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Last night’s CPC meeting in collaboration with Stand for Children, One Lowell and the Mary Bacigalupo Educational Program showed the great value of partnerships and reinforced why we must try to communicate and work together.  We learned about the CPC model of parent engagement and their mission to inform and empower parents; about Stand for Children’s advocacy at the state and local level, mainly around increased funding for education; and One Lowell’s work with marginalized refugee and immigrant children and families.  Phala Chea, director of Lowell’s Parent Information Center, gave an overview of their work, often as the first point-of-contact between a family and the school system as well as between a family and the city.  Sheila Kirschbaum, who joined the CPC 18 years ago when her son was in kindergarden, shared with others the influence of Mary Bacigalupo in encouraging parents to get engaged with the schools and believe in themselves as leaders.  Many of us continue to be involved simply because of Mary’s example and inspiration. The Mary Bacigalupo Educational Program, formed by her friends as a living tribute in her memory, has had two successful forums thusfar and is planning another for the fall.  An action group created at the forum studied data that showed a correlation between attendance in middle school and success at the high school, other action groups continue to partner with schools and the community to help students succeed.

After the more formal presentations, which will be broadcast on LET Channel 22, the conversation began.   It was great to have people whose children had already graduated from the high school share experiences with younger parents newly-involved in the schools.  Many people were interested in joining Stand for Children members on April 15 for a ‘Day on the Hill’ to talk to legislators about funding concerns and the outlook for this year’s Chapter 70 funds.  (There is a bus leaving from the Lowell Showcase Cinemas at 8:45 am, register online today!).  Other issues of concern besides funding included the need to improve technology, more sharing of reports and data with the public, more and better parent conferences with an emphasis on positive contact between parents and teachers, and a way for parents to learn about different levels of involvement and to network with other parents across the city. Concerns about attendance and Lowell’s drop-out rate were raised as possible focus issues.  Finally, the meeting had to end at 9:00 pm, but many lingered in the hallway and parking lot to continue the conversation, a conversation that we hope has just begun.