WEST NEW YORK – A year ago, Juleyma Porttlo found it difficult to help her 10-year-old son with his homework after school. Her inability to speak English well or understand the lessons prevented her from being the kind of parent she wanted to be. But she now feels that her worries were allayed this school year, as her son’s elementary school, P.S. 3, started its parent training program. She said this has made a difference in her family’s life. “I love the program because it has given me the opportunity to learn with my kids,” said Porttlo, who has been a resident of West New York for several years. “I know that the school started to try out the program last year, but I didn’t feel there was enough communication with the teachers. This year, they have given more time to the parents, and it has helped us to be more active in our child’s education. It has been a great benefit, especially for those of us who aren’t bilingual.” The efforts of the West New York Board of Education have been two-fold in recent years. One objective has been to reform the six elementary schools and one high school in the district to provide the students with better resources. The second was to increase the focus on parent participation. “What we’ve tried to focus on are the needs of the child and how we can assist their parents through programs that have them involved on a day-to-day basis,” said Adrienne Sires, director of the educational programs for the West New York Board of Education. “The parent training program is available to help them communicate, interact and be informed as parents, so the training is used to help them reinforce at home what their child is learning in school. It’s important to know that the district is working together to move this forward, which is rare because all of our schools have decided to use the Comer model. Comer sees the whole child, not only in the classroom, but in their home and community as well.” Work-in-progress As one of the state’s “special needs” districts, West New York’s schools have spent the last four years in the process of selecting whole school reform models. So far, P.S. No. 3 on 54th Street and Polk Avenue was one of the first schools in the district to adopt the Comer model, a reform model they began implementing in the Fall of 1999. Other schools earlier this year began leaning towards the selection of the same model, and will commence with the new structure in the fall of 2000. Under this model, students are given after-school workshops, tutoring and home assistance, and parental involvement is emphasized. In the last year, the schools have created bilingual/ESL classes for parents. They have also asked them to volunteer in areas of day care, mentoring or basic skills. And the schools have held seminars for parents on topics such as homework, discipline, substance abuse, study habits, AIDS awareness and more. Sharon Johnson, the principal of School No. 3, agreed that the process takes time and everyone’s efforts to make it work. “I firmly believe that what we have done here has helped our parents and students tremendously,” said Johnson last week. “Even though we are in the second cohort of the Comer model, we have always had strong parent participation here. This program couldn’t have moved forward without it. Our belief is that the more involved parents are with their child’s education, the less of a problem you will have with the child. Things just don’t stop when school lets out. There are kids here who need our help and we want them to succeed. It not just preparing them to just live in West New York, it’s about preparing them for what lies ahead. And it takes our teachers, our parents and the school district to make sure that opportunity is available to them.” Currently, it is the district’s policy to have one parent trainer in every school to help parents better their parenting skills as well as to offer tips on how they can better help with their children’s education. After nearly 20 years of volunteering at School No. 3, Rebeca Roman felt that her experience has been great for her and her children throughout the years. “I think the [parent training] program is a great example of how the district is working to better our schools,” said Roman, whose sons attended the school 17 years ago and who was recently hired as a parent tutor to help out while her daughter attends the first grade. “A lot of times, you see how the parents struggle to help their children, so providing them with assistance and a way to communicate with them is a great help. I’m a parent who was always involved, so I understand the need for these programs. I’m glad others are seeing that too.”
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