Columbia, SC
Latorsha Murray, Coordinator of Parent and Family Engagement
Latorsha.Murray@richlandone.org
Parent Pep Rallies: Motivating and Encouraging Families
Richland County School District One has seven clusters of schools linked to each other in feeder patterns for students to move together from elementary, to middle, to high school. The district leader for partnerships guides Family Engagement Specialists in each cluster to work with each school’s Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) to continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.
Last year, Richland County School District’s seven high schools and their “feeder” middle schools worked together to welcome students and families back to school. Each high school hosted a Pep Rally to help its families and their incoming ninth graders make a successful transition into grade 9.
At each Pep Rally, the Superintendent, School Board Chair, host principal, FES, and parent leaders on the Action Team for Partnerships (ATP), School Improvement Council (SIC), and PTA participated. They talked about the importance of family engagement, recruited parent volunteers, and shared ideas on how to encourage their child’s learning at home. A “tip sheet” was distributed in English and Spanish on helping high school students succeed in school. Families also received educational games to play at home. At each high school, district colleagues across departments worked together on the Pep Rallies, including translation services, safety teams, IT, custodians, theater services, and others along with several community partners.
A Pep Rally needs “pep.” This was provided by each high school’s band, cheerleading squad, dance club, and ROTC. The students welcomed parents and students at the entrance to their high school and performed prior to the main session. A guest speaker, Ako Kambon, spoke at each Rally. He stressed the importance of parents, families, and the community for helping students succeed in grades K-12. He also shared tips for parents to be engaged in positive ways to support their children’s academic, behavioral, and social emotional success in school.
About 600 parents and 800 students participated in the Pep Rallies, along with more than 300 teachers, administrators and district leaders. The celebrations aimed to set the tone for productive partnerships for the new school year. QR codes were provided for parents to evaluate their school’s Pep Rally. Parents and students agreed, “This was phenomenal!”
Read more about Parent Pep Rallies: Motivating and Encouraging Families in Promising Partnership Practices 2023.
