| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

01-21-2004

Page history last edited by PBworks 17 years, 6 months ago

January 21, 2004

ROMNEY DETAILS MANDATORY PARENTAL PREP PLAN

Says budget will provide funding to help parents support their children in school

 

LAWRENCE – Governor Mitt Romney today highlighted his plan to provide parents with the information and assistance they need to support their children academically, a central piece of his Legacy of Learning education initiative.

 

Romney promised that any parent who wants help will be given information, and he said that he will piggy-back on child care orientation sessions that are already mandatory to get the information to parents in the majority of the state’s lowest-scoring school districts.

 

“We can praise the virtues of parental involvement all day, but until we actually get parents to follow through we are simply singing to an empty music hall,” said Romney. “Voluntary programs will not get the job done. It is essential that mandatory training be put in place.”

 

Under Romney’s plan, parental preparation courses will be required for all parents that receive state-subsidized childcare funds. Parents who receive this state benefit already must meet one-on-one with a counselor in person every six months. The new parental preparation sessions will be added as part of these required meetings.

 

Romney noted that 70 percent of parents that receive state-subsidized childcare live in the 29 lowest scoring elementary school districts, a high degree of correlation that means the training is taking place where it is most needed.

 

At these sessions, counselors trained in child development will share information with parents on what to expect at various stages of their child’s development, how theycan participate in their child’s school and what they can do to encourage their children to learn and grow.

 

“This will not be a strain on parent who are already hard-pressed, as some have suggested,” said Romney. “This is mandatory counseling they are already receiving. We are simply updating it with information they will need to make their child’s education a success.”

 

In his Fiscal Year 2005 budget, to be filed at the end of this month, Romney will include an additional $1.7 million to make this mandatory parental preparation class possible for the families that receive state-subsidized childcare for children up to age five.

 

Romney’s budget will also provide $2 million in grants targeted to the lowest performing districts to help them increase parental participation in their schools through teacher/parent conferences, open houses, family nights, volunteer opportunities, and family outreach materials. The grants will require the district to show an improvement in parental involvement as a result of this funding, including the percentage of parents participating in these types of activities.

 

“Studies have shown that students who have parents that are involved in their children’s education generally have higher grades and test scores, better attendance, more motivation, better self-esteem, higher graduation rates and a greater likelihood of pursuing a post-secondary education,” said Romney.

 

In addition, parents will receive a guidebook developed by the Department of Education and the Office for Child Care Services and other experts to help them understand more about what they can do to help their children in school. Romney’s Fiscal budget will include $300,000 to publish this guide in five different languages.

 

Lawrence officials praised the Governor’s education initiatives.

 

Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan said, “I support the Governor’s Legacy of Learning proposal because it is statistically proven that children will do better in the educational process when working with their parents as a team.”

 

Lawrence Superintendent Wilfredo LaBoy agreed, saying, “When parents are involved in their children’s education, schools are better and children do better in school. I applaud Governor Romney’s leadership in recognizing the critical role that parents play.”

 

Romney announced his Legacy of Learning initiative last week as part of his State of the State Address. Highlights of the plan:

 

John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program, which offers four years of free tuition at the University of Massachusetts or any state or community college to students whose MCAS scores by the end of their junior year rank in the top 25 percent of those taking the test. The top 10 percent will receive a $2,000 annual bonus to help defray the cost of fees;

Accelerates the construction or renovation of hundreds of school projects that are on a waiting list for the School Building Assistance (SBA) program.

Invests $34 million in new dollars in the bottom 10 percent of school districts, where nearly one-third of the state’s students are enrolled; and

Devotes $10 million to help school districts manage students who have discipline problems; to recruit, retain and train science and math teachers; and for intervention efforts in school districts declared “underperforming” by the state Board of Education.

###

 

The 29 lowest-scoring elementary school districts include Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, Chelsea, Chicopee, Fall River, Fitchburg, Greenfield, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, New Bedford, North Adams, Salem, Somerville, Southbridge, Springfield, Wareham, Webster, Winchendon and Worcester as well as Lawrence Family Development Charter School, Boston Renaissance Charter School, Seven Hills Charter School, Somerville Charter School and Atlantis Charter School.

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.