On Friday, Parent University invites all community stakeholders on the island of St. John to an introductory meeting at the St. John School of the Arts at 5:30 p.m.
Parent University’s mission “seeks to educate and empower families as partners, advocates, and lifelong educators in their student’s education through free courses, resources, events, and activities.” The organization focuses on providing services and resources that cater to the unique needs of individual communities by generating discourse with community stakeholders to assess needs and then implement necessary services.
Parent University is a well-established program across the United States with charters located in states such as Florida, Illinois, and Georgia.
The inspiration behind bringing this program to St. John came when Kathleen and Alan Smith attended a powerful conference where they were introduced to the invaluable work Parent University was doing in various communities across the country. “Years ago Michael O’Neal, the man who founded Parent University 26 years ago, led a profound workshop that delved into the meaningful work that this organization was bringing to communities who really needed it. Through monthly community meetings, the community stakeholders were able to put together a unique program that worked to facilitate important services that the community felt was most beneficial,” said Kathleen Smith.
“The very foundation of the program is to empower the people to decide the kind of communities they wish to be a part of. Some of the community services that are facilitated through Parent University could include reading intensives, parenting courses, early development programs, and individual and family counseling services just to name a few. All this program asks of stakeholders is time, interest, and desire to build stronger and more vibrant communities. We knew St. John could only benefit from this sort of initiative,” said Smith.
In preliminary discussions, community stakeholders have begun offering insight into some of the services that could improve the quality of life for families on the island, including English as a Second Language classes, financial literacy courses, and tutorial services.
Delrice Stevens, a member of the Parent University Charter on St. John, believes that this type of flexible program offers an opportunity to build services that fill in gaps in the social framework of the community. “We realize that many capable families face challenges in supporting their children at home and in school. These programs are intended to to equip our families with more resources and services that strengthen and support our family units, whether it is young children, teenagers, parents or grandparents,” said Stevens.
For more information about Parent University or questions about the upcoming introductory meeting occurring this Friday, call 760-831-3132.
