Photo by Jessica Talson. Robin Wiltison, principal of Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, left, and Diedra Tramel of Frances Fuchs Early Childhood Center speak at the kickoff ceremony for the Beltsville Family Academy.

Published on: Wednesday, November 03, 2010

By Jessica Talson

Beltsville parents now have a new resource for navigating the Prince George’s County Public Schools system and getting involved in their child’s education—the recently opened Beltsville Family Academy.

The family academy offers seminars, classes and lectures that will educate parents about the school system and help bring them into the fold as active participants in their children’s education.

The academy, which officially opened Oct.19, will help parents deal with everything from figuring out confusing school websites to understanding individualized learning plans for children with learning disabilities.

A calendar will be available online to view all the events taking place in a given month, and all services provided through the Beltsville Family Academy are free.

The idea for the academy started with a coalition of Beltsville principals and a few members at the Board of Education who recognized the need to get parents involved in their children’s education in all grade levels.

The group soon gained wide spread support for the academy from fellow educators and the rest of the board. Planning for the Beltsville Family Academy started May 20 and continued until the kickoff for the program in October.

The academy launch was celebrated at High Point High School, one of three schools in Beltsville where academy programs will take place this year. The other two schools are Frances Fuchs Early Childhood Center and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.

In addition to serving those three schools, the Beltsville Family Academy will serve parents from Calverton and Vansville Elementary, Beltsville Academy and Buck Lodge Middle School.

The kickoff event provided a chance for parents, students and educators to mingle together and learn more about the new program. In addition to learning about the academy, there were free health screenings by Washington Adventist Hospital staff and information from community partners, including the Prince George’s County Health Department and the Prince George’s County Public Library.

Although there are similar academies run by church groups and private organizations, this is the first family academy to be created and supported by the school system.

“It’s about empowering parents,” said Rosalind Johnson, a PGCPS Board of Education member. “The whole idea is to reach out and bring parents into engagement in the school system.”

Seminar subjects will include college information sessions, how to check your child’s grades online, who to contact with questions about your child’s education and what your child needs to know at a particular grade level.

“The most important thing is that parents have an understanding of the education that is given to their childern,” Johnson said.

Free English classes will also be offered to parents, and there are already more than 25 registrants.

Johnson, a retired teacher who taught in Prince George’s County for 35 years, said she is impressed with the commitment from educators as well as the support from the community. She believes that this program will become an invaluable resource for parents and teachers.

There is no set schedule or locations for seminars, but events can be held Monday through Friday. Although the calendar is not currently online, Johnson hopes to have it up and running this month. The calendar will be available in both English and Spanish.

For more information about the Beltsville Family Academy, please contact Frances Fuchs Early Childhood Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School or High Point High School.