Meeting explores ways to improve communication between teachers, parents

LYNN – School Department Specialist Jennifer Wu told the Lynn Parents Organizing For a Better Education that the School Department was focusing on three initiatives to increase family participation in education but parents had their own thoughts on the issue.”Teachers say they’re not getting parents for PTOs because they don’t want to come or because they’re not invested in their child’s education but I think the bigger issue is they’re not finding ways to meet parents where they’re at,” said Paula Vibbard-Moore.About 50 parents and facilitators, and School Committee members Rick Starbard and Maria Carrasco along with Wu and Curriculum Specialist Kimberly Powers spent two hours sharing stories, discussing issues and coming up with solutions to a communication gap that is yawning between parents and the School Department.Juan Valdez told the small crowd that his wife received a call recently from the school telling her her son was not in class.”Which was weird because I had just dropped him off with her and she waited while he went inside,” Valdez said.It took another phone call and a walk to the school to learn that a mistake had been made and their son was fine, he said. In the meantime, however, other parents had received the same call and like the Valdezes had gotten no explanation.”It was a mess up but why did they wait so long ? we we’re freaking out,” he said.Aceriane Cavacim’s communication issue centered more on what she described as the School Department using the fact that English is her second language as a way to conduct some slight of hand.Cavacim, whose native language is Portuguese, said five years ago she could barely say hello or goodbye in English, which today is nearly flawless. When she sat down three years ago with a Special Education team to discuss an education plan for her son, she said she wasn’t aware that she could have a translator. Despite that and the fact that her English was not as good as it is now she said she clearly understood that her son was to be provided with a one-on-one aide. But when the plan was enacted there was only a classroom aide, she said.”They told me in a very patronizing and condescending way that I must have misunderstood because I was not a native English speaker,” Cavacim said. “I was told a classroom aide was superior to a one-on-one aide ? I may not have known all the (Special Education) regulations but I knew what we agreed on.”During the discussion and solution portion of the program participants determined there needs to be better communication between parents and teachers, more consistency in the schools in how they respond to parental concerns and by what method the schools will communicate, phone, email or letters. It was also noted that the PTOs also must be more accessible to parents and offer translation services as well.Lissy Romanow, an organizer with Neighbor to Neighbor, noted that the School Department does provide a number to call if a translator is needed, but one gentleman said no one ever answered when he called, twice.”So it’s not worth much if no one answers,” Romanow said. “They need to fix that.”Natasha Megie-Maddrey said the solution is really quite simple.”Just get more involved,” she told parents. “That’s really about it, just get more involved.”