Improving schools could be easy as PIE
With the goal of making Warren County Schools even better through greater parental involvement at the district level, the school system recently formed the PIE Advisory Council.
PIE, which stands for Parents Involved in Education, was organized by a number of system administrators in response to the mandate of the No Child Left Behind Act which requires greater parental involvement in their children’s education.
“Warren County Schools prides itself in its advancement in the No Child Left Behind Act and will in this rapidly moving quest leave no parent behind along the way,” said system federal programs director Priscilla Wanamaker.
The specific purpose of the newly formed council, according to Wanamaker and special education director Linda Wilson, is to share ideas. Through the system gaining feedback from parents and the parents getting information concerning their children’s education, all students will benefit, the two said.
In an organizational meeting held at the central office Tuesday night, a dozen parents who have children enrolled in regular education, special education and the English Language Learner program received an introduction to the system and the many departments therein.
This version of Warren County Schools 101, said Wilson, was an eye-opener for many of the parents in attendance.
“We have so many resources that we’d like to share with parents resources we think are not being used adequately, including services, videos and books on such things as a description of disabilities to those helping parents help their children with their homework,” Wilson said.
Wanamaker said the creation of the PIE Advisory Council is no way intended to bypass or replace the various parent teacher organizations, or PTOs, which operate at the school level. As the council is not school specific but will operate district level, she said, the council will instead supplement the PTOs.
While the parents who make up advisory council have already been selected, Wanamaker and Wilson said they would like to offer services to other parents, and any other interested community residents. The two mentioned the possibility of offering presentations to the community on an array of issues relating to children.
“They could be on test preparation, anything really, that parents might want to know,” said Wilson.