by Maribel Rodriguez
Oquirrh Hills Community School Director
The first day of school jitters and excitement at Oquirrh Hills Elementary could be felt throughout the school — our students, families, and our very own teachers and staff were buzzing. We all jumped right in with a new year of hope and a blank page just waiting for new school year stories of success.
In years past, we have had a strong connection with our parents who use our extended learning opportunities in the Parent and Family Center and also at one of our strongest family center partnerships,The English Skills Learning Center. Claudia Watson, our new Family Center Coordinator, has so many ideas about how to engage parents with the best learning opportunities that can connect our parents to their children’s school. This is a critical component of bringing everyone together so that stars of success align here at Oquirrh Hills.
Studies have shown that parent engagement in, and with their child’s school, provides opportunities for parents to share in the support of their child’s learning and development. And, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “The relationship between schools and parents cuts across and reinforces children’s health and learning in multiple settings—at home, in school, in out-of-school programs, and in the community.”
Claudia has been working with The English Skills Learning Center to coordinate our English classes that will be offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting in early September. Katie Donoviel, the Empowering Parents Coordinator with The English Skills Learning Center, Claudia Watson, Oquirrh’s Family Center Coordinator, United Way, and the Kearns Public Library came together this past week in hopes of aligning and strengthening up our English and parent extended learning opportunities.
This year is proving to be one for the books, as we have come together as a super power of community invested entities, and created an innovative aligned opportunity for our parents and families. Not only will our parents and families be able to take English and parent classes daily with Claudia, but they will also have evening English classes that will match those from the daytime classes. Now, our families and parents will also have the opportunity to put their practice and skills to test! The Kearns Public Library will offer conversation English classes on Wednesdays for our wonderful families and parents.
With this connected partnership, which has created a strong support for our parents and families, the stars have truly aligned for all community members, students, and families at Oquirrh Hills Elementary School.
What a great start to the 2015-2016 school year!
