Teachers and Administrators Participate in Two Day Professional Development Workshop
By Michael Davis
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Chattanooga Times Free Press
It took Dr. Steve Constantino several years and multiple attempts to figure out the secret to providing a solid educational experience, he said.
'I tried everything I could think to help turn a school around,' he said. 'I was minimally successful until I found out a secret: the first and best teacher of a child is their parent.'
Dr. Constantino shared his findings with about 200 teachers and administrators Tuesday morning at Chattanooga’s Clarion Hotel, kicking off a two-day professional development workshop offered through the Benwood Foundation of Chattanooga and the Public Education Foundation.
As the Benwood Initiative prepares for its fourth year, the nine urban elementary schools in the program have made significant gains in state test scores in reading, language arts, math, science and social studies, records show. The schools have earned national attention as they’ve improved their academic reputations, educators say.
The initiative — paid for by a $5 million grant from the Benwood Foundation and a $2.5 million matching grant by the PEF — has enacted after-school, summer school and other programs to improve the learning environment for students and educators alike.
Dr. Constantino is a lifelong educator and former principal of Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, Va., which drastically improved its test scores in his eight years of leadership. He regularly speaks to educators across the nation about family-friendly schools. He asked workshop participants to consider the effect of all parents knowing the answer to the age-old question of what their kids did during the school day.
'We can impact their educational culture,' he said. 'Consider the power of every parent you come in contact with knowing the answer to that question.' In an interview between sessions, Dr. Constantino said 66 percent of those polled cite time as the main factor for not being able to be more engaged in a child’s education, but fewer than 1 percent actually are indifferent to those needs.
'I think families care about one thing: having their children educated,' he said. 'Part of our work in these two days is to break those barriers down.' Dr. Lonita Davidson, a principal leadership coach with PEF, said educators often alienate parents unintentionally.
'We’ve got to make our schools a lot more friendly … in order to change the culture,' she said. 'I think sometimes we isolate our families … by not being family friendly.'
Teresa Seymour, a consulting teacher at Hardy Elementary, one of the Benwood schools, said that while the concepts were familiar, the message was a reminder of the impact of parental involvement.
'We need to be willing to listen to parents and ask ‘What are your concerns?’' she said.