The all new, state-of-the-art, eighth-grade wing at Ringgold Middle School is nearly complete with the addition of the Family Resource Center in March.
The strong winds of the April 27, 2011 tornado knocked down the wing, but it's back better than ever.
"Our Family Resource Center is a large classroom," said Ringgold Middle School academic coach Lesley Chance. "All Title 1 Schools are supposed to have a Family Resource Center."
Ringgold Middle School parent coordinator Sharon Brown said a parent portal is going back into the room with a computer for parents to access their students' grades. The computer will be used by parents that don't have computer access at home.
"We will use this room for small parent workshops," said Brown, adding that after the tornado the only item remaining in the room was a pencil sharpener. "We have literacy resources and math resources for parents to use with their students at home. I'm there to help the parents and I plan events for them."
Coming up March 26, Brown is planning a Math and Science Night and CRCT Prep to give parents testing tips.
"We want parents to realize that we have a resource center available to them," said Chance, adding resource materials have been ordered to stock the room. "We hope to help them find whatever they need."
Brown can be found in the Family Resource Center Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon.
"The resource center is a work in progress," said Chance. "Right now we want to get the word out that parents can visit the center and offer suggestions for its improvement. The big focus with the Title 1 programs is parent involvement. We try to get parent feedback and suggestions and have in place things to cater to them."
Brown said it truly makes a difference in the child's education when their parents get involved.
"We are about to send home a spring survey to parents on our Title 1 program," said Chance. "We will get ideas from it on resources that we need for our parent room. We are starting over after the tornado, so we have to get new resources."
Brown said she will be contacting area businesses to see if they would like to donate furniture to the Family Resource Center.
"We purchased 20 different topical books and we have literacy and math packets as resources," said Chance, adding the room holds a projector, interactive white board, flat screen TV, large writing white board, informational booths and books.