PTA Event Will Teach Parents About School

Is your kid normal? What kind of math and reading lessons are taught at local schools? And how can parents help their children raise their grades?

Not easy questions to answer, but such topics will at least get an airing Thursday at the Parental Issues Conference organized by the Orange County Department of Education and the 4th District Parent Teacher Assn., Orange County’s PTA umbrella group.

Dubbed one of the most comprehensive education meetings in the state for parents, the Buena Park event is part of a nationwide celebration of the PTA’s 100th anniversary.

“We as parents need to be participants in our children’s education,” said Barbara Ledterman, a conference organizer. “We want the best for our children, but we cannot effect change without understanding what’s happening in the classrooms. Knowledge is power.”

Experts on child development and officials with the Orange County Department of Education will lead a dozen workshops; some will be conducted in Vietnamese and others in Spanish. Topics will include violence prevention in schools, state policy changes on education, new and old math, and phonics versus whole-language instruction.

“Parents need to know the buzzwords in education and we’re there to be a support group for them,” said Ledterman, also the president-elect for Orange County’s PTA. The conference also aims to encourage more parental involvement in education, organizers say.

It will be held at the Sequoia Conference Center at 7530 Orangethorpe Ave., Buena Park. For information, call the 4th District PTA at (714) 835-0805.