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RELAXED READING FOR PAR-ENTS RELAXED READING FOR PARENTS RELAXED READING FOR PARENTS RELAXED READ-ING FOR PARENTS RELAXED READING FOR PARENTS RELA

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homework help. “We are always looking for new ways to engage parents as they are the first and most important teachers of our 8,100 students,” says Meghan Schmidt, director of special projects at Chicago International. “More than anything, we appreciate the trust and support parents provide to the school and recognize that we are all in this together.”

Move over oprahThere’s a new book club in town

by Meghan Schmidt | photos by Joshua Dunn

RELAXED READING FOR PAR-ENTS RELAXED READING FOR PARENTS RELAXED READING FOR PARENTS RELAXED READ-ING FOR PARENTS RELAXED READING FOR PARENTS RELA

The need for family involvement is a hot topic when Chicago International’s leaders consider out-of-school programming. We know that involving parents and families enriches our school communities and makes them more successful. Research shows that top-notch schools have integrated a blend of rich and rigorous curricula, teacher support and family involvement. In 2007, the CICS Washington Park Advisory Board sought to achieve such a balance on its campus by offering a new after-school club just for parents. The Board surveyed parents and found there were a few parents who shared a passion for reading. It wasn’t long before the Relaxed Reading for Parents Program at CICS Washington Park was founded.

Picture this: Mrs. Mills, parent of two, hurriedly walks up the CICS Washington Park cement steps, rings the campus doorbell and checks the clock on her cell phone to make sure she’s on time for her afterschool class. Mrs. Mills is greeted by Mr. Calloway and Ms. White, campus security guards, as they welcome and sign-in all guests and visitors. She quickly heads towards Room 105 in the upper school building of the campus, which is home to 450 students in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood.

What’s the rush? Mrs. Mills walks in and cheerfully greets her fellow travelers, more than a dozen other parents of Washington Park students, all together on the road to the final chapters in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Mrs. Mills pauses and is relieved, knowing her sons, James and Marquise, will be attending karate and tutoring once the 3:30pm dismissal bell rings (only after they’ve devoured graham crackers and juice). While the two boys are busy with math problems and high kicks, Mrs. Mills will enjoy her fellow parents in an engaged discussion about Celie’s story.

Established by three parents, the Relaxed Reading for Parents Club grew to 12 dedicated readers last year. Parents have read Walker’s The Color Purple, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Ms. Tarra Calloway, parent of a CICS Washington Park graduate, neighbor-hood resident, cheerleading coach and all-around campus assistant, is the club’s moderator. In addition to reading books, Ms. Calloway says, the group also provides a relaxed space for parents to socialize and build community right on the 6105 S. Michigan campus. The Relaxed Reading for Parents Club has become one of the cornerstones of out-of-school programming, and inspired the founding of the Kids Book Club.

Such clubs are becoming more and more common at Chicago International. As more parents become involved, clubs specifically for parents emerge across the Chicago International network; topics include reading, fitness and parent resource centers, which provide access to computers, job search information and

ABOvE: TARRA CALLOWAY, CLUB MODERATOR, AND THE 2009 RELAxED READING FOR PARENTS PROGRAM AT CICS WASHINGTON PARk