ParentCamp Goes to Washington!
Update: ParentCamp participants coming to the U.S. Department of Education on Monday, October 26, should use the C Street entrance to the building. Online participants should head to the ParentCamp website.
Additionally, all ParentCamp participants are encouraged to connect and follow on Twitter: #ParentCampUSA, @ParentCamp and @usedgov.
Engaging families in schools and learning is vital to ensuring that all our kids get a world-class education. Which is why we’re excited to announce the first-ever ParentCampUSA at the Department’s headquarters on October 26.
ParentCamp is a free “un-conference” that brings together parents, caregivers, community leaders, educators, and children to have conversations about how we can best support our students.
ParentCamp found its roots at Knapp Elementary in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, when parents and educators came together to build relationships and create an opportunity to share great ideas from the field. Since 2010, school communities around the world have used the EdCamp and ParentCamp models to host their own events.
ParentCamp is about growing relationships and strengthening partnerships. It is about sharing, learning and networking. The focus is on what we ALL can do to make tomorrow better than today for our children.
The Department’s October 26, 2015 event will serve as a demonstration of how this type of “un-conference” model can be used to successfully engage families and communities in schools.
In typical ParentCamp fashion, discussions will be led by attendees who come from diverse backgrounds and neighborhoods, and who serve in a variety of roles in their educational community. To level the playing field, titles go out the window, and all voices are of equal value. Discussion leaders may begin the conversation and offer some initial resources, but it will be those in the room (and those following on social media) who will add the depth and much needed perspectives we need to improve outcomes for our nation’s children.
For those who cannot physically attend the October 26 event, there will be virtual options for participating and/or following along. In addition, the Department is planning regional ParentCamp events in cities across the country. We will share more on those proposed locations soon. If interested in hosting your own local ParentCamp simultaneously, you can find details on how to do so, on the main ParentCamp website, or by emailing ParentCamp founders Gwen Pescatore or Joe Mazza.
Find more details at the ParentCampUSA website.
Follow and connect on Twitter: #ParentCampUSA, @ParentCamp and @usedgov.
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