Back-to-school information session for parents
By Sierra Henry
Published in News on August 20, 2018 5:50 AM
Students are not the only ones preparing to return to school this week.
Parents will have the opportunity to learn about the various resources provided by Wayne County Public Schools and other organizations that can help ensure their child's success in school.
Whether it is learning how to navigate the world of technology or how to understand the new Common Core state standards for math, parents will learn where to locate information and how they can help their kids in school.
"As a parent, there were times I felt that I couldn't get the education I needed to help my child," Mark Colebrook, founder of Operation Unite Goldsboro, said. "I didn't know at the time how busy teachers were.
"As a parent, not understanding, I became very defensive and accusatory in saying, 'Why isn't the teacher doing more to contact me? Why isn't the school system doing more to help me?"
Operation Unite Goldsboro will host a Back to School: Parents Edition panel to address issues such as where to locate grades, how to navigate technology in the classroom and how to ensure children are on the right track to success.
The event will be held on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Rebuilding Broken Places. Thomas E. Smith from Dillard Academy Charter School and Dr. Marsha Manning, former principal of Goldsboro High School, are just two of the speakers who will present on these issues.
"There's distrust on both sides, and instead of pointing figures, the parents saying it's the teachers' fault and the teachers saying is the parents' fault, well, let's look at how we can work together," Colebrook said. "In the end, the person that loses out if both sides don't talk and communicate is the child.
"We need to do a better job of reaching out to the parents."
Other organizations such as Impact Teens, Distinguished Gentlemen, Wayne Community College and UNC Wayne Health Care will be available for parents who wish to seek additional help for their children.
Colebrook said that, as an eighth-grade math teacher at Brogden Middle School, parents often want to help their children succeed, but they do not know where to find the resources to help them. That is why he said it is important for there to be more communication between parents and educators.
"I would say it's common that parents are, at times, kept in the dark about things," Colebrook said. "I know that I've had parents come up and say, 'I didn't know.' And, even though there are resources out there for them to know, we as an education system can't just rely on that.
"Our standard response can't be, 'Well it's on the website.'"
All parents, teachers, educators, administrators and counselors are welcome to attend the event. Catered food and door prizes will be offered.
Rebuilding Broken Places is located at 2105 N. William St. For more information, Colebrook can be reached at 919-494-2292.