DSC_0297<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nMore than 200 parents were registered to join the conference, with education officials also present to talk with them about school issues like health and wellness, sex education, and discipline in public schools.<\/p>\n
The CNMI State Parental Advisory Council organized the conference. Their current president is Fausia Maui Dela Cruz.<\/p>\n
She told Saipan Tribune that her message yesterday was to urge parents to get more involved in their children\u2019s education, adding that communication between parents and their schools is \u201cvery important\u201d to build \u201cpartnership between PSS and the parents for children success.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the voice of the parents to PSS,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The PAC president said they have also finalized their bylaws in November. Their goal with the bylaws is to make sure all Parent Teacher Associations at PSS schools are \u201cnot doing their own thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s standardized and it\u2019s uniform now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
PAC and counseling coordinator Frances Ulloa, who helped set up the event, said this year\u2019s conference was different in that they tried to get parents \u201cout of their comfort zone\u201d and interact with each other during learning sessions.<\/p>\n
Before, parents usually grouped with others from their own schools, but this year they mixed parents of all schools into color-coded groups.<\/p>\n
At least 10 parents were selected from each public school on island for the conference, she said. They hoped that the parents participating \u201ccould take what they learned and share it with the other parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tinian and Rota will have their own separate parent summit, possibly around February, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year was a different setup where we invited the community to come and talk about what services are available. But this year it\u2019s kind of different\u2026 it\u2019s about what are some of the pressing issues that are going on in schools,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
They invited PSS officials to talk about sex education in schools, wellness, discipline and truancy, and communication between student and parent, and parent and school, she said.<\/p>\n
Lori Serna, PTA president for Gregorio T. Camacho School and PAC secretary, said the conference\u2019s message was to \u201cempower parents to become more engaged as parents\u201d and to use the resources that PTA, PSS, principals, and teachers can offer them.<\/p>\n
She said parents \u201cdon\u2019t have to be the whole resource for their child.\u201d<\/p>\n
Serna, who is a dental hygienist at the Seventh Day Adventist Clinic, also urged parents yesterday to watch the amount of sugar given to their kids.<\/p>\n
She told the parents gathered that they are the role models for their children, and that if they are drinking soda and telling their children to drink water, \u201cit will not work.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she said that \u201cit\u2019s never too late to change habits\u201d and urged parents to take steps like limiting sweets to \u201cJunk Food Fridays,\u201d or sticking to the natural sugar found in the abundant fruits on island, or making sure to have sweets with meals instead of snacks, to avoid cavities and promote health.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey learn what we do, not what we tell them to do,\u201d she told the crowd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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