ELIZABETH PARENT EDUCATION INSTITUTE
William F. Halloran School No. 22
Saturday, May 6, 2023
On Saturday May 6, 2023 the district held its first annual Parent Education Institute at William F. Holloran School No. 22 from 9:00 am – 1:30 pm. The Parent institute was the place to be, and parents were excited about attending the training workshops presented. The institute had gathered the best trainers in the field of education, all with impressive and extensive experience, knowledge, and expertise in parenting, education, business, law and child psychology. The Elizabeth Public school office of Equity and Inclusion partnered with the Latino Institute and Earl Brown consulting to bring about this great event to our parents and community.
The program’s main objective was to help parents understand and support their children’s needs while also providing them with guidelines on how to raise well-rounded and happy adults. The training also provided parents with pertaining information of how to help themselves in financial literacy, immigration rights, managing stress and how to acquire a driver license which all serves to support the whole-child and family. The trainers taught parents helpful tools such as praise, positive thought processes and how to establish healthy boundaries and routines for their children.
Parents who attended the Institute had nothing but positive feedback to share about their experience. At the end of every training session, parents were asked the following questions. “How useful was the information shared in today’s workshop?” out of 5 stars they rated the usefulness of the information shared an average of 4.96 stars. “Where the workshop presentation easy to understand?” out of 5 stars they rated the easiness of the information shared an average of 5.00 stars. “ Did you learn something that you can apply immediately?” out of 5 stars they rated their immediate application of learning an average of 4.84 stars. When asked What worked best for you today? comments from parents were as followed “The flexibility of the dual language (Spanish/English) and the possibility of bringing children since I didn’t have anywhere or anybody to leave them with”, “The chance to ask personal questions”, “Financial Education”, “La forma de explicar y el excelente trato “, “ Obtener conocimiento en diversas áreas para el beneficio y desarrollo familiar en NJ”.
At the closing of the training a raffle drawing took place with lots of gifts presented to those who attended. Several of our students scholars who attended the institute for community service hours assisted parents with translation, escorting and distributed gifts.
The parent Education Institute had accomplished its mission of impacting the lives of families positively. The parents, staff and trainers were proud of the event and looked forward to the next program, eager to help more families come learn about this exciting new initiative.
Social media, texting and bullying presented by Grisselle Gonzalez, former NYC public school educator
Helping Children Improve their Study Habits, presented by Trinidad Dela Rosa, Certified business coach, manage a program in New Jersey that assists minorities to open their own business
Managing Stress, presented by Mercedes Valle, Ed. D retired Consulting Psychologist/School Psychologist with important and significant experience working in all aspects of psychological services in a school district.
Financial Literacy, presented by Earl Brown Consulting (EBEC), Armed with an MBA in business development and a background in both k-12 and high education. He currently serves on several boards committees, such as the Workforce Development Board, the Regional Business Partnership, the Newark YMCA and more.
How to support school safety, Maria Santiago Valentin an educator since 1991, worked in Puerto Rico, Connecticut and currently in New Jersey serving in different capacities: ESL teacher, Spanish teacher, French teacher, Learning Disabilities Consulting (LDTC) and case manager for students with IEPs.
