Schools help families interpret data, aid their students at breakfast sessions

The Poughkeepsie City School District’s grades 3-5 elementary buildings are providing the opportunity for parents and guardians to better understand the assessment data available to them and how to use it to aid their student’s progress.

Warring and Clinton elementary schools are holding Parent Data Breakfasts this week, and Smith plans to do the same on Nov. 12. They’re the first of a series of three such meetings, with more planned for early winter after mid-year assessments and toward the end of the school year.

Each morning Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week, Warring and Clinton parents of a different grade band are being invited into the school for a presentation to ensure they understand and can digest the information available to them. While Parent Data Breakfasts are not new at the schools, the sessions are especially important, Warring Principal Nicole Penn noted to her fourth-grade parents Wednesday morning, given the district’s switch to the HMH curriculum this year, which changed how parents see data from recent years.

“This is not a parent-teacher conference,” Penn said. “This conversation is about curriculum; it’s about data; it’s about the information you receive at home, what you do with it, what it means for your child, where your children should be in their current level and, if they’re not there, what they need to do to get there.”

After a continental breakfast of bagels, pastries, donuts, apples, water and Stewart’s coffee in the school’s cafeteria, the group of roughly 20 parents moved to a classroom to hear a presentation from each of the fourth-grade teachers. Each parent or guardian received a packet of information from their HMH Data Dashboard specific to their child and the teachers took turns walking the attendees through what each section meant, what the benchmarks are and what they can do to aid in making progress. The presentation was also translated into Spanish for those more comfortable with the language.

“Parents: We cannot do this without your help. We need your help,” teacher Shereen Cader said. “Encourage your child to learn their multiplication tables; to read every night; to do their homework. Asking those critical-thinking questions will get them to the next level.”

Other tips shared with parents included making sure their students arrive on time and prioritize attendance and keeping a consistent routine with them, even on weekends. The families were encouraged to review work at home and celebrate the student’s growth or their consistency in maintaining high scores.

“Give them credit for achieving success,” Penn said. “When children feel successful, they will continue to be successful. Your children are what you tell them they are.”

Penn also reminded the families to make sure they are receiving messages sent home from the school through email and the ParentSquare system. Any parent at any school who is not should update their email contact information in Infinite Campus.

“Our hope is that you are armed with information to be able to support your students,” Penn said. “The only way that they are going to be successful is if we do this thing together.”

Parents are encouraged to register for data breakfasts when their school schedules them, and families who miss this first round are still welcome to attend the second and third meetings later this year. Smith families can look for invitations to register for their first session in the coming days.