Grant for the Parent Engagement Academy

By Marie Galetto-Dugoni, Marketing Manager

In 2019, the Foundation awarded the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph, Saint Leo the Great Parish and Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish a Two-Year Grant for their upcoming Parent Engagement Academy. No one knew just how much would change in the subsequent year. Yet despite all the unexpected challenges, the program is still going strong and parents are as engaged as ever.

In partnership with the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, these three parishes offered an 8-week workshop run by the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) in Spanish to teach parents how to more fully engage in and navigate the educational system. Parents learned how to serve as an advocate for their children’s education and the importance of a high school and college education. Parents were invited from parochial schools across the Diocese, and parishioners with children in public schools were also welcome to attend.

During the first year of the program, 31 parents participated in the in-person classes. “I heard personally from two families how they were approaching education and parenting differently – and how pleased they were to have the tools they never knew they needed,” said Fr. Joseph Benedict, pastor of the Cathedral. The first-year graduation was schedule for March 12, 2020 at the Cathedral, however the event had to be cancelled at the last minute due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. As most of our lives shifted from in-person to virtual, so did the PIQE program.

Despite being entirely virtual, the second year of the program graduated 53 parents. Many graduates of the first year of the program signed up for the second year which focused more on middle school aged children. Content was added to the program which focused on digital literacy and children’s social and emotional learning since remote learning and social distancing presented new challenges for students and parents alike.

“[T]he program is an excellent step-by-step information path of how to find more help and be able to get to the right place where the needed tools are. My advice for parents after attending these classes is that we must take advantage of what the program provides. It provides very efficient information…and try to practice what is learned in each class.” – Merse Bonilla, PIQE Graduate

 

Some parents found the virtual format of the class to be more convenient for their busy lives. Although childcare was provided during the in-person classes, fitting an evening class at the school into their schedule could be a barrier for some parents. The virtual class allowed parents to be at home with their families while also receiving the information they needed. Merse Bonilla, a parent in the second-year class, even noted that her son would listen to the class and encourage her to participate and give her opinion.

With enough funding, the parishes and PIQE hopes to continue this program into a third year. They would like to continue providing parents with the support and resources they need to ensure that their children have bright and successful futures.

 

To support more programs like these, donate to the Spring Grant Cycle Supplemental Fund at catholiccf.org/spring-match