Parent University Draws 200

Cara Rosner, external affairs officer at United Way of Greater New Haven, one of the organizers of Parent University New Haven, sent in this report:

Her daughter is only in kindergarten, but Tawana Grant has her eyes on the prize: college.

She already is taking steps to instill a college-going attitude in her young daughter, who attends L.W. Beecher Interdistrict Museum Magnet School of Arts and Sciences.

“Every chance I get to invest in my child’s future, I’m gonna do it,” she said. ​“She’s young, but we’re gonna get it going.”

Grant was among the roughly 120 volunteers helping out at ​“Parent University New Haven” Saturday at Gateway Community College. The day-long event offered dozens of free workshops for parents of New Haven Public Schools students, as well as a college fair and lunch. The event drew 200 parents and 150 kids, according to schools spokeswoman Abbe Smith.

Workshop topics ran the gamut and included how to make nutritious foods on a budget, how to discipline without abuse, reconnecting parents and their children to their community after incarceration, bullying, job search strategies for parents and how to navigate the public school system, among many more.

Hundreds of parents attended the event, which was a collaboration among the City of New Haven, New Haven Public Schools, New Haven Promise, Boost! and United Way of Greater New Haven. It was the second Parent University New Haven; the inaugural event was in November at Gateway.

Attending as a representative from United Way, I could feel how happy parents were to be there, learning – their excitement was palpable. It gave parents the knowledge and tools they need to become meaningfully engaged in their children’s education, and it removed some of the common barriers to doing so – the event was free of charge, child care was available, bus transportation was provided and reduced-price parking was available at a nearby garage.

Grant spent part of the day signing in attendees during a panel discussion: ​“What College Admissions Staff Look for in an Applicant.” About a dozen attendees, including three high school students, peppered panelists with questions about the process of getting into colleges: What is the Common Application? Is it bad to take SATs or AP tests multiple times? Is financial aid negotiable?

Parent Nikitia Tillman attended the session to get more information to help her 14-year-old son. He is interested in studying engineering and she’s eager to keep him on the right track so when the time comes to apply for college he’s ready. She was eager to get to subsequent workshops on various topics.

“I needed to get a better understanding of my steps (to take) as well as his,” she said about why she attended the college admissions panel.
Panelists encouraged parents to take an active role in preparing their children for college, but also to acknowledge that students take different paths – on different timelines – and sometimes putting additional pressure on students isn’t the answer.

“The whole idea is behind this is to find the right school for you. Don’t stress about standardized tests,” said panelist Will Johnson, associate dean of students and director of student diversity programs at Fairfield University. ​“Motivation is such a big part of going to college. If you notice your son or daughter doesn’t have the motivation to go to college, save your money.”

Attending college doesn’t necessarily have to be done straight out of high school, and can be revisited later in life, the panelists said. In addition to Fairfield University, panelists represented admissions staff from Lincoln Technical Institute, The Art Institute, Simmons College and Central Connecticut State University.

Elsewhere, in a workshop about stress management led by Kia Levey of the MOMS Partnership, 15 mothers shared stories and helped each other think of positive ways to combat stress. After the class, mothers said the workshop provided a forum where women could feel comfortable being honest and sharing feelings about stress.

“Moms really need an outlet to talk about the things they go through. I thought this workshop was very helpful in providing that outlet,” said Chanel Deboise, who has a child at Wexler-Grant School.