CHCCS to host virtual workshops for families to increase home, school connection

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Office of Equity and Engagement is hosting a series of three virtual workshops for families this spring. Each workshop focuses on a different topic: social media safety, navigating the American education system and preventing substance misuse.

The workshops will be hosted by presenters with expertise in their respective subject area, Jackie Love, the CHCCS director of family and community engagement, said. The workshops will be followed by optional 30-minute question and answer sessions.

Love said the strategies taught in the workshops will hopefully positively impact student outcomes.

The first workshop, “Managing Your Child’s Presence on Social Media,” was presented on Feb. 6 by Al McArthur, the CHCCS director of digital learning and libraries. The workshop intended to provide families with knowledge they can use to keep their children safe online.

Love said she received positive feedback from families who attended the social media safety workshop. She added that some families said they learned information about internet safety that they did not previously know.

The second workshop, “Navigating the US Educational System,” will take place on March 6 at 6 p.m. and be presented by Rebekah Concepcion, a lead teacher for the CHCCS International Welcome Center, and Zaida Walker, a parent liaison for the center. The workshop is intended to teach parents ways to navigate academic institutions and foster communication with school personnel.

The topics covered in this workshop were requested by CHCCS families, Love said. She said the workshop is meant for families who are unfamiliar with the American school system, particularly those who do not speak English.

“Any outreach that the schools do is a gesture of welcome, and it’s a gesture of wanting to partner with them to see their kids succeed,” said Flicka Bateman, the director of the Refugee Support Center, an Orange County-based organization that works to help local refugees transition into their communities.

Bateman said CHCCS employs language interpreters to assist with parental education. Even though the interpreters are not available as often as they are needed, they are a resource that many other districts do not have as readily, she said.

All three virtual workshops are presented in English and interpreters are available to translate for Spanish, Karen and Burmese.

The third workshop,  “Preventing Substance Use and Misuse,” will be held on April 10 at 6 p.m. This workshop will be hosted by Samantha Luu, the director of the Chapel Hill Campus and Community Coalition, as well as a panel of experts on the subject. Itwill address the influences youth face when considering substance use and provide families with the resources to prevent it.

Charlton Roberson, the Eastern regional coordinator for the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, said he thinks the substance use workshop will help open lines of communication between students and their families. He said education and open communication are key to helping people make better choices regarding substance use.

Families who are unable to attend the workshops can reach out to Love to receive information about the content and ask additional questions, Love said. She said families are encouraged to reach out to CHCCS about any topics they would be interested in learning more about.

“Hopefully the families will walk away with some new tools that they can use to strengthen the home and school connection,” Love said. 

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