Azusa, CA – Parents and families eager to support their children and their academic futures attended Azusa Unified School District’s annual Parent to Parent Symposium on Feb. 25 for a day of dialogue and strategies for taking action. Formerly known as Parent University, the symposium continued the tradition of uniting parents with each other and with education experts to establish a common understanding of how to effectively support children through K-12 education and prepare for college.

Hosted on the Gladstone High School campus, bilingual workshops highlighted a variety of topics such as “Parenting to Raise Healthy, Intelligent Children,” “Qualities of a Successful Student” and “College Preparation,” which engaged parents in meaningful conversation during two separate sessions.

“It is never too early or too late to take an active role in your child’s education,” Superintendent Dr. Linda Kaminski said during her welcome. “Our goal today is to help every parent feel empowered to be a key player in the academic success of their son or daughter. By being here today, you are already helping your child be a stronger student.”

Kaminski illustrated her point by drawing attention to the youngest person in the audience, 1-month-old Sandra Spencer, who was accompanied by her parents, Ron and Amanda. With three children under the age of 6, they made it a priority to get to know the services offered by the District to start their children off on the right path.

Their son, Kenneth, is a kindergartener at Gladstone Street Elementary, and after attending the “How Do We Communicate” workshop, they walked away feeling more confident in knowing how to support their son.

“It was good to meet with other parents and toss ideas back and forth,” Amanda Spencer said. “Many of the questions we had were shared by other parents and it was really comforting to know that we are not alone.”

Originally established as a supplement to an instructional program for English learners, the annual event has evolved to serve all district families.

Azusa city officials, including Mayor Joseph Rocha, were actively engaged throughout the day and reminded parents that their city is also a source of support for their children’s academic success. Rocha shared information on Azusa’s scholarship program, which is accepting applications for three high school senior awards in the amounts of $1,000 and $500 now through March 16, 2017.

“Your children are our children and we share the responsibility to help them be successful,” Rocha said.

For more information, visit www.ci.azusa.ca.us/1445/Scholarship-Program.

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ParentSymposium: Parents share ideas on how to communicate with their children at Azusa Unified’s Parent to Parent Symposium hosted at Gladstone High School on Saturday, Feb. 25.