Parent Academy
At the beginning of 2011, HEM conducted a strategic planning retreat. The idea of a Parent Academy emerged from our strategic planning retreat as the most logical next step in the development and growth of our organization. HEM was born in the unprecedented wave of energy spawned by the school furlough crisis. The result is that we became recognized as a bridge between stakeholders and a voice for families in public schools. As the fervor around the crisis died down, so too did the activist engagement of our parents and families. It is our intention to find ways to sustain and deepen active and meaningful participation for parents and families beyond the crisis du jour.
Thanks to generous support from The Learning Coalition and the Hawaii Community Foundation, HEM will collaborate with the Kailua/Kalaheo Complex Area Superintendent, principals, teachers, and families to develop a sustainable way to engage parents and families in the education process, so that families deepen their understanding of education issues and become effective partners in improving their local schools. We believe we can achieve this by the formation of a Parent Academy, and we want you to join us.
We will hold talk story sessions with various stakeholders (principals, teachers and families) through early December. The development of the Kailua/Kalaheo Parent Academy will be an open and inclusive process. It is important that principals, teachers and families are involved in every step of the development process. Parent and family input and ownership will be key to the success of the Parent Academy. From these sessions we hope to find parent leaders who will work along side of us to develop content for a Parent Academy which will then be piloted in three schools in the Kailua/Kalaheo complex.
If you are interested in joining us as we develop the Kailua/Kalaheo Parent Academy please email us at anndavis@hawaiieducationmatters.org
