Parent engagement is considered a key ingredient in child's academic success. WBFO'S Focus on Education reporter met with the Buffalo Public School District's director of Parent and Family Engagement to learn about how the district is enhancing parent involvement.
The city school district has over 30, 000 students, but there are some parents who fail to engage in their child's education.
"A lot of our parents have had very troubling times when it comes to education themselves, so they are very apprehensive to become engaged because I think they reflect on their past experiences," said Heath Frisch, Director of Parent and Family Engagement.
Over the last several years the school district has worked to implement programs and partnerships to reach parents. One effort was the implementation of the National Network of Partnership (NNPS). All schools are encourages all schools to become members.
Another very important way the district is working to engage parents is through School Based Management Teams. Each school has a team comprised of teachers, administrators, and parents. Some schools even include community members and students. It's all part of the district's overall school improvement plan. These teams meet monthly and work to design plans for student improvement. Another unique program includes parent facilitators are at each city school.
"They work with administration, they work with district officials to assist us in our parent involvement parent engagement initiatives," noted Frisch.