Published in the April 19, 2018 edition
By JILLIAN STRING
NORTH READING — North Reading Public School’s first annual Parent University was a big hit among residents, students, and staff.
“I’m really pleased with how the day went. I’m very grateful,” Superintendent Jon Bernard said.
The purpose of the event, as described by Bernard on the public school website, was to provide “a day of informational programs for parents to further strengthen the partnership that exists with the North Reading Public Schools and to provide parents with greater insight into their child’s education and other useful information in three areas: Educating the Whole Child, Curriculum and Technology.”
The event was held at the Middle School/High School campus on Saturday, April 7, and featured workshops run by school district personnel, students and community partners, as well as childcare provided by Student Council members.
“This was a volunteer effort,” Bernard stated. “We had a very good number of staff from the elementary, middle and high school in attendance making presentations to about 100 people.”
The schedule of events for the day included three 45-minute workshop sessions on topics such as, social media, math anxiety, the middle school transition, mindfulness, signs of teen substance abuse, makerspaces, the IEP process, reading, conflict resolution, using family connection, organization skills and Chromebooks 101. Many of the presentations are available for viewing on the school website.
Student representative Michael Tyrell, a junior at North Reading High School (NRHS), described Parent University as a “flying success.” Tyrell, along with Director of Digital Learning Dr. Dan Downs and NRHS senior Richard Colorusso, presented a course entitled “Social Media and Your Child: Your Questions Answered by NRHS Student Leaders.”
“The workshops were all very well done. They had great presenters, from what I heard from a number of people in attendance,” Tyrell commented.
In between each session, parents were invited to visit the information pavilion located on the school campus’s Main Street. Members of various academic departments and community agencies, such as the Flint Memorial Library and North Reading Robotics, were on hand to answer questions and conduct demonstrations.
School Committee members Scott Buckley and Janine Imbriano attended the event and were present at the information pavilion.
“It was fantastic,” Buckley said. “It was really engaging. When I went to register, there were a lot of programs that I thought were really good. What I really liked about it was that it did hit all different grade levels… It was a well run program.”
Feedback from those in attendance was positive. Community members praised the program via social media with comments such as “We were lucky to have had the opportunity to partake in this… very informative,” “I am so glad that I am part of a school district that chooses to spend their resources in a proactive way. This is a system change,” and “It was a great experience. Informative and well organized. Thank you to all!”
“From everything I’ve heard, Jon it was a great success, so thank you and the staff that volunteered your time, and the community and businesses that donated to help make it possible. It’s a great event,” School Committee Chairman Mel Webster commented.
“It was one of those feel good days for North Reading,” Bernard stated. “You can’t help as the Superintendent to feel really proud about people willing to give up their Saturday to come in here and talk with such passion about something exciting that happened they wanted to share with parents. It was great.”
The second annual Parent University has tentatively been scheduled for April 6, 2019.
