To help their kids advance, parents are headed back to school

Maya McKinney wanted nothing more than for her 4-year-old son Rajaee to succeed when he goes to kindergarten this year, so she turned to the Philadelphia school district for help.

In the spring she enrolled in a kindergarten-preparedness class at the district's Parent University, a program of academic and vocational classes aimed at students' parents.

McKinney, 30, a West Philadelphia mother of two, said that after completing several classes, "I felt secure in teaching my children the reading, the writing, the math."

And: "I've gotten more language out of him," she said of Rajaee, who suffers from a speech impediment.

Parent University, which started this year, is one of several efforts by Superintendent Arlene Ackerman to improve relations with parents and to empower thousands of them across the city to get involved with their children's education.

This month, the district will focus on the adults who care for the city's public-school students through a series of events and programs, including a fashion show of donated clothes, parent roundtables and home visits by the superintendent.

The initiative, called "Parent Appreciation Month," kicks off tomorrow at district headquarters, 440 N. Broad St., which will host lessons on basic computer skills, real-estate planning and federal assistance programs.

Karren Dunkley, the district's family and parent liaison, said that these resources will increase student progress.

"Our schools failed a lot of our parents so . . . our hope is that this office will give our parents a chance and the tools that they deserve to really be informed participants in their children's education," she said.

Year-round resources include a computer resource center in the district's Broad Street building and about 170 parent ombudsmen in schools to inform caretakers of graduation requirements, college financial aid, special education and certification and other programs, she said. Multilingual services are also available.

Dunkley acknowledged, however, that some areas need more improvement than others.

"Many of our schools have a history of really alienating and being condescending to our parents," she said.

Customer-service training will be offered in coming months for schools' front-office staff, she said.

Cecil Parsley, 43, a parent of three district students, said that he has noticed a difference.

"For years there was no inclusion," he said. "They just had parents in the process just to say they did. Now this is a different feel for me."

This semester's Parent University classes begin later this month and will be held at satellite sites, including PHA properties where many public-school students reside, Dunkley said.

The first parent roundtable is scheduled for 5 p.m. Oct. 15 at University City High School, 36th and Filbert streets. For information on Parent University and a complete list of other programs, go to www.philasd.org/parentuniversity, or call 215-400-4180.