It should come as no surprise that parents have ideas about how they want their kids to be educated in the classroom. But how often are parents asked for input? And when they are, how often is that information actually used to improve the public education system?
These are questions former teacher Greg Schermbeck has spent a lot of time thinking about. His organization, Schermco, just wrapped up a parent engagement program in Charlotte that involved Ashley Park PreK-8 School and Movement School, a district and charter school that are less than a mile apart.
The program included various events at the two schools designed to give parents the opportunity to express opinions and connect with the educators who, in some cases, spend as much time with their children as the parents do.
The result was not only a rare opportunity for a district and charter school to collaborate, but for parents to meet face-to-face with those who are responsible for educating their children. Both schools plan to continue investing time into enhanced parent engagement with hopes to better serve their mutual community.
