At a math workshop, instructor Alice Devine (standing) went over problem solving with (from left) Ludwick Coye, Nicanora Hernandez, and Marte Alvarez.
(Wendy Maeda/ Globe Staff)
Power to parents is main objective of new city ‘university’
At a math workshop, instructor Alice Devine (standing) went over problem solving with (from left) Ludwick Coye, Nicanora Hernandez, and Marte Alvarez.
(Wendy Maeda/ Globe Staff)
In one room, six parents shuffled decks of cards and tossed plastic chips, learning a game that teaches kindergartners to count. In another, more than a dozen grandmothers and mothers received pointers on how to control their tempers and discipline the infants, children, and teenagers in their care. In another classroom at University of Massachusetts in Boston, overwhelmed parents learned how to handle debt and take care of their personal finances.
The first session of Parent University, a three-day program run by the Boston public schools that will stretch out over the academic year, began over the weekend in a college building overlooking Dorchester Bay.
About 300 fathers and mothers, grandparents, and even some teachers signed up for dozens of classes Saturday that touched on a wide array of problems. The program was designed to help parents feel empowered and more in control of their lives and their children’s education.
But in some classrooms, it was clear that was far from the way many parents were feeling.
Kimberly Cunningam, a 39-year-old mother of two, said she is at a loss when it comes to helping her daughters with subjects like algebra. “I stink at math,’’ she said.
During discussion in a course entitled, “Things Kids Do that Drive us Nuts,’’ one mother worried about her 16-month-old’s behavior. “Everyone tells me my son is a little angel with them,’’ she said, “but with me, he bites, he kicks, he drags himself across the floor. . . . He scares me.’’
Before the classes began, Michele P. Brooks, assistant superintendent for Family and Student Engagement, reminded participants that they are the heads of their households and families and that they would be taking courses that would affirm that.
“What you’re going to learn is that you’re powerful leaders,’’ she said.
The program has more than 30 courses, about a dozen of them in Spanish. It costs $300,000 to run the entire program throughout the year; $200,000 of that was covered by federal stimulus funds, and the rest came from a private anonymous donor, said Matthew Wilder, a spokesman for the Boston schools.
Other cities across the country, including Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., have started Parent Universities. Closer to Boston, in Everett, the nonprofit Joint Committee for Children’s Health Care started a Parent University almost 10 years ago.
In Boston, two more full-day Saturday sessions will be held, on Jan. 30 and May 1, and additional courses will be offered periodically through the city’s libraries and community centers on topics that include helping children become good readers and how to give support to children in high school. The courses are free, with day care provided for children 2 years and older. More information can be found on the Boston public schools website.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who addressed the classes Saturday morning, urged parents to stay with the program until the end.
“We need you as partners,’’ he said. “The teachers and principals do a great job but we need a little extra.’’
During the 90-minute sessions, instructors, many of them teachers and administrators in the Boston public schools or employees at City Hall, gave tips on how parents could help their children excel in math and science.
Cunningham, the mother who hates math, felt more confident she would be able to help her children with the subject following her session, “Feeling at Home with Numbers.’’ During the session, instructors briefed parents on how children learn math today compared with when they themselves were students. Parents also were given games to play with their children that would sharpen math skills.
“I’ll try it,’’ Cunningham said, taking some of the worksheets. “If it doesn’t help my daughter, maybe it will help me.’’
Other courses focused on complex issues such as bullying and how to spot signs a child has been lured into a gang.
Chris Byner, who works for the city’s Centers for Youth and Families, warned of red flags, such as a child who takes a sudden interest in a particular color or number that could represent a specific gang.
He also advised parents to pay attention to their children’s doodling. If, for example, they’re deliberately crossing out the “b’’ in words, it might mean they are becoming involved with the Crips, a notorious gang whose main rival is the Bloods.
Furiously taking notes were mothers Reina Melendez and Erika Fuentes Sanchez. Both women had risen at 5:30 Saturday morning to get their children ready and catch the bus from East Boston to Dorchester.
“That was very helpful,’’ Melendez said of Byner’s session. “Little figures and drawings that seem like nothing may mean [children] are being influenced by gangs.’’
“I pay attention. I investigate everything,’’ said Sanchez. “But they know more, so it’s good to get more information.’’
Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com. 
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
