Engaging families and students through partnership

The families of current and future students are becoming active partners in education through Berea College’s Family Engagement program.

A relatively new addition to the Partners for Education program from Berea, parents and students alike are benefiting from the work of Andrea McKeehan, engagement specialist serving Knox County.

“Family involvement is one of the most important steps to a student’s success in school,” explains McKeehan.

“When a child has a parent who is engaged in their education, they have higher academic performance, fewer behavioral problems, and are more likely to complete high school.”

Here are some of the recent events coordinated by McKeehan at Lynn Camp Schools.  Parents of current, or future, students who are wanting to become more actively engaged in their child’s education are encouraged to contact McKeehan at 606-528-5429 for information on upcoming events.

Fast Track to Parent Engagement

Lynn Camp and the Families and Schools Together, or FAST, program are working together this spring to give parents an extra opportunity to get involved in their children’s education.

FAST is an eight-week program that focuses on families and education. The program helps empower parents to become effective family leaders and build supportive relationships while connecting with other families in their children’s school. During each 2.5-hour session, families participate in evidence-based activities that have been proven to increase protective factors, decrease risk factors, and improve community relationships for children and families.

This spring, Lynn Camp Schools and the Children’s Reading Foundation of Appalachia-KY are working together to provide a free book for every attending family each week. Special focus is being given to literacy and the overarching theme is “Camp Read-A-Lot”. Special information will be given to parents about the importance of reading with children for at least twenty minutes each day.

The FAST program is open to all Lynn Camp Elementary students in grades K-5 and their families. On Monday, March 14th, and Monday, March 21st, fifteen families attended the first two sessions at Lynn Camp Elementary. The program will continue each Monday through May 2nd, when a “graduation” session will take place to honor participants who attended six or more sessions.

Llama Llama Red Pajama Party

When a parent or guardian reads with their child, they help stimulate the child’s imagination and expand their understanding of the world. From a very young age, reading with a child can help them grasp the importance of language. Their skills in language, reading, and listening develop as they learn more about the world each day. Even after children have learned to read by themselves, reading together with a child can help expand their knowledge and improve their skills.

On Friday, March 18th, Lynn Camp Elementary hosted a family reading night and pajama party centered on the children’s book Llama Llama Red Pajama. The attending families were given a presentation which consisted of several popular children’s stories, including Llama Llama Red Pajama, being read aloud. The families got to spend quality time together as they completed reading-based crafts; and the night concluded with parents and children reading together from a selection of books provided by the Lynn Camp Elementary Library. Each family was provided a book to take home to add to their home library. An amazing 48 people were present for the event.

READY! For Kindergarten

Starting kindergarten is a big transition for most young learners and their parents or guardians. Lynn Camp and the Children’s Reading Foundation of Appalachia-KY are working together through the READY! For Kindergarten program to provide parents with the tools and knowledge they need to help ensure that their little ones are prepared for the important year ahead of them.

The three-session READY! For Kindergarten program hosted by Lynn Camp Schools was made available to parents and guardians of children 3-5 years old who have not yet started kindergarten. Attending parents receive free educational materials and lessons on how to help their little learners build the confidence and knowledge they need to succeed in their first years of school.  They are also given information about the goals they can help their children reach throughout the ages of 3, 4, and early 5.

On Thursday, March 17th, the second READY! For Kindergarten session took place at Lynn Camp Elementary. Debbie Knuckles with the Children’s Reading Foundation led fifteen total families through the session. The third session will be held at Lynn Camp Elementary on Thursday, April 28th.