Where school has become a family affair
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Andrew Glazer
COSTA MESA -- He sat cross-legged on the floor of his home, head bent
over “Bears on Wheels,” a Bernstein Bear book, and read each line to his
mother and baby sister.
“He’s improved so much this year,” said Juana Anaya, in her native
Spanish. She is the mother of Jason, 7, a first-grader at Wilson
Elementary School. “Last year, he couldn’t read at all.”
Anaya owes much of Jason’s reading improvement to the 30 minutes she
spends each night listening to him read. Eight weeks ago, she didn’t know
how important that half-hour could be.
But she learned in a weekly class that just listening to her children can
make a world of difference in their social and academic development.
“If he comes up to me while I’m making dinner every day, and he says
‘mom, mom!’ and I tell him, ‘I’m too busy,’ he’ll remember that,” she
said. “Then, when he’s older, he might wind up in the streets where
people will give him attention.”
On Monday, 10 families with children at Wilson Elementary School
graduated from Newport-Mesa’s first Families and Schools Together class.
The program, which has participants in more than 30 states and four
countries, brings parents closer to their kids and gets them more
involved with their child’s school in a supportive environment.
Since starting the evening classes, Anaya has joined Wilson’s PTA and has
spent several days volunteering in Jason’s classroom.
“The main thing is it helps parents learn to bond with their children and
each other,” said Marcia Garcia, one of five teachers and counselors who
helped run the program.
She said she chose families with parents who seemed to want to be more
involved in their children’s school, but were shy or reluctant.
“I used to just drop Jason off and say goodbye,” Garcia said. “Now I go
by and the teacher asks if I can help.”
For two and a half hours each week, Garcia and the others lead the
families in games and activities designed to help parents and children
understand one another. At dinner time, each family sits at their own
table. The children serve their parents food.
“I like to serve my mother because she’s beautiful and I like to help
her,” Jason said, burying his head in his smiling mother’s arm.
The leaders also allot 15 minutes of “special play” during each class.
“Parents do whatever the children want without criticizingthem,” Garcia
said. “It helps them build self-esteem.”
Although formal classes ended Monday night, parents and children each
month will continue to meet to provide each other with support and
suggestions for raising children.
“No matter how busy you are, you can always organize your day to spend
time with your children,” Anaya said. “They’re the most important thing
in the world.”
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