Parents share experiences on engaging in U-46

When Markinna Price moved her family from Chicago, the mother of six wanted to give her children a better opportunity and become more involved in Elgin Area School District U-46.

Price became involved in community and family engagement, joining the inaugural African American Parent Leadership Institute, which provides parents training with the ultimate goal of increasing involvement in all levels of U-46 from district advisory councils to student support and advocacy. The district also offers a Hispanic Parent Leadership Institute, which is accepting applicants for its third year.

“I go to all of the basketball games at the high school, and my passion was I wanted to know why all of (those) parents are filling in the seats at the games but when it is time for parent conferences or meetings at the school, there was no one around,” Price said during Monday’s Family and Community Engagement Committee presentation to the school board.

“So I wanted to help people become more aware and become more involved with their kids on a more positive note because there are more positive things out there than the extracurricular activities. I got into this system and this community because I felt like my kids deserved something better and want to help parents see what’s out there.”

Before joining the Hispanic Parent Leadership Institute, Madeleine Villalobos said she did not know what to expect.

“I always felt compelled to be invested in my children’s education and to feel proud about my contributions, about making and affecting positive change, but I just didn’t know where to start,” said Villalobos, who has two children in the district. “I realized what I needed was to be informed about the different committees in which I could join and also get my voice heard.”

Villalobos said she is a “walking encyclopedia” and is able to provide other parents and interested community members with information on how to get involved with the district.

Family and Community Engagement is one of the five pillars of the district’s improvement plan, commonly referred to as Destination 2015. Karen Fox, chief of family and community engagement, said that during the 2011-2012 school year, the committee supported schools in family and community engagement strategies to increase academic achievement and also to engage parents, community partners and organizations in working toward achieving the goals of Destination 2015.

“Everybody involved from operations to curriculum looks at this as their mission,” Fox said.