Darlington County School District is renewing its commitment of establishing and maintaining relationships between the schools, parents and the community by implementing a new parent program called PARTNERS to provide the strong foundation children need to be successful in life.
Linda Graham, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said the idea for PARTNERS stemmed from parents requesting assistance with summer activities for their children.
“We thought this was a perfect opportunity to recommit or renew our commitment to (one another),” Graham said.
A committee was formed and the group decided to prepare summer activity calendars for students in grades 4K-11. The calendars are located on the main page of the district’s Web site, www. darlington.k12.sc.us. The district plans a kick-off event at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 9.
At that time, the district will ask parents, business leaders, ministers and other community members what they want to do to assist the district in making the PARTNERS program successful.
In the meantime, the district and its schools will develop materials and information that allow families and communities to get more involved in a child’s learning.
Tutoring sessions for parents will be offered and parents will get help with setting up a free e-mail account in order for the district to stay in better contact with them. Schools will implement goals and activities that will help parents help their children be successful. Each school will develop a parental involvement plan to meet the needs of its school’s population.
Graham said representatives from the district’s schools will visit such local stores as Wal-Mart to set up booths to provide pamphlets on PARTNERS to parents and community members. She said the district was trying to reach out to all the parents in the district.
The parent plays an important role in their children’s future, Graham said, and it was important for the district to continue to work together to ensure children were prepared for the first day of school.
“We want children to be prepared on the very first day,” Graham said. “They are their children’s first teacher. They start the foundation for their children and we’re really trying to reach out to our parents, and people who aren’t parents, so they will know that they are their first teachers.”
Each letter of the word PARTNERS stands for what Superintendent Dr. Rainey Knight deems as “key components to a successful parental involvement program,” according to a pamphlet on the program issued by the district.
P is for Parents, A is for Assistance, R is for Relationships, T is for Training, N is for Notification, E is for Empowerment, R is for Resources, and S is for Support.
For details, call Graham or the district’s Office of Curriculum and Instruction at (843) 398-5100.
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