Being a parent of a school aged child has never been an easy task. And with all the choices facing young people these days, the job is getting even harder. But a new program run by Miami Schools is trying to alleviate some of the burden on parents with a number of programs designed to keep parents informed on some of the most important issues facing young people in the Miami Schools.



Parent Academy in Miami Schools

The Miami-Dade Public County School system runs a year-round ?Academy? to inform and assist the parents of students in Miami Schools and other schools in the county. There is no formal campus. Instead classes and courses are held in businesses, libraries, on-line, and in some public Miami Schools. Classes are informal in nature, but don't let that fool you. Parents learn quite a bit while still having a lot of fun. And best of all, Miami Dade Public Schools doesn't charge a fee of any kind.

The classes hosted by the Academy of Miami Schools vary greatly. For instance, many parents have taken a financial management course offered in 2007. This class helps parents organize their finances and deal head-on with issues like credit cards. It also provides a forum for parents to discuss all of the expenses associated with sending a child or children to Miami Schools. And there are a lot.

One popular class is child discipline. Meeting with other parents is a great way to just chat about strategies that have worked (and some that haven't) when dealing with children. And we all know what an issue school discipline has been in Miami Schools in the last few years. Being able to deal with issues at home may take some of the burden off the already over-worked teachers.

But the Parent Academy of Miami Schools is not all work and no play. In fact they just hosted a big family fun day. There was story-telling and face-painting, a lot of water games, and plenty of great food. Similar activities are hosted all the time on a smaller scale. If you check the calendar found on the Miami Schools web site, you will find a few story days hosted by Barnes and Noble coming up. And it's just about time for the Back to School Resource Fair.

Miami Schools have a myriad problems and I'm not saying that these can be resolved by attending a few classes. But we if parents resolve to stay involved in our children's lives and guide them through all of the obstacles facing them, we can make a change for the better. I'm just glad that the people at Miami Schools thought enough of parental influence on our children and other young people to give us a voice in their futures.