By MOLLY DUETT

News Intern

The Decatur County Board of Education (DCBOE) hosted a parents’ volunteer workshop on Thursday, March 1, at the DCBOE Support Center.

Dr. April Aldridge, director of federal programs for the DCBOE, spoke about how the initial idea to start the INvolved program, which is the official name of the DCBOE’s initiative to improve parent volunteerism in local schools.

“We needed to come up with a way that we can strategically train our parents, so we can say when a parent goes to the school a parent will know and understand how to do this, this and this,” Aldridge said.

“We want to maximize the time that’s being spent in the classroom so that the kids have an opportunity to have that little bit of extra something to be successful.”

A major goal of the DCBOE INvolved program is to help kids make it through graduating high school and let them know that there are options besides college, according to Aldridge.

A way that the group hopes to accomplish this goal is through the “Six Areas of Family Engagement,” which are parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making and community consulting.

“My daughter is in 10th grade and this is the first time they’ve had school training for volunteers,” said Loretta Harris-Harrell, a parent volunteer. “I am learning a lot more about the school system and what happens in classrooms. It’s a team effort and parents are a part of that.”