Part of my work as a family support specialist involved reaching out to a variety of marginalized populations to make sure our school district was communicating effectively about what resources were available and how to access them.
Because much of this work was taking place during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of these dissemination efforts were carried out over Zoom. Once barriers to technology and internet access were addressed, this set-up actually had many advantages!
One advantage is that we were able to lead workshops that parents could attend from their own homes, sometimes while also caring for children. Another is that we were able to provide simultaneous interpretation for multiple languages using Zoom’s built-in interpretation features. Finally, we were also able to record the meetings and make them available for families to watch at their convenience, enabling people to get the information they needed despite not being able to join us for a live presentation.
Our workshops covered a wide range of topics including:
child use of the internet and digital safety
resources for applying to college in North Carolina
how to read your child’s report card
how to use PowerSchool to stay informed of your child’s academic progress
alternative academic programs available in the district, including schools with different yearly calendars, schools with a special topic focus, and opportunities to earn college credit or job certifications while in high school