BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A virtual school year during a pandemic is tricky for students and their parents. The Bakersfield City School District plans to help with their Parent University Program.
“We want everyone that joins in that day to understand how parent engagement is not going to end because we are going through a distance learning process," said Family and Community Engagement Coordinator Dee Dee Harrison.
She said the program teaches parenting skills through free, monthly classes from October to April. Usually the program is in-person, but it kicks off Saturday with the theme “We Can Do Anything Virtually.”
“We really encourage our parents to stay engaged and involved in their child’s education, and we’re going to show them all the ways that they can do that," said Harrsion.
Harrison said the program’s purpose is to support parents and give them confidence in their ability to guide their students through school, especially this year with online learning.
“The idea behind the classes are these are classes that they can take, ask questions, interact with other parents in the district, and meet with our team and find out what it is that they can do to help their students at home," said Harrisoin.
This year, classes that specifically discuss virtual learning will be offered. Harrison said this will help parents understand the technology used for their children’s online classes.
“We have a pathway this year that is going to focus on technology literacy and we want to make sure that they understand what their students are going through and have this opportunity to become a little bit more familiar with all the tools we use in our district," said Harrison.
Harrison said there will also be gift card and merchandise raffles to recognize just how hard parents have been working.
If you’d like to attend Saturday's kick-off or take the monthly classes, click here.
