FORT DRUM, NY -- With summer quickly approaching, many children are excited for a break from school. The Fort Drum Parent to Parent program offers several workshops to help parents make the most of their children’s summer break.
One of the many workshops the organization offers is “Preventing the Summer Slide,” which is specifically designed to keep children learning during the summer.
Parent to Parent is a nonprofit program that uses workshops to teach parents how to play an active role in their children’s education.
“(Parent-to-Parent educators) basically give parents real-life tools that they can take home and make a true difference in their children’s quality of life and quality of education,” said Alison Fisher, Parent to Parent cadre team lead.
Educators can come to any organization that supports military parents " family readiness group meetings, parent-teacher organizations or other parent support groups.
“(Parents) are (children’s) best advocates in education,” Fisher said. “(They) are the only ones who will consistently be there for (their children) to make sure they’re getting the highest level of education possible.”
In military communities, summer can also mean a permanent-change-of-station move. Parent to Parent offers a workshop to help parents prepare for school changes, Fisher said.
“Preparing for those transitions to high school and middle school are especially important,” she said. “Education is governed at a state level, so as you move from state to state, there are things that parents need to have to make sure their children are properly placed.”
Parents have the right to have their children’s school records, according to the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, Fisher said. It’s important for parents to have the child’s records on hand rather than having them sent straight to the school, but they need to give the school a reasonable amount of time to provide them. Parents can use school records and standardized test scores to make sure their children are placed in the appropriate classes.
“When you get to middle and high school, and especially when you get to the advanced placement and honors classes, you need to be able to argue whether your children are placed in the right classes,” she said. “Biology in New York could be called life sciences in Washington.
(Parents) need to know what (their children) were studying, what was in their textbooks and what their test scores were. If they’re struggling (in school), a progression of their work can help them get into the right class.”
The Parent to Parent cadre members teach workshops specifically for military Families, as well as workshops on topics that all parents can use, Fisher said.
Parent to Parent’s military Family workshops include staying connected during deployments, re- union / reintegration, resiliency and deployment, coping skills and school transitions.
During a recent “Staying Connected During Deployment” workshop Fisher conducted at a family readiness group meeting, she explained how to use a “communication command center.” Sometimes when Families receive calls from their deployed Soldier, they are so excited to hear from him or her that they forget what they were going to say.
“We have parents make a board or use their fridge, and we use (sticky) notes for everyone in the household,” she said. “As (significant) things happen, they put it on the board so when their Soldier calls, they can look at the board and remember what they were going to tell them.”
It can be especially helpful for younger children, because they sometimes feel anxiety over the phone call, and they can miss out on the chance to have a positive connection with their deployed parent, Fisher said.
“We’re all military spouses, so we’re talking from experience, but we’re also research-based,” she said. “We 100 percent understand what (military) parents are going through.”
First Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment / Task Force Tigershark, which is currently deployed with the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, recently had Parent to Parent come to a battalion FRG meeting.
Shannon Miedema, Headquarters and Headquarters Company FRG co-leader, said she enjoyed the Parent to Parent presentation and would recommend the organization to other FRGs.
“The (representatives) who (presented) our workshop were well-prepared and personable,” she said. “They were military spouses themselves and understood the pressure parents and their children face in our military life. It was interactive, so I was able to not only glean information for myself, but also had the chance to learn more about the other Family Members who were in attendance.”
Some upcoming public events being offered are as follows:
-Story time at the Robert C. McEwen Library from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday. Parents and children are welcome to attend story time and participate in an arts and crafts activity.
-“Inch by Inch: Math Literacy” workshop is for parents and children. It will feature fun activities, a free lunch and child care. The free class will meet from noon to 1:15 p.m. June 8 at the Downtown YMCA in Watertown. Preregistration is requested. To reserve a spot, call the YMCA at 755-2016.
Parent to Parent, which has been at Fort Drum for almost three years, is an initiative of the Military Child Education Coalition. Parent to Parent is offered at 23 Army installations worldwide.
For more information about the Fort Drum Parent to Parent program, call Fisher at 777-4496 or send an e-mail to ptop.drum@militarychild.org. For information about the Military Child Education Coalition, including a list of Parent to Parent workshops and additional resources, visit the organization’s web site at www.militarychild.org.
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