As third-grade teacher Jinny Magnusen read aloud several words for her students to spell, parent Chanda Beasley assisted her son by slowly repeating that list.
"Rid-ge. Jack-et. Ad-van-tage," she said to her son Cincere Collins, 8, echoing his A. Brian Merry Elementary School teacher as she sounded out the words.
"That's neat. It helps them spell it ... or at least they get close to it."
Ms. Beasley was one of many parents Thursday who got a chance to see their child interacting in school while they volunteered to help school staff as part of National Parent Involvement Day.
At A. Brian Merry, Principal Elizabeth Shad said there had been a great response with as many as 50 parents volunteering at least one hour in classes, lunchrooms and offices.
Cincere said he liked the extra help from his mom, and Ms. Magnusen said she also appreciated the parental involvement.
"If you have another monitor, that's great," she said.
Celestaine James also was a parent volunteer Thursday and has two children at A. Brian Merry: Raven James, 11, and Hunter Patton, 8. She assisted Raven's teacher by making copies of her assignments for next week.
"I think it's very important for children to see parents interested in the school system," said Ms. James, who volunteers at the school many other days throughout the year. "I love it. It brings back memories."
Georgia Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox said in a news release that National Parent Involvement Day was designed to help schools assess if they're doing all they can to keep parents involved. By the same token, she said it gives parents a chance to reflect on whether they're doing all they can to support their child.
Ms. Shad said her school has a great parent base that helps throughout the year. She said parents might sometimes feel intimidated to enter a class, but "I do try to set a tone that they're welcome here."
Ms. Shad said any parent who wants to volunteer can contact their child's school.
"The things we can let them do are just endless," she said. "I have a good response, but there's always a need for more."
Reach Preston Sparks at (706) 828-3851 or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
Parents wanting to volunteer simply need to call officials at their child's school and take a training class and pass a background check.
UPCOMING TRAINING EVENTS
- Helping Your Child with Mathematics: 6-8 p.m. on Dec. 3 at Hephzibah High School
- Community in schools volunteer/mentor training: 3-6 p.m. Dec. 9 at Josey High School
- Community in schools volunteer/mentor training: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 11 at Lucy Laney High
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What is "Rid-ge"?
jebko - Ridge empasized for spelling purposes