Parental Involvement
As a parent, I can say without a doubt that my children (and my husband!) are THE most important things in the world to me. My step-daughter Hannah is studying pre-vet at USC Beaufort. My son Josh is a 2020 graduate of High Point Central's IB program. He is a sophomore at UNC Charlotte. My youngest, Sam, is a sophomore in the Middle College at GTCC Greensboro. When they hurt, I hurt. When they struggle, I struggle. When they achieve, I celebrate and my heart bursts with joy.
Many parents of GCS students are frustrated right now. They're frustrated with poor academic performance, lack of transparency from the school system, violence in the schools, conflicting information, changing rules, and much more. They want their voices to be heard.
GCS should absolutely be listening to and responding to parents. But parents also have a responsibility to be involved in their children's education. "More than 85 research studies conducted over the past 30 years prove that kids do better when parents are involved. Grades are higher. Test scores improve. Attendance increases." ( pta.org) As a school system, we need to partner with parents. We need to listen to their concerns, and when appropriate, act on them. We also have a duty to support parents and help them. When my boys' father died, my youngest son was in 4th grade. I called his school (this was in Maryland, not GCS) BEGGING for resources to help him navigate this loss. I was literally told by the guidance counselor "Why don't you just Google that?" That memory has stuck with me and hurts my heart every time I think about it. GCS cannot be the type of school system that tells parents to "just Google that." We need to be proactive as we partner with our parents, work with them, help them to be the best parents that they can be, and help them help their children be the best that THEY can be.
Action Items
Once elected, I would push for the following action items in GCS schools:
- allow parent volunteers to return to the schools and heavily encourage parents to be active participants in their children's education
- facilitate greater PTA involvement in all schools - a PTA is a valuable resource with a vested interest in their individual school. Sadly, parental (and teacher!) involvement in some of our PTAs is extremely low. A PTA can serve as a bridge between teachers, administration, and students, as well as help with community involvement.
- development of a Parent Council - a group of parents representing all schools. This group would be tasked with bringing concerns and questions to the Board and would represent the interests of all students from across the county.
- ensure that the Board is responsive to parent calls and emails - I hear repeatedly from parents that they reach out and never get a response. This is not ok.
- facilitate an overhaul of the GCS website to make information easier to find for parents
- continue to support the GCS Parent Academy, which provides valuable resources for parents.
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Hannah, Sam, and Josh on our recent cruise to the Bahamas![]()
Hannah, Josh, Sam, Trixie, and Snoopy - Christmas 2020![]()
Hannah, Josh, me, and Sam - Blue Lagoon Island, Bahamas, January 2022
