Not long ago, some teachers at Red Bank High were trying to figure out why certain parents never attended school events. Not parent-teacher conferences. Not open house. Not anything.
Without parental involvement, students can wither. It's a tough nut to crack: how to get absent parents to become present?
"We wanted to figure out why," said Stacey Bandy, who teaches ninth-grade English.
Their search was part psychology, part sociology. They discovered that some parents had never graduated themselves, and thus felt out of place and embarrassed. Others couldn't speak English comfortably, or maybe even at all. (Red Bank has started providing interpreters at parent-teacher conferences.) Some hadn't gone to school past the sixth grade.
Once they understood many of the reasons behind parental absence, Bandy and colleagues Jamie Kerns and Nozi Moyo then moved onto the fixing.
"We wanted to know what we could do about it," Bandy said.
Today, their idea comes to life.
Each Tuesday afternoon -- starting today, Jan. 13 -- parents of Red Bank students are invited to come to the high school library to take English and GED classes. Tutoring will be available (for parents and students) as well as the computer lab. Plus, folks from the Chattanooga Public Library will help with registration for library cards, which are now available to all Hamilton County students.
It begins at 2:30 p.m. and is free.
Then on Saturday -- one Saturday a month, starting at 10 a.m. on Jan. 17 and continuing through April -- parents can take courses in life skills, such as finance, health and parenting, all topics selected by parents in a survey Bandy sent home.
The project culminates in May.
"A big expo," said Bandy. "Our hope is next year to do a full health fair for Red Bank parents."
Frankly, I love this. It's an idea that is rooted in education and community, as Red Bank High becomes a hub to sustain and support both. It helps to solve many of our fundamental problems, such as health, family dynamics and civic involvement. If it takes a village, then this project is the village square.
"If we can get these parents some things that they need, then they become more responsible citizens. They become a healthy family," Bandy said.
The idea came to fruition with the help of this current Chattanooga Leadership class, a longtime program run by the Chamber of Commerce. Some members heard of Bandy's idea, and put their support behind it.
"Our overall hope is to further connect the school and community through these offerings," said Dr. Shane Harwood, principal at Nolan Elementary and a member of the Leadership class.
Bandy's idea carries the scent of the future of education. Like a bigger, broader and brand new way to view schools and what they can offer, this Red Bank project seems a little like Lewis and Clark -- something a bit exploratory into a promising world. Bandy took a lot of inspiration from a school district in Ohio that she said was about to shut down.
"Their graduation rate was 58 percent," she said. "But then they started something small like this, and now, almost every school in that area has mental health counselors. They provided dentistry once a month and medical help for families, a lot of whom cannot afford insurance."
And?
"Their graduation rate has gone from 58 percent to 94 percent," she said.
When we rethink the possibility and potential of a school building -- its classrooms, its centrality to the community -- then it's a simple hop, skip and jump over to realizing how a school can also serve the entire family, not just one high schooler. This Red Bank High project is compassionate and holistic, as schools can serve the whole family, not just one student.
For Bandy, the project is simply the beginning.
"Our long-term vision is to have Red Bank as a 12-month-a-year resource," she said.
For more information, contact Red Bank's Cimone Sanders at 423-874-1900 ext. 2332 or sanders_cimone@hcde.org.
Contact David Cook at dcook@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6329. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter at DavidCookTFP.