Parents are key partners in their children’s education—teaching and learning begins in the home—yet too often, parent involvement remains an untapped resource.

As superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Rudy Crew made it a priority to engage parents. He established The Parent Academy, a free, year-round, parent engagement and skill building program. TIME recently highlighted the nationally-acclaimed program which has served more than 120,000 parents in Miami through workshops, family learning events, informational sessions, and automated phone calls.

Dr. Crew initiated partnerships with the private sector, higher education, government entities, and a wide range of community-based organizations to launch The Parent Academy in 2005. These partnerships enhanced outreach to parents and provided a clearinghouse for integrating information on the many community resources and support systems available to families.

The Parent Academy model is now being replicated by school districts across the nation.

To read the TIME article, “To Help the Kids, Parents Go Back to School,” click here.

    

The holiday season is a wonderful time for students and their families to learn together. From cuddling up with a book and reading together to taking a family trip, learning can be fun and exciting.

Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) provides an engaging multicultural holiday book list for all ages, and The Parents’ Choice Foundation highlights ways to turn road trips into a family adventure, combine learning and fun at art galleries, or explore and discover at museums.

Enjoy the holiday season and learning together!

 

    

When Sandra, a young single-mother, left Colombia in search of a better life for her and her ten-year-old daughter, Manuela, she knew her final destination would be America, the land of opportunity.

Of course, dreaming of America and living the American dream were two entirely different things. Sandra and Manuela did not speak a word of English. Still, Sandra was determined to make their new life work. She enrolled Manuela in ESL classes and struggled to make ends meet, working three jobs. The sacrifice was worth it if it meant providing for her daughter.

One day, Sandra received a call from Manuela’s guidance counselor at school. Manuela had boarded the wrong bus home. Confused and frantic, she begged the bus driver to take her back to school in between sobs and broken English. Sandra rushed to Manuela’s school. Pleading with the counselor in Spanish, she begged the woman to help her daughter. Somehow the counselor understood. Perhaps, it was because she was a mother and a mother’s devotion to her child easily translates into any language. She reassured Sandra and told her not to worry, that she would take care of Manuela. True to her word, the counselor introduced the young girl to new friends who helped her master English in record time. Today, Manuela is a happy, well-adjusted bilingual teen who speaks English with a perfect American accent and receives high grades. Sandra has also begun to speak English and wants to challenge herself by enrolling in ESL classes later this year. Manuela has even agreed to be her tutor.

Parents know their children better than anyone. By becoming more actively involved in your child’s education, regardless of language or cultural background, you are making a priceless contribution to his or her academic success and well-being. Global Partnership Schools’ tutoring services offer extra attention to English language learners..

    

When brothers George and Elias entered Mr. Rivera’s third-grade classroom, neither of them spoke English. Mr. Rivera saw this as a challenge, but he was determined to meet it head-on. He developed special lesson plans for the boys and organized parent-teacher conferences to help orient them for school. He soon realized that George and Elias’s immediate and extended family were as focused on the brothers’ progress and adjustment to their new surroundings as he was. Each day their aunt and cousins would walk the boys home from school and their parents would participate in regular parent-teacher meetings.

Decades later, Dr. Manuel Rivera, now CEO of Global Partnership Schools and the 2006 National Superintendent of the Year, was shopping in the city of Rochester, New York, for a new car. While visiting a thriving Chevrolet dealership, he ran into George, now the head of the dealer’s finance department. George instantly recognized Dr. Rivera and called up his brother, Elias, a successful restaurant owner and deacon of his church. They both recalled fond memories of third grade and their favorite teacher, Mr. Rivera, who had taken them under his wing.

Despite their gratitude, Dr. Rivera insisted it was their family who deserved the thanks. Because of their tireless commitment, the boys learned a new language, adapted to a completely unfamiliar environment, and realized their full potential.

Studies show that parent involvement in education is at the heart of student achievement. Most parents fully accept this responsibility and understand the immense impact they have on their children’s learning.

- Dr. Manny Rivera, CEO, Global Partnership Schools

    

While Eugene Crew was not formally educated he was a smart man. He was also a dedicated father who believed in working hard so that he could give his son every possible opportunity for success. One of those opportunities was a high-quality education and Eugene knew it would be his son’s first-class ticket to a promising future. He decided he would do whatever it took and sacrifice whatever he had to get his son, Rudy, into college.

When Rudy’s own middle school guidance counselor dared to crush Eugene’s dream for his son, he patiently listened as she said her piece. He even sat quietly as the counselor insisted Rudy was “not college material.” But once it was Eugene’s turn to speak, he politely but firmly announced that his son was going to college and the matter was not up for debate. Wisely, the counselor realized that Eugene Crew meant business, and before Rudy knew it, he was starting Arlington High…on the college track.

What do you and Eugene Crew have in common? You’re both parents and you want your child to succeed in school and in life. Eugene Crew knew a high-quality education was the key to success. He demanded it for Rudy and because of his perseverance his son is now one of the country’s most effective educational leaders.

Dr. Rudy Crew is president of Global Partnership Schools and was honored as the 2008 National Superintendent of the Year.

- Dr. Rudy Crew, President, Global Partnership Schools