Thompson School Board briefed on staff efforts to engage parents, guardians – Loveland Reporter-Herald

Thompson School District staff briefed the district’s board of education on efforts to increase community involvement during a work session Wednesday evening.

Initiatives for the coming year include mental health programs, parent education, and multilingual family and community events.

The school board expressed interest in learning more about the issue at a meeting last month, according to Principal Marc Schaffer.

Throughout the presentation, staff highlighted work being done to help parents, guardians and the community understand what students face in their daily lives so they can better help students succeed.

Mental and behavioral health played a major role in the presentation, and staff said it was important to ensure appropriate interaction with parents and guardians.

“As you all know, connecting with our parent and guardian community is incredibly important,” Director of Student Success Jennifer Guthels told the board Wednesday evening. “I’m not sure if you saw the Surgeon General’s report that came out recently about how parents and guardians are struggling with their mental and behavioral health. This just adds to the reasons why we need to connect with each other, with our parents, guardians and community members, because it takes a whole team to make sure our students are successful.”

Actions on that front include a mental health task force that has been in existence for several years, culminating in a youth-led mental health summit that aims to address mental health issues among students and destigmatize them by sharing them with parents, guardians and the broader community, according to Guthels. The summit, ideally held annually but potentially every two years, would aim to further examine mental health struggles among students and help the broader community better understand them, Guthels said.

Guthels also spoke about efforts being made to help parents and guardians better understand new technology so they can engage more with their students.

Other efforts to engage families and the community include events held at Title One schools in the district, or schools that receive additional state funding to address high poverty rates, according to Jesse Tijerina, TSD’s director of state and federal programs.

These programs include community events that provide basic necessities like winter coats as well as more fun gifts like skateboards and scooters, better engaging families who may otherwise be overlooked at community events.

Finally, Maria Gabriel, Director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, spoke about activities that include Spanish-speaking families at home and began her portion of the presentation with a friendly “buenas tardes.”

She also described several listening sessions where district staff heard directly from students about the issues that most impact their daily lives.

“Our students’ voices have led to a number of actions that are still building momentum,” he said. “There are quick responses and long-term responses,” things that include principal trainings, culturally responsive implementation teams and other efforts to produce welcoming environments for students.