A Parent Academy is a district-led, community-driven initiative designed to provide educational resources to parents and families. Academies have been organized in Brockton and Springfield, MA, Providence, RI, Westerly, RI, and Portland, Maine, as well as across the country. Academy courses focus on building capacity in families and empowering them with the information they need to raise their children in a stimulating, proactive and nurturing environment. In order to begin development of an Academy through the Fall River Schools, teachers, administrators and community leaders gathered in the Faculty Lounge at Bristol Community College on April 16, 2015 to begin discussing how an Academy could be started in Fall River. Andy Beck, Executive Director of the School and Main Institute, a non-profit organization based in Boston, described how Springfield developed their Academy, and Field Services Director Kathy Flynn Woodland then organized participants into teams to come up with their ideas for organizing a similar Academy in Fall River. Groups will work on a number of issues and strategies in the coming months with the goal of starting some Academy classes next fall. Click here for a ten-minute video of some of the forum. Click here for the Herald News article. For more information about the project, contact Student Assignment and Parent Information Director Barbara Allard at 508-675-8367.  

(Top row) Fall River Youth Services Director Christian McCloskey listens as Andy Beck, Executive Director of the School and Main Institute, describes the critical factors for success. (Row two) Nickie Collard of the Center for Workforce and Community Education at Bristol Community College talks with School and Maine Institute Field Services Director, Kathleen Flynn Woodland. (Row three) Teams begin writing down their ideas for developing an Academy in Fall River. (Row four, left and right) A participant talks with School Superintendent Meg Mayo-Brown as School Wellness and Physical Education Director Brad Bustin writes down ideas from his group. (Bottom row, center and right) Bristol County District Attorney's Office Community Affairs Unit Program Manager Eric Poulin, left, share some of his ideas with team leader Karen Lima while Siobhan Ryan writes down her team's ideas.