Posted to findingDulcinea by Anne Szustek
The 27-page course catalog includes offerings such as “Hip Hop/Pop Culture” and “Science Saturdays,” organized into four tracks: parenting awareness; helping children learn in the 21st century; health and wellness; and personal growth and development.
The initiative has received $300,000 in private grants, including $200,000 from the Wachovia Foundation and $100,000 from the Belk Foundation, according to the Charlotte Observer. The program was developed by a cadre of volunteers from various agencies along with staff members of the CMS District.
“Creating a successful student is like balancing a three-legged stool,” Sue Gorman writes on the CMS Parent University’s Web page. “CMS is working hard to strengthen the first two legs with strong principals, teachers and support staff. Parent University supports the third leg, strong parents, by providing in-depth access and expertise to you, the parent.”
Like the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Maryland’s Montgomery County School District, located in suburban Washington, D.C., was impressed with the program. Montgomery County schools launched their own Parent Academy at the beginning of the 2007-08 school year. But unlike the Miami-Dade version, Montgomery County’s Parent Academy based its offerings on community resources such as the Montgomery Teachers Federal Credit Union. Deirdria Roberson-Hudnell told The Washington Post that the Miami-Dade School District “did it with money. We don’t have that luxury, so we’re taking a different approach.”