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New Program to Involve Families with Schools
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 WATSONVILLE — A new program to get local families more involved in their children’s education has drawn the attention of a leading education journal, which sent one of its senior editors here this week to do a story.
FAST (Families and Schools Together) is an eight-week program that has been started this year at Ann Soldo, Freedom and MacQuiddy Elementary schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. The eight-week program, which features a variety of activities to empower parents and promote strong families, will expand to Starlight and Calabasas schools next month.
“I am impressed by the FAST approach and its well thought out approach to parents,” said Lawrence Hardy, senior editor of the American School Board Journal. “I am writing this article because I think school administrators from other districts should know how it works to give them ideas, so they can do a better job of involving parents in the education of their children.”
Paula Toledo-Tapia, FAST Facilitator, said the purpose of the program is to empower parents in their children’s education to help all children succeed at home, in school, and in the community. For each of the program’s 8 weeks, a dinner is held at the school sites for participating families. After dinner, the family participates in a variety of activities aimed at increasing communication between parents and children, between parents and the entire family, and between parents and other parents and professionals.
FAST is part of a three-year Safe Schools/Healthy Students initiative that began this year in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, and the weekly group sessions are run by a collaborative team that includes Safe Schools/Healthy Students professionals, a mental health counselor, a teacher, and a parent from the school.
Some activities are fun, and others are serious. One of the cornerstones of the program is that parents spend 15 minutes of uninterrupted one-to-one time with their child each week. Parents also give and receive input and support about parenting in a private parent’s session.
Families And Schools Together (FAST) is a well-researched, theory-based program for children and their families. It is designed to help parents to be the primary prevention agents for their children, in order to prevent substance abuse, and other behaviors that work against the success of their children. The four goals of FAST are:
- Enhance family functioning
- Help children succeed in school
- Prevent substance abuse by the child and other family members
- Reduce the stress that parents and children experience from daily life situations
Hardy’s article is the fourth in a series called “Children at Risk.” For more information on Lawrence Hardy’s five part series you can reach him at (703) 838-6229, or visit the American School Board Journal’s website at www.asbj.com.
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