Parent Engagement

Creative Ways Fresno Community Members are Making their Neighborhoods Healthier

April 23, 2024 Ashley Goldsmith Neighborhood Presence, Parent Engagement, Serving Our Neighborhoods

Happy Earth Day! 🌎🌱🌻 Today, people around the world are celebrating efforts to care for our natural resources. We’re bringing Earth Day to Fresno as we share stories of two community members, like you and me, who are working to make our city a healthier place to live. Continue reading to also learn about ways you can be part of this work in your neighborhood!

The Most Important Contributor to a Student’s Academic Success

December 28, 2023 Ashley Goldsmith Literacy, Neighborhood Presence, Parent Engagement, Serving Our Schools

What is the most important contributor to a student’s success in school?

In Fresno Unified, 80% of students are unable to read at their grade level. Fresno schools are growing their early intervention programs and literacy mentors are providing one-on-one support to students. However, data shows reading skills and educational success are dependent on many factors outside the classroom.

In fact, “parental education might be the biggest factor” in determining a student’s academic success according to a 2022 EdSource article.

If parents are unable to read with their kids at home, don’t know about school events, or are unsure who to contact with concerns, their students are less likely to feel confident in school.

“Schools are doing a lot,” says Sabrina Rodarte, Every Neighborhood Partnership’s Extended Learning Coordinator. “What we need is more support for parents. We need to ask, how can we build up a parent so they can build up their child?”

Schools are doing a lot. What we need is more support for parents.
Sabrina Rodarte, ENP’s Extended Learning Coordinator

Our Children’s Ability to Read Now Will Have a Lifelong and City-wide Impact

May 8, 2023 Ashley Goldsmith Campus Presence, Literacy, Parent Engagement, Serving Our Schools

In third grade, Sam reads stories about farm animals, giant peaches, and magical dragons. About 75% of his peers struggle to read at third grade level.

In sixth grade, Sam is a little taller and strong enough to lug around a backpack full of books he will pour over for his history project on Ancient Civilizations. This year, several of his former classmates don’t pass the history class because they’re unable to comprehend the assigned reading making up 85% of their curriculum.

In twelfth grade, Sam tours colleges, sifts through complex financial aid documents, and writes application essays. About 1 in 6 of his friends who weren’t reading at grade level in third grade have dropped out of high school.

Children’s ability to read has profound implications for their lives and their engagement with their community.

Why Every School in Fresno Needs a Garden

April 24, 2023 Ashley Goldsmith Campus Presence, ENP News, Parent Engagement, Serving Our Schools

Fresno community members were ranked the 3rd most food insecure in the United States according to a 2018 report from the Food Research & Action Center. Many families in Southwest Fresno live in “food deserts,” meaning there is no ready access to affordable, healthy food. A lack of access to and education about healthy, readily-available food contributes to significant and detrimental health effects such as obesity, diabetes, asthma, and autoimmune disorders.

Children are among the most vulnerable community members, and limited access to nutritious foods and education about healthy living make them more susceptible to poor health conditions.

A more hopeful reality is playing out on a sunny afternoon at Kepler Neighborhood School, where nine first-graders sit on the edge of their very own school garden boxes, giggling as they chomp on home-grown celery.

To address food disparity and support children in our city’s areas of highest need, Every Neighborhood Partnership is partnering with King Elementary and Kepler Neighborhood School to design and implement a pilot Edible School Garden project. ENP is working to expand the program to include a garden at every one of our after-school program sites by next school year!

How to Serve Your Community (No Matter Your Life Stage)

January 9, 2023 Ashley Goldsmith Literacy, Neighborhood Presence, Parent Engagement, Perspectives, Saturday Sports, Serving Our Neighborhoods, Serving Our Schools

Developing a Heart of Service at a Young Age

Mary Avigliano knew when she grew up, she wanted to help others. As a child, Mary developed relationships with volunteers of local urban ministry organizations who left a life-long impact on her and her family.

“If it weren’t for a group of people who were passionate about urban ministry knocking on my family’s door when I was a kid, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”
~Mary Avigliano

In 2008, when Mary was a recent college graduate with a little extra free time, she became one of Every Neighborhood Partnership’s first volunteers.

Resilience Based Community Development through Parent Cafes

February 11, 2022 Gabrielle Piceno Parent Engagement

In 2021 Every Neighborhood Partnership received a $50,000 grant from Kaiser to increase community resilience and trauma-informed behaviors by providing resident-led workshops. ENP trained facilitators working in 3 different neighborhoods in Fresno to run Parent Cafe workshops and support groups. The Parent Cafes were run by leaders from each neighborhood with participants from the community with whom they were already in relationship. 99 individuals went through these Parent Cafes. Participants expressed through post-session surveys that they want to go through the course again and invite new friends to attend, as well as have the group continue beyond the original length of the course. As a result, 4 out of 5 of the groups have been continuing to meet beyond the designated timeframe for the sessions because of the supportive relationships that developed through their time together.

The 8-session Parent Cafe curriculum was developed by Brainwise Solutions with the goal of equipping parents and caregivers with tools to develop Resilience, Relationships, and Rebuilding in a supportive group environment. It was created with the intent of having leaders from the community facilitate groups with a preventative approach rather than as a response after a family has gone through a specific traumatic incident.

Alfabetización Digital

March 10, 2021 Gabrielle Piceno Parent Engagement, Serving Our Neighborhoods

Mondays and Wednesdays from February 8 – March 4 ENP staff members Suzzy Pinal and Angie Conde led ENP’s first Spanish digital literacy class. COVID-19 has highlighted the need for basic training in computers and technology, especially among our Spanish-speaking neighbors. For 4 weeks, 12-30 students met over zoom to learn basic computer skills. The excitement as new skills were learned was palpable and the instructors enjoyed watching the students’ eyes light up as they understood new things.

All of the participants said they would recommend the course to a friend and many are eager to re-take the course to become more comfortable with their device. Some participants even bought a computer after going through the session, feeling more comfortable in their ability to navigate it. Below is some of the feedback from the post-course survey.

“THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!”

November 22, 2015 andrewfeil Neighborhood Presence, Parent Engagement, Perspectives, Saturday Sports

“This is so much fun!” I cherish those words I heard from students on my first day as a volunteer at Ericson Saturday Sports!

ENP’s mission is to “to connect churches and community partners to elementary schools and to equip them to serve through their active presence in every neighborhood.” What it boils down to is being a better neighbor.

It’s part of our mission . . .

October 24, 2015 andrewfeil ENP News, Parent Engagement

. . . “equipping them to serve”

Recently we gathered with folks from about a dozen of our partnerships for an afternoon of networking, equipping and fellowship, starting with an amazing Mexican lunch prepared by parents from Susan B Anthony.

Parents Advocating for a Better Blackstone

July 16, 2015 andrewfeil Community Outreach, Parent Engagement

Even through the Summer our partnership parents from Susan B. Anthony Elementary and Yokomi Elementary are learning and working together and be advocates for their communities through their involvement in the Better Blackstone project. As they take a closer look at their neighborhood they envision walkable sidewalks, revitalized businesses, bike lanes, cross walks and a shady bus stop with benches. All of which are elements of a healthy and flourishing corridor.

Parents gathered in early July and walked from Divisadero to Olive on both Abby and Blackstone, taking pictures and observing the assets and needs in their neighborhood. The ultimate goal: to identify broken sidewalks, missing cross walks, missing waste baskets and any other areas that could be improved to make a healthy, safe, walkable community.

They are excited and empowered by this role they are playing. It’s just one more step in helping parents see the important role they can play as volunteers and leaders in their school and neighborhood.

. . .

On August 7th neighbors will come together to Imagine the Possibilities for Blackstone.

Blackstone neighbors will be sharing their findings through a photography display. This “Photovoice/Fotovoz” project will highlight the healthy and unhealthy aspects of daily life in this neighborhood. Through this project they are learning to be positive and proactive as they work together for a better neighborhood.

. . . . . . . . .

Brenda Bravo
Every Neighborhood Partnership
Parent Engagement Coordinator