A Room Of Their Own

Parents have own center at Victory School

By Anne Waukau
WEAC Media Consultant

Regina Hull-Jackson, the parent coordinator at Milwaukee’s Victory Elementary School, learned the value of a good education from her mother and father. She, in turn, is passing that lesson on to her three sons she lovingly calls: “ABC Jackson.”

Diane Edwards, a Title I teacher who helped get the School/Family/Community Partnership Initiative started, works with students at Milwaukee’s Victory Elementary School. The students are Crystal Bartholmey (left) and Lacy Dashner.

“Education is so important to me that I purposely wanted their names to follow the ABCs,” Hull-Jackson said. “When it’s time to leave school at the end of the day, all I have to do is yell ‘ABC Jackson it’s time to go.’ ”

Hull-Jackson, whose sons are Alexander, 7, and twins Benjamin and Christopher 6, shares her passion for education with the staff and parents at the school, and it has made a noticeable difference.

In fact, Diane Edwards, a Title I teacher who helped get the School/Family/Community Partnership initiative started, said she has seen a dramatic increase in parental involvement since Hull-Jackson started working with the school.

“At Victory, we have more parents coming to conferences. We have parents who come in and read to the kids and parents who write and publish the school newspaper,” Edwards said.

Every May, Hull-Jackson has a luncheon to thank all of the parents who volunteer in any way. The teachers provide the food and serve the luncheon.

“I love it because so often they provide so much for us,” Edwards said. “It feels good to do something for them. They like it, and they show up for it.”

Besides Hull-Jackson, another driving force of the program, which is part of the WEAC Vanguard Project, is the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association. Funding comes from WEAC, MTEA, local schools and businesses.

Edwards said Hull-Jackson does whatever it takes to get parents into the school.

“Her first year, she’d stand on the playground and invite parents into the parent center,” Edwards said.

Hull-Jackson laughed when she was reminded about that. “The parents were surprised when I would approach them on the playground or tap on their car window and introduce myself,” she said. “It made a difference to the parents when I walked onto the playground to meet them and told them about the parent room.”

Hull-Jackson takes pride in her room, which she treats as her home away from home.

She said parents are welcome to come in daily for coffee and doughnuts. While there, they can check out the resource library — which offers books, videos and puzzles — and get help with their children’s homework and more.

She also plans activities during the day so parents who live a considerable distance from the school can safely take a county bus to events. In fact, she even helps get them bus passes.

“I feel it’s important parents feel comfortable in the schools,” Edwards said. “It isn’t just about parents coming in and volunteering. It’s the fact that parents and the community are involved in what’s going on in the schools.

“As Hillary Clinton says, it takes a village — it takes everybody to educate our kids,” Edwards said.

“This also is one way we can do something positive to increase our test scores and improve our public image.”

Even though the program is only in its second year, Edwards said she can already see an improvement in the students’ reading scores.

One reason is there is more cooperation from students because their parents are more visible, she said.

“Whenever you have contact with home you get better cooperation with kids, and that transfers into a better learning atmosphere. They are really happy to have their parents there,” she said.

Hull-Jackson, who credits the staff at Victory with the success of the program, said she is working on a survey to see what parents need to help their children be more successful in school.

She is also working on other projects, such as networking with parent coordinators at other Milwaukee public schools, developing a Parent Fan Club, forming a parent advisory board, providing a stress management session, and sponsoring a pot luck brunch. Her goal is to plan an event each month during the school year to get parents into the school.

But Hull-Jackson admits her work is far from completed, and sometimes she gets a bit overwhelmed.

“Every day I learn something new, but one thing is for certain: If you reach out to your parents, they will come to the school.”

Posted October 27, 1997