NEW YORK—This semester, Mercy College in the Bronx will be offering a few new classes to some VIPs (very important parents).
At least one class per week will be offered in the newly opened Parent Center, which aims to arm parents with information to help them become more involved in their children’s education.
Classes include help in teaching math and reading more effectively, as well as managing behavioral problems, and learning to interpret standardized test scores.
“This new program will help empower parents and provide them with the knowledge and the skills to support their children’s educational experience,” Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said in a statement. “A parent’s active role in the education of their child plays an important role in their child’s academic achievements and success.”
The office of the borough president provided funding for equipment in the Parent Center.
The workshops will also provide additional resources to educators and school leaders. Maria Cruz, a parent coordinator at PS 46 in the Bronx, was on hand at the opening of the Parent Center last Thursday, where she also took a parent leadership class.
Cruz said 150 parents, the most she had ever seen, showed up at the first parent association meeting of the new school year. She said she wants to utilize classes like those offered at the Parent Center to help engage parents in their children’s education.
“I want to make sure the parents come in and empower themselves with information so the child can get a better education,” Cruz said.
Following the ribbon cutting last Thursday, Mercy College showcased six workshops, one of which was called Fun Read-Aloud Strategies, taught by Dr. Wendy Mages. Eight parents sat in on the workshop, each with kids of varying ages and issues such as low reading comprehension or autism.
Mages demonstrated an interactive way to read to children by reading a children’s book to the parents.
While reading, Mages varied her voice in both tone and pitch for each character, paused to give definition for the bigger words, and pointed to the pictures asking the parents to describe the animals. “You are giving them something to do to enhance the story,” Mages told the class.
She told the parents to start doing just one of the new things and build on it. “You will all of a sudden realize your reading starts to become more engaging,” Mages said.
Downstairs, Dr. William Farber showed four parents a fun, hands-on way to teach probability by flipping five red and yellow plastic chips. He had each of the parents write down how many times each chip landed on each color to show the probability of each combination of color.
Amy Moore, a lifelong resident of the Bronx and mother of three, enjoyed the class. She came out not only as a parent, but also as Parent Association president at PS 81 in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx.
“I think as a parent, a lot of parents are afraid to help their children. They want to help but they feel they don’t have the education or the ability to help,” Moore said.
The Ivy League graduate said she struggles helping her fifth-grader with math homework, because the way she was taught is much different than how her kids are being taught. Moore said she can’t imagine how other parents in the Bronx are feeling.
Moore feels the Parent Center is a great addition to the community and a great tool to give confidence to parents. “The day does not end at the end of the school day. Education has to continue at home,” Moore said.
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