By Andy Dahn
BLOOMINGTON – District 87 has approved the establishment of a Parent Engagement Committee that aims to get parents more involved in their children’s education.
“It’s about partnering with the school and really working together with the school to help their kids learn,” said superintendent Barry Reilly. “It goes beyond knowing what your kids are doing. It’s about becoming active partners with teachers and other staff members to really help kids be successful.”
Reilly said a big reason the district has formed the committee is to expose parents to the sometimes harsh realities of the world of education.
“I think there’s a general perception out there that as long as the busses are running, classrooms aren’t large and we have likable teachers, things are fine,” Reilly said. “And the reality is we have big issues that are going on in this state that are impacting us locally. The more parents are knowledgeable about that, they can then become our allies.”
The committee will hold regular meetings, but Reilly said getting parent involvement won’t be easy.
“It’ll take some efforts because we’ve made efforts before and they haven’t done so well,” said Reilly. “It depends on the level. The parent engagement tends to be very strong in elementary schools. Then it starts to wean off a little bit in middle school and then almost completely goes off the map in high school. We think it’s important for parents to be engaged the whole way through.”
Reilly added that parents interested in joining the committee, which he is hoping will become a permanent group, can contact their local schools and administrators for more information.
Andy Dahn can be reached at [email protected].
