Leader Call

Laurel School District hosts Second Annual Parent University

By Eloria Newell James, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
CNHI

LAUREL — Officials stressed the importance of parental involvement during the Laurel School District’s second annual Parent University conducted this week.

The event, which was held in the Laurel High School auditorium, encouraged parental involvement and allowed parents to attend a variety of special sessions focusing on early literacy, bully prevention, high school graduation requirements, and much more.

Dr. Chuck Benigno, superintendent of the Laurel School District, said Parent University will be a time to educate parents on a variety of topics.

“Little things make the difference,” Benigno told the crowd. “We don’t just want to be good, we want to be great.”

He encouraged parents to “slow down and take some time” to reflect and work with their children.

Benigno said young people “can do anything if they set their mind to it.”

Author and speaker Felicia Johnson, who was the keynote speaker for the event, talked about “It takes three…the school, the student and me!”

Johnson talked about The Power of Partnership. She said “there is some times strength in numbers, but there is always strength in partnerships.”

“Every person has a part to play in each child’s life,” she said. “In order to have strong communities, we must have strong schools. In order to have strong schools, we must have strong parents.”

Johnson encouraged parents to work with their children and strive to increase their vocabulary.

“Slang is not tested and slang does not get you a job,” she said. “We need to talk to our children and hear what they say and hear what they hear.”

She also encouraged the group to teach children responsibility, rules, respect and reasoning.

The district-wide event also include a break-out session where parents were able to select from four sessions being offered.

The sessions were College 101 High School Graduation Requirements; ACT Prep; and Read With Our Child.

More than 20 booths were open to provide parents with information.

Booths set up at the university were Safe Schools Healthy Students; Parent as Teachers; Mentoring/Community of Caring; Teens Getting Involved for the Future (TGIF); Pinebelt; Compulsory Education; Family Health Center; the Parent Center; Police Department; Laurel Fire Department; Better Boys & Girls Learning Center; Friends of Children of Mississippi; Jones County Junior College; Association for Excellence in Education; Laurel Jones County Library; Community Family Center; Laurel Career and Technical Center; Laurel High School; Laurel Middle School; Nora Davis, Oak Park, Maddox and Mason elementary schools.