Clarke Central High School freshmen attend an assembly in the E.B. Mell Auditorium on Aug. 6. Students were given information at the beginning of the year on graduation requirements, access to counselors and expectations at CCHS, which CCHS counselors will go into more detail on at the upcoming Parent University. “We divide up into grade level groups (led by counselors),” CCHS Family Engagement and Academic Support Specialist Christain Barner said. “Instead of just giving general information, (the event’s) really focusing on what the needs of students are at that particular time in their high school careers.” Photo by Iliana Tejada
CCHS’s annual Title I meeting and Parent University will take place in a combined session at 6 and 6:15 p.m., respectively, on Sept. 4.
In order to give families guidance on how to best support their students, Clarke Central High School hosts biannual Title I meetings and an annual Parent University as opportunities to learn more about student needs and resources.
The meetings will take place consecutively, with the Annual Title I Meeting starting at 6 p.m., followed by Parent University at 6:15 p.m.. The first will be held by CCHS Family Engagement and Academic Support Specialist Christian Barner, who will present details about funding for the school and opportunities for community input through surveys.
“(CCHS is) a Title I school, which means that we are in a high-poverty school district, which is a designation by the federal government, and it grants us additional funds. Those funds go towards all students,” Barner said. “At this meeting, I’m going to be explaining what Title I is and how the funds are being used. In the spring, we do an input meeting, so (we get) input from parents or students or teachers about how the money should be spent.”
“It’s good for parents to get some answers directly from the counselors who deal with this level of academic information every day.”
— Christian Barner,
CCHS counselor
Barner will then deliver an introduction at Parent University that overviews CCHS and its opportunities for students, before families are grouped by their students’ grades for more individualized sessions with CCHS counselors.
“It’s good for parents to get some answers directly from the counselors who deal with this level of academic information every day,” CCHS school counselor Heidi Nibbelink, who will be presenting the 10th grade session, said. “We’re the (experts) for all these different opportunities.”
A graphic shows the planned topics and counselors for each of the grade-level breakout sessions for Parent University on Sept. 4. Clarke Central High School Family Engagement and Academic Support Specialist sent a form to families which asks for the number of attendees as well as any questions families want answered. “I share that information with counselors so they’re aware of what (topics) they should be presenting to the parents when they show up,” Barner said. “ Most of the (meetings) are general to the school. This is specific (information) for specific grade levels.” Graphic by Lea D’Angelo
The information in these sessions will be more specialized, with ninth and 10th grade families going over topics such as graduation requirements and extracurriculars, while the 11th and 12th grade groups will focus more on dual enrollment and college applications.
“(In the sessions,) we try to help give parents a grasp on what all is offered (at CCHS), and how to make decisions,” Nibbelink said. “As more information (about academic and extracurriculars) is available online, it gets harder for people to keep up with that much information coming at them. One of (the counselor’s) roles is to help people figure out how to sort through that information.”
