Graduates of Pensacola's first Parent University show success of inaugural year

Kimberly Foster first heard about Parent University a year ago from her dad who recommended it after seeing a flyer for the program.

She gave it a try and was immediately hooked, particularly on the classes on budgeting and homeownership. Now she is in the process of being a homeowner herself.

"It's great information and it teaches a lot about how to help your kids," Foster said. "A lot of parents want to help them but don't know how or have the resources, and so it was good for him to bring all the resources to the parents under one house. So you can actually speak face to face and ask questions, and if they don't have the answer they could find out for you."

Foster is one of 147 students in Parent University's first graduating class in Pensacola.

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The nonprofit Parent University was created by Michael O'Neal in Savannah, Georgia, to help bridge the gap between the community and the schools. It allows parents to choose whatever topics they feel are important — including employment opportunities, tax preparation, good citizenship and more — and then builds classes around these topics. It is open to anyone, not just parents, to learn about the opportunities in the area.

O'Neal believes when parents continue seeking knowledge and education, it can help create a culture of learning within the home for not only the parents but their children.

"When they come home and they have their diploma, their kids at that point see that their parents have acquired an educational attainment of some sort. So now the conversation around home is that 'Yeah, I go to Parent University, I've gotten this recognition, so you can too in your school environment,'" O'Neal said. "A lot of what we do is just try to create a culture of learning in the home. And we know a part of that is that people feel recognized and valued for that behavior."

The show of graduating from the program also plants a seed.

On Thursday, the graduates donned their caps and received a diploma based on the number of times they have attended sessions in the last school year. To graduate, students needed nine credits with 12 credits earning them honors, and 15 for high honors.

Classes are taught by community members such as ShaQui Moran Kamau, who works with Antonio Royster to host motivational, financial and other programs to help people in the community. Kamau is dedicated to outreach works and feels Parent University is the perfect way to help parents or any person get the assistance they need.

"Oftentimes, and what I've seen from my personal experiences, you have people that have faced hiccups in their lives, and they've possibly given up on themselves. And we can't save the children or the future if we're not focused on who's raising those children," Kamau said. "And so I think it is extremely important that we all tap in on that and the way to do it is through organizations such as Parent University, because it reminds you 'Hey, you can do this, you're not alone if you need help.'"

Graduates will still be able to attend Parent University sessions and and receive the benefits of the nonprofit. The point of Parent University is for it to be "parent-driven and parent-centric" so it gives the parents and others who attend the power to control their own education and information they want to better help themselves and their community.

"It just takes continuous encouragement and recognition of the kind of behavior we want to see in people to make other people want to do it," O'Neal said. "It's very important that it's their idea, and the bottom line is that this has to feel like their idea and not not my idea. So just like many things in our society, we put a positive light on this behavior and the appropriate amount of people will gravitate toward it and we look forward to welcoming them."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Parent University holds its first graduation at Pensacola High School