Ask pretty much any educator, and he or she will attest to the vital importance of parent involvement in the school system. As one way to enhance and encourage that involvement, Phil Campbell Elementary School recently hosted its twice-annual Parent Expo.

The Expo, held March 16, welcomed parents of students in each grade level to attend either a morning or afternoon session to hear from teachers about programs and resources that are available for PCES students.

Kathy Canida, Phil Campbell site coordinator, and Carla Hutto of Franklin County Community Education and parental involvement, were on hand to talk with parents about Phil Campbell’s T.R.A.C.K.S. after school and, particularly, summer program.

“We do a lot of field trips in the summer, and we want parents to realize the children do learn but it’s in a different way than during the school year because a lot of people don’t want to send their children to school in the summer,” Canida said. “We do a lot of fun things with arts, STEM and field trips. We also have a weekly theme, and we try to make those fun things like pirates, robots and dinosaurs.”

The summer program will begin in May.

Other topics of interest for the Expo included the reading program Lexia and the USA Test Prep Program.

Reading specialist Sherri Stancil shared details of Lexia. “It teaches students on their own level, and we’ve had great success with it in the past,” she said. Kindergarten through 5^th graders can use the program, with access at school as well as at home. Kristen Headlee, 6^th grade math teacher, presented on USA Test Prep, which is designed for 3^rd through 6^th grades. “It’s an online site that lets students work on the standards. It also allows teachers to prepare for testing: they can look at student weaknesses and help them practice,” she said. “Students like it because there’s a game mode, so they can practice the standards and play games at the same time.”

The Expo, Stancil emphasized, is a positive education tool the school can use to reach parents “so they understand more about our programs,” she said. “In previous years I’ve done sessions on how to help children with reading and help them understand the tests we give and what we do with those tests. It just helps keep parents informed.”

That’s why Kim Trapp, mother of 5^th grade student Tasha, attended. “This is where my kids are. I need to know what’s going on,” said Trapp, who is also active in the PTO. “If it’s important to my child, and they’re involved, I need to know what’s going on and what there is to educate me to help them.”

PCES Principal Jackie Ergle said the school has held the Expo for the last four years.

“It’s just a way to support what we’re doing, if we can get the parents here,” Ergle said. “It’s always been a really successful program for us.”