The Sidney Central School District recently held its second Family Engagement Night at the elementary school.
This was the second such event this school year and there was noticeable growth this time. The event was open to families with children in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.
Twenty-eight families and nearly 100 people attended this Family Engagement Night, which again offered free dinner and a family photo to participants. Child care was also offered. During dinner, Sidney student J.P. Dewey performed by playing the piano. Having the music during dinner received good reviews.
The night was broken up into several informal sessions, conducted by teacher and staff. The goal of the evening was to continue to increase communication and collaboration with families in the district.
The turnout was stronger for the second event, said Karson James, a school counselor at Sidney. There was an increase from 24 to 28 families for this Family Engagement Night.
“We had a better turnout,” James said. “We’re happy with how it went. We just want more people to come. We've reached a nice broad range of people.”
Only a handful of families didn’t fill out a survey given for feedback. The results from the surveys were overwhelmingly positive, with the majority noting expectations were met and they liked the longer length of the sessions.
The majority of the families took advantage of the dinner, and 15 families utilized the family photo offering. More than half of the families also said they took advantage of the child care and that many couldn’t have attended without it.
“It was a successful and enjoyable night,” said Samantha Oliver, a Sidney school counselor. “It was a great learning opportunity. We hope, in the future, more families take advantage of it.”
Participants also gave valuable feedback in surveys that were filled out at the end of the night. Some of the comments included:
For a full gallery from the night, please click here.
This was the second such event this school year and there was noticeable growth this time. The event was open to families with children in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.
Twenty-eight families and nearly 100 people attended this Family Engagement Night, which again offered free dinner and a family photo to participants. Child care was also offered. During dinner, Sidney student J.P. Dewey performed by playing the piano. Having the music during dinner received good reviews.
The night was broken up into several informal sessions, conducted by teacher and staff. The goal of the evening was to continue to increase communication and collaboration with families in the district.
The turnout was stronger for the second event, said Karson James, a school counselor at Sidney. There was an increase from 24 to 28 families for this Family Engagement Night.
“We had a better turnout,” James said. “We’re happy with how it went. We just want more people to come. We've reached a nice broad range of people.”
Only a handful of families didn’t fill out a survey given for feedback. The results from the surveys were overwhelmingly positive, with the majority noting expectations were met and they liked the longer length of the sessions.
The majority of the families took advantage of the dinner, and 15 families utilized the family photo offering. More than half of the families also said they took advantage of the child care and that many couldn’t have attended without it.
“It was a successful and enjoyable night,” said Samantha Oliver, a Sidney school counselor. “It was a great learning opportunity. We hope, in the future, more families take advantage of it.”
Participants also gave valuable feedback in surveys that were filled out at the end of the night. Some of the comments included:
- Thank you for the opportunity
- Teachers are doing a great job
- Some language/terms were not parent friendly.
- Due to the math session, I now feel I can help my child more
- I am shocked at the low attendance
- Please have another
- I would like a session of hands on math solving
For a full gallery from the night, please click here.