counties are among those participating. The campaign started two weeks ago, officials said. "It's the idea that without using any money and very little time, that parents can connect with their children," Helm said. "Just take a moment and engage with your child at a time when you wouldn't otherwise." The Piedmont Triad Education Consortium organized the "Be There" campaign. The school system has started airing public-service announcements on Cable Channel 2, handing out brochures, posting banners and fliers to promote the campaign, and directing parents to www.bethere.org, a Web site about the program, officials said. "Parent involvement is a key factor in student success," Frances Jones, the executive director of the Piedmont Triad Education Consortium, said in a prepared statement. "What's most interesting about the research on this topic is that it's the parent's role outside of school, their involvement at home that has the greatest impact on increasing student achievement." In other business, the school board named two of the three new schools that are scheduled to open next fall. Board members voted to name the new middle school Flat Rock Middle School and the new elementary school Kimel Farm Elementary School. Both of the schools are in the southern part of Forsyth County, near the intersection of Ebert and Fraternity Church roads. The schools are being built as part of the $250 million school-construction bond package passed in 2006. |
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