Back to Class: Lexington City Schools opens Jacket Parent Academy to help support students and teachers

Lexington City Schools is giving members of the community an opportunity to go back to school.

The school district started Jacket Parent Academy in January to help parents help their children academically and to encourage them to be more active in the schools.

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“Our focus is on increasing our parent and community involvement," said Dr. Kasey Wilkie, Lexington City Schools Community Engagement Coordinator. "We know that parents are really needed right now as they have never been needed before. Studies show that when parents are involved, students have better grades, better social skills, better relationships in school. So, everything is a win-win when the parents are involved,”

Wilkie said Jacket Parent Academy is a program to help parents feel more secure and confident in helping their child excel academically and to also have a better understanding of how things work in the schools.

The program helps parents not only to understand what teachers are doing in the classroom, but also explains requirements, such as attendance, code of conduct and educational standards.

Jacket Parent Academy also provides opportunities to learn other parenting skills, such as financial literacy, self-empowerment or mental health awareness.

Wilkie said many parents are unsure of how to help their child when they are struggling in school and just by explaining how things work can be beneficial.

“Some parents don’t know how to ready progress reports or those (state-issued) test results,” said Wilkie. “It can be frustrating. We want to give them that confidence to help their child and to understand what is going on with them at school.”

Brittany Hamilton has two children in the Lexington City School system, one which struggles with ADHD. She said she joined Jacket Parent Academy to learn how she can help her kids do better in school, understand how the school system works and to gain better skills in handling any issue that might come up.

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She said it has been very difficult keeping her kids on track during pandemic when they were taught virtually, and then making up the learning loss when they returned to school the following year.

“I knew I wasn't alone,” said Bagwell. “I knew I wasn't the only parent out there struggling. It gave me away to handle those struggles. To get that extra information from somebody else and to know that we are on the right track with our kids was very beneficial for us.”

To participate in the program, members attend educational services once a month, learning about different topics, and volunteer in the schools assisting with lunch monitoring, car duties and other non-teaching roles. Those who complete the program are rewarded with a “graduation” ceremony at the end of the year.

Wilkie said it is not a requirement to attend all the educational meetings, but many find just coming to one or two can be overall beneficial to parents.

Hamilton said she feels more parents should be involved with the school system, even if they don’t have a child currently attending Lexington City Schools.

“A lot of parents don't really know what's going on behind classroom doors. I try to be involved as I can, but it's harder as they get older, so this academy has really helped...At the end of the day, you don't even have to have a child in the schools, it is for the community,” said Hamilton.

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Wilkie said the biggest benefit from the program is getting parent and community support for schools; getting a better understanding of the educational system and to advocate for the needs of the children and families.

“They are very vocal about not only for their children, but they stand up for all children,” said Wilkie. “They understand first-hand what their children are going through, and they need to be heard. With our parents getting involved, we're hoping it's going to strengthen that parent-teacher-student bond.”

General news reporter Sharon Myers can be reached at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com. Follow her on Twitter @LexDispatchSM.

This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Lexington City Schools opens parents academy to help support students