Central High Parents Return to Classroom with Students | News

By Daniel Daniels, Bibb County School District Intern

On Thursday, March 14, Central High School hosted its first Parent Learning Sessions. These sessions gave parents of Central students the opportunity to meet with administrators or teachers at the school and to engage in real and current class activities.

During 30-minute sessions, parents and teachers discussed course curriculum and content, and parents heard about instructional concerns students are experiencing

Parents also were allowed to shadow their student and sit in on classes. This allowed parents to experience the classroom environment, and to also witness first-hand the skills needed to be successful in high school.

Additionally, parents had the opportunity to attend various discussion sessions with Central High School Principal Dr. Efrem Yarber. During one of those sessions, which included five parents, the topics of discussion ranged from improving parental involvement, improving campus safety, enforcing dress code policies, and attempting to eliminate the use of cell phones in the classroom environment.

One parent attending the learning session was Nashiba Cosby. Ms. Cosby was shadowing her son, Quinterius Brown. One of Ms. Cosby’s stops during the day was in Dr. Walter Welsh’s science class. She had the opportunity to observe her son in a classroom setting, and she also had the chance to speak with Dr. Welsh.

“I’ve learned how (Quinterius's) teacher breaks down the day,” she said. “I’ve learned the different quizzes and exams, and also the terms and things they have to master in this class.” 

Although Ms. Cosby has the opportunity to view Quinterius’s progress reports, she attended the Parent Learning Session to see for herself what her son goes through on a daily basis.

“I wanted to actually have an idea of how he feels during the day,” she said.

Christopher Holmes, a Central High School Instructional Coach, said that the school decided to host the Parent Learning Sessions to extend the learning opportunities occurring inside the school to the parents. Mr. Holmes also said it’s important for parents to be involved in their student's high school. He said parents are often engaged when their children are in elementary school, but that engagement needs to continue once their child is in high school.

“The biggest goal is to give parents insight into Central High School,” he said. “Central High School is not just their child’s high school, it is their high school. These doors are open to parents.”

Due to the success of this week's Parent Learning Session, Mr. Holmes said the school plans to hold additional learning sessions at different points in the semester in the near future.