“As a school council our goals are to increase parent involvement and what better way to educate them and give them food for thought than with the wealth of material presented tonight?” said Everett.

It’s a program parents beg for every year—and for six years, Midway has not failed in giving them what they want. This week DeKalb County School System’s Midway Primary School held its sixth annual Parenting Fair, a program structured to assist parents and community members in establishing appropriate environments that will help students learn.

Themed ‘A Family Affair,’ the 2007 Parenting Fair offered Midway parents seven sessions on the topics of effective parenting, psychology, stress reduction, nurturing parents, students’ homework, valuing children and the importance of communication. Session facilitators included college professors, chiropractic doctors, retired juvenile court officials, social workers and parent center coordinators.

Providing parents with such resources is the school’s highest calling according to Dr. Subrena Glenn Everett, Midway’s counselor and coordinator of the annual Parenting Fair. The fair, she said, is a part of an educational movement that, through a variety of topics fitting the needs of the school, aims to improve student achievement and parenting skills.

To provide childcare for participating parents, Midway teachers volunteered to stay after hours providing attending students with a relaxation session of their own with Disney movies, coloring books and crayons. A spaghetti dinner was served to parents following the sessions.

Midway serves students Pre-K through third Grade. Since2000, Midway School has offered three primary and three elementary Montessori classes to students age four to eight.

Source: DeKalb County Public Schools