Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 13, 1994 TAG: 9408150040
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Interest was abundant. But ways of carrying out that interest were not.
For years, the Roanoke schools' Chapter 1 program - a federally funded program to improve basic academic skills for disadvantaged students - has tried to satisfy a parental-involvement mandate with in-school programs.
Response was poor. Parents seemed reluctant to set foot in the schools.
Recognizing common concerns for family-oriented programs, the housing authority and the Chapter 1 program have combined resources - vacant apartments, teachers and materials - and opened Parent Resource Centers at two public housing developments.
The centers - one in Hurt Park and another in Lincoln Terrace - house a program designed to encourage parents to participate in their children's education through family activity.
"The intent is to bring the old neighborhood schools back to families," said Cathy Ferrell, the housing authority's resident council coordinator, who developed the program with Dolores Johns, Chapter 1 director for Roanoke schools.
"We're concentrating on the entire family, getting them used to having activities and recreation together. The intent is to make families enjoy education, not be so frightened of the school system," Ferrell said.
Response has been good, partly through the efforts of Chapter 1 teachers who work with the program. About 30 families have registered, many of them with single parents.
Vicki Trest, a Chapter 1 special projects teacher, recruited participants by knocking on a lot of doors.
"This has really been helpful for people who obviously had problems in the traditional school setting," she said. "Here, they are comfortable."
Rules are fairly basic. Children cannot come alone. They must bring a parent with them to participate.
Family activities include writing time, story time, library trips, forums conducted by guest speakers and computer instruction.
Computer programs for both parents and children offer instruction on a variety of topics, such as reading skills development and careers.
Thursday, Cheryl Chestnut and her three children - 13, 9 and 7 - huddled over a family scrapbook project. Charles, the youngest, grew weary. He climbed down from his seat and headed upstairs, where he plopped behind a computer terminal for reading instruction.
"This is great," his mother said. "We spend time together, brush up on skills. It's a chance for us to help one another. And it's close to home."
Making the program accessible to families by housing it in their communities has helped, said Johns.
The school system several years ago considered buying a mobile unit to take parental-involvement programs right to residents' front doors. Though the proposal seemed ideal, it was too costly, she said.
This summer, the program has been a pilot endeavor, funded with a $25,000 grant. The Hurt Park and Lincoln Terrace programs will continue through the 1994-95 school year, funded out of $60,000 in Chapter 1 money that has been earmarked for parental involvement.
If more funding becomes available, the program will expand, encompassing all four quadrants of the city. Hurt Park is in Southwest Roanoke; Lincoln Terrace in Northwest.
The program offers more than family fun. It also satisfies the housing authority's goal of helping residents become self-sufficient.
"For parents who may have dropped out of school, it's a chance for them to work on their skills," Ferrell said. "Maybe down the line, they might want to register in a GED program. If they do, we already have the records there that can be transferred into a GED program.
"There's just that little bit of access there."
by CNB