School District of Philadelphia is relaunching its Parent and Family University

The School District of Philadelphia’s Parent and Family University will provide civic engagement, financial literacy, and other resources for participating schools’ caregivers and parents. 

The program provides unique learning opportunities, said Monique Braxton, a spokesperson for The School District of Philadelphia

“It’s so important that we engage with our parents and also invite our parents to be a part, because, after all, parents are our students’ first teachers,” she said. 

The program, which was launched back in 2009, offered several in-person classes on topics such as homework assistance for children, education continuation and parent-faculty relationships. In 2015, the program was phased out.

After Superintendent Tony Watlington came into office, he promised to relaunch it. 

The new program will launch on Oct. 14 in participating schools. 

Four pillars

Braxton said Parent & Family University provides courses, resources and support that focuses in four areas. 

“[The first] is health and wellness,” she said. “We think that the health and wellness of our students, specifically mental health, is extremely important.” 

This collection of events includes lessons on everything from how to prepare and look for healthy, smart snacks to workshops on how to get fit and remain active. 

Student attendance and joy is next.

“We want our students to be in class 90% of the time, and we also want them to be excited about returning to school and returning to classrooms,” Braxton said. 

In this category, workshops include introductions to school curricula and how parents and caregivers can support children as they learn these topics, how to build learning skills at home, and hands-on activities to practice comprehension. 

The third pillar is civic engagement. This allows parents to learn how to be active in the community, how to vote, and how to take part in “non-partisan civic activities.” 

The last pillar is financial literacy. 

“A lot of us were not taught financial literacy,” Braxton said. 

She said courses include things like budgeting, borrowing and credit and real estate, and help adults make empowering choices for themselves and the students they care for. 

Braxton said that all of the eight participating school locations will have extra resources for families participating in the programming. 

“The program is free,” she said. “There will be resources by experts and outside vendors, and some of our internal teachers are also participating as instructors. There’s free childcare. There’s going to be support at eight schools, and light meals will be served. There will be dinner two nights a week and then on a Saturday a month. There’s also the virtual component, if that works better for some families.” 

There will be additional resources, including job and resource fairs. There is a major need for this program, Braxton said, as changing family dynamics have led to an increased need for extra support. 

“Life has changed for a lot of families,” she said. “You have some grandparents who are raising children, you have aunts and uncles who are raising children, and we think it’s important that we partner not just with the parent but the extended family to accelerate academic achievement in the city of Philadelphia and in the school district, and so the students can really imagine and fulfill any dream that they desire.” 

Parents and guardians who have students at any of the eight participating schools can find more information about these events on the school district’s website. The eight participating schools are: 

• Catherine Annex – 6900 Greenway Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19142
• Cassidy School – 6523 Lansdowne Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19151
• Clemente School – 122 W Erie Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19140
• MLK High School – 6100 Stenton Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19138
• Northeast Community Propel Academy – 7500 Rowland Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19136
• South Philadelphia High School – 2101 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19148
• T.M. Peirce School – 2300 W Cambria St, Philadelphia, PA 19132
• Washington High School – 10175 Bustleton Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19116 

The post School District of Philadelphia is relaunching its Parent and Family University appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY.