Williamsburg-James City County Schools are helping parents engage with their children’s education by taking them to school.
From Oct. 30 through Nov. 13, the school division held its second Parent Academy series at the James Blair administrative offices.
The three Thursday sessions focused on digital literacy for parents, including a primer on social media.
WJCC Director of Public Relations and Engagement Betsy Overkamp-Smith directed the a session, introducing parents to the changing world of social media, and how modern students interact with each other electronically.
Overkamp-Smith said the internet is a powerful tool for students today, with 95 percent of teens using the internet and 81 percent posting on social media platforms.
After presenting statistics on internet usage among students, Overkamp-Smith reviewed some of the most popular social media outlets used by young people.
Some are fairly innocuous, like Facebook and Twitter, which allow users to connect with each other, send messages and post photos. Others can be more sinister. Chat Roulette connects users with random individuals from across the globe through a video link, but does not moderate what users do while connected. Whisper allows users to send messages anonymously, but has been accused of facilitating cyberbullying.
Overkamp-Smith said parents should be aware of how their students used the internet, and set rules for social media use.
That emphasis has been key to the Parent Academy program, according to WJCC Coordinator of Family and Community Engagement Felicia Highland.
The program launched in April as a way to increase engagement and collaboration with families, parents and guardians for school activities.
Highland solicited input from local stakeholders, including school administrators, division-level curriculum leaders, parents and community members, on how to conduct the program and which topics to focus on.
The committee settled on 30-minute Thursday sessions, and a range of topics. The first session in April focused on middle school study skills, while the most recent covered parental digital literacy.
“We want to have a digitally responsible community and raise awareness,” Highland said. “It’s a huge influence in society now, and information is powerful. We want to show what are positive ways for our students to use this technology, and having awareness safeguards students.”
Highland said she remained in contact with parents and community organizations brainstorming topics to be covered by future Parent Academies.
The next Parent Academy is scheduled for Feb. 19 and will feature a collaborative program with Thomas Nelson Community College. Highland said that session would focus on careers and post-graduation planning and would be held at TNCC.
Although the topic for the next session has been set, Highland said the school division would continue to tweak the program to best meet the needs of the community.
“It’s still in its infancy,” Highland said. “We want parents to get involved.”
Hampton Roads Academy Students Experience StarLab
Students at Hampton Roads Academy got a close-up look at the stars without leaving their school.
On Nov. 20, seventh-grade students at the school experienced the StarLab, a portable planetarium that provides students with resources on general science subjects, including astronomy, biology and geography.
The StarLab is large enough to accommodate 30 students, but portable enough to fit inside the school’s lobby.
The StarLab is in its first year at HRA, and administrators expect students from all of the school’s divisions to use it. Head of the middle school and science teacher Rhonda DeChirico led the effort to bring the StarLab to HRA because of its potential benefit for students.
“The StarLab is a tool that I have used in schools for many, many years, witnessing its value and motivational effect on students of all ages,” DeChirico said in a news release. “It creates an environment where concepts can become tangible, and provides a learning environment that I felt our HRA students deserved to experience.”
