Brownsville group plans educational workshop
BROWNSVILLE – It’s been a long time since most parents have been in the public school system and things have changed much since then. With new federal and state requirements, officials say that students are expected to know a lot more at a much younger age than in years past, and the Brownsville Parent Advisory Council (PAC) hopes an “Educational Workshop” scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Cox Donahey Elementary cafeteria will educate parents on the recent changes in their child’s education and what is expected from them.
“Sometimes parents don’t realize that things have changed since they have been in school and that things are more difficult. We expect a lot more from students these days,” said Debra Suba, director of pupil services and curriculum and special education.
The district recently purchased new reading and math series to better prepare students for the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests and to meet the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
“Since the state instituted the new standards, we purchased new book series.
“The old books were not aligned to the (state) standards. The new books are aligned to the state standards so we can prepare students for the state (PSSA) test,” Suba said.
Representatives from the publishers of those new series will speak at the workshop and educate parents, teachers and administrators on how the series is aligned with the state and federal standards.
The representatives will also educate parents on how the books work, what is being taught in the classroom, how the parent can use the material to help their child and what is expected of the child, according to Suba.
Suba said that under the new state and federal guidelines, children are now expected to write more, think critically and problem solve.
“There are no yes and no questions anymore. The students now are asked questions that will make them think, give an answer and write about it,” Suba said.
To encourage parents to attend, the Parent Advisory Council will raffle off three Dell computer and printers to parents who are in attendance.
One computer will be awarded to one parent out of each of the district’s three elementary schools.
Trisha Sabatula, vice president of PAC, said that they are hoping the computers are an incentive for parents to participate. She said PAC has been trying to get parents to get more involved in school programs for some time but have been unsuccessful.
“We are really trying to get parents aware of the different things involved in the child’s education. We haven’t been getting good turnouts at our programs. We can’t get people to come.
“It seems there is always something better for people to do. We’ve had authors, representatives from the state and all kinds of programs, with little turnout,” Sabatula said.
Suba said there will also be material on hand for parents to review.
She said the new reading series for grades kindergarten through third was purchased this year, from MacMillan/McGraw-Hill Publishing; the new math series for grades kindergarten through fifth from Harcourt School Publishing and for grades sixth through eighth from Holt, Rinehart and Winston was purchased last year.
She said the new series have a website that allows parents and children to look up the entire book online.
“These representatives will talk about the web page. If a child is absent or forgets his or her book at home, they can do their homework, by looking up the book online,” Suba said.
Sabatula said the Web sites, www.mhschol.com/reading
(for the reading series) and www.harcourtschool.com
(for the math) are great.
She said, not only do they provide the entire book online, but they also have games and other fun learning tools based on what the child is learning in school.
“I don’t think parents are aware of the Web site. It’s great for people like me.
“My son spends a lot of time playing video games. So I make sure he uses the site. It’s free and it uses information that they cover in school. I’m tying to get one (of the kids) on the site every day,” Sabatula said.
Suba said that parents who attended “Parent’s Night” at the elementary schools were entered into the drawing for the computer, once for every child they have in the elementary schools.
She said parents who did not attend Parent’s Night can still register for the drawing at the workshop. Winners have to be present to claim their computer.
Refreshments will be served and babysitting services will be provided in the library.
“We’re trying to make changes to help the children succeed in life and to meet rigorous demands of the state standards.
“We need the parents’ help to do that. We’re hoping they attend,” she said.