by Stephanie Linton
Oquirrh Hills Community School Coordinator
Oquirrh Hills Elementary is proud to announce that our Parent Center is getting a fresh start! We have been working to create a positive culture where students, families, and the community feel welcome in our school and can become engaged in education.
Part of this culture has been to create an evening adult education program. After many months, a grant through United Way of Salt Lake has been secured which gives us the ability to keep the school building open until 8:00 p.m. The first class being offered is an Empowering Parent English class, provided twice a week by our partners at the English Skills Learning Center. Additional partnerships are being created to offer more adult classes and a quality program for children to attend during this time.
One problem we faced however, was that our Parent Center seemed to be sending the wrong message. It was a portable classroom in the corner of our back parking lot. This space was also used for additional supply storage and without a key, the only way to get into the school building was to walk around to the front of the school, which is very out of the way.
We recognized that if we wanted our parents to feel a part of our school, we needed to give them a space inside our school. With the support of our faculty, and the generous labor from several members of our custodial staff, we converted an office space into an inviting, and usable space for parents. Groups such as the PTA and the Community Council will now have a space of their own to congregate. Parents will easily be able to speak with our Parent Liaison and have a place to go for services, learn of volunteer opportunities, and find ways to better help their students succeed academically.
Oquirrh Hills Elementary is a small school, and space is definitely hard to come by. While the Parent Center is also small, several faculty and staff members had to change rooms or share spaces to make this possible. This goes to show how much commitment exists to becoming a successful community school, devoted to seeing our students and families reach their potential.
