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LA Daily News
27 Oct. 2004
Parent outreach effort covers four languages
Meeting organized to help families understand schools
By Alex Dobuzinskis, Staff Writer
BURBANK -- An outreach meeting with presentations in four languages
will be held tonight at Joaquin Miller Elementary School to encourage
parents to get more involved in their children's education.
The meeting is being organized with the help of the Burbank chapter of
the Armenian National Committee, which wants to increase civic
participation among Armenian-Americans. But the meeting is for all
parents, and presentations will be held in English, Spanish, Armenian
and Korean.
``Often our immigrant families, in particular, may feel uncertain with
getting involved with the schools, and this can be for several reasons:
Difficulty understanding the way in which public education in the U.S.
works, because they feel separated by language barriers, or cultural
differences sometimes,'' said school board member Paul Krekorian..
Thirty-five percent of the students in the Burbank Unified School
District are Hispanic and 6 percent are Asian. The number of students
of Armenian descent was unavailable from the school district.
Tonight's meeting is primarily for parents of students at Miller
Elementary, the BUSD's largest elementary school, but organizers said
parents with children in other district schools are welcome. The
Burbank chapter of the ANC hopes to have other schools host similar
meetings.
``From our perspective, we'd love to do this throughout the Burbank
school district,'' said Nazan Armenian of the ANC.
The 90-minute meeting will provide parents with information on how the
school district works, how they can get involved and make the most of
their children's academic performance, the help available to them and
how the district's program for English-learners works.
Miller Elementary has good turnout for parent-teacher interviews and
back-to-school night, but lower turnout for PTA and school-site council
meetings, said assistant principal Sandra Cavalheiro. Survey results
from 176 Miller Elementary parents showed only 50 percent of them feel
PTA meetings are worthwhile to improve communication between parents
and the school.
The survey also found the language barrier is the main thing keeping
Armenian-American parents from getting more involved, while for other
parents child care and work conflicts presented challenges.
Alex Dobuzinskis, (818) 546-3304 [email protected]
IF YOU GO:
The Burbank Unified School District will hold an outreach meeting from
6 to 7:30 tonight at Joaquin Miller Elementary School, 720 E.
Providencia Ave.
27 Oct. 2004
Parent outreach effort covers four languages
Meeting organized to help families understand schools
By Alex Dobuzinskis, Staff Writer
BURBANK -- An outreach meeting with presentations in four languages
will be held tonight at Joaquin Miller Elementary School to encourage
parents to get more involved in their children's education.
The meeting is being organized with the help of the Burbank chapter of
the Armenian National Committee, which wants to increase civic
participation among Armenian-Americans. But the meeting is for all
parents, and presentations will be held in English, Spanish, Armenian
and Korean.
``Often our immigrant families, in particular, may feel uncertain with
getting involved with the schools, and this can be for several reasons:
Difficulty understanding the way in which public education in the U.S.
works, because they feel separated by language barriers, or cultural
differences sometimes,'' said school board member Paul Krekorian..
Thirty-five percent of the students in the Burbank Unified School
District are Hispanic and 6 percent are Asian. The number of students
of Armenian descent was unavailable from the school district.
Tonight's meeting is primarily for parents of students at Miller
Elementary, the BUSD's largest elementary school, but organizers said
parents with children in other district schools are welcome. The
Burbank chapter of the ANC hopes to have other schools host similar
meetings.
``From our perspective, we'd love to do this throughout the Burbank
school district,'' said Nazan Armenian of the ANC.
The 90-minute meeting will provide parents with information on how the
school district works, how they can get involved and make the most of
their children's academic performance, the help available to them and
how the district's program for English-learners works.
Miller Elementary has good turnout for parent-teacher interviews and
back-to-school night, but lower turnout for PTA and school-site council
meetings, said assistant principal Sandra Cavalheiro. Survey results
from 176 Miller Elementary parents showed only 50 percent of them feel
PTA meetings are worthwhile to improve communication between parents
and the school.
The survey also found the language barrier is the main thing keeping
Armenian-American parents from getting more involved, while for other
parents child care and work conflicts presented challenges.
Alex Dobuzinskis, (818) 546-3304 [email protected]
IF YOU GO:
The Burbank Unified School District will hold an outreach meeting from
6 to 7:30 tonight at Joaquin Miller Elementary School, 720 E.
Providencia Ave.