NEWBERRY — Families and Schools Together will begin a new semester on Feb. 7 at Newberry Elementary School.
This program will meet every Tuesday with the purpose of building relationships with the parents as well as the school. The Newberry County Literacy Council is once again a sponsor of this program.
“What we do is we provide services for the parents as far was being able to discuss problems they feel their children may have at school. We discuss bullying, communication with teachers and we also help with other aspects, such as financial literacy for parents,” said Initra Williams, a FAST facilitator at the Newberry County Literacy Council.
The financial literacy program through FAST helps parents develop a savings account. Williams said at the end of FAST they will open up savings accounts at TD Bank, usually $25, to start a savings account for the participating families.
“We teach them about savings, and smart ways to spend their money, things like that,” she said.
The FAST program will begin at 5:30 p.m. and end at 7:30 p.m. and dinner is the first item on the agenda. The families will have dinner together where they discuss their day, and parents have the opportunity to ask their children how their day was. Williams said this gives each family a chance to bond over a meal.
“The meals are provided through a grant from Families and Schools Together. We try and use a different restaurant every time, so we use different places in the community,” she said.
After the meal, the children and the parents will split into separate groups. The children will do their homework and receive tutoring. Parents will have an opportunity to do things like stress relief through massage and different classes, like financial literacy. The parents also get a chance to discuss situations such as bullying with the principal.
“Then they come back as a family at the end and do a family activity, so we do something like a game with the families before we leave,” Williams said.
The program last for roughly six weeks, and at the end of the program there will be a FAST graduation.
Williams believes this is a beneficial program for both parents and children. She said the students really enjoy the interaction with the college volunteers, as well as getting time with their parents.
“A lot of them, they get home from school, they have to do their homework, eat dinner, then it is bed time and they never really get to talk to their parents about problems they might have,” Williams said. “So this is an opportunity for them to discuss problems with school, with their parents and spend quality time with their family.”
The FAST program is currently only at Newberry Elementary School for first through fifth graders, but if the families have older students, FAST will work with them as well. Sheila Brown is the parent coordinator at NES and she will send out letters to the parents about FAST.
“We are excited to have families participate in the program more than once,” said Brown. “We welcome them and remind them that their presence matters. Our students enjoy being a part of this program and are eager to participate in the activities that are planned for them. ”
According to Brown, the students who have participated in FAST are more willing to engage in new activities. Reggie Wicker, principal at NEWS, said that the FAST program is a true testament and direct correlation to the mission at NES: In collaboration with all community stakeholders, it is our mission to equip and empower the whole child for the opportunities of the 21st Century.
At this time there are 20 families signed up to participate, there is no cap to the program and more families are welcome to sign up.
“We have found that it has grown more family togetherness, students are more likely to discuss any problems they might have at school with their parents instead of being afraid, and we have found that there is better communication with parents and teachers, with what is going on with their students,” Williams said.
Right now FAST is only available at Newberry Elementary School, but Williams hopes they can expand to other schools. In order for this to happen they will need coordination with the principals, some faculty to assist and families willing to participate.
If you are interested in being a part of FAST at NES, you can contact Brown at the NES.
“This program is strengthening families and building family relationships with the school and their children, that is why it is beneficial,” said Barbara Chapman, director of Newberry County Literacy.