Involvement of dads sought through statewide program

On Board Online • October 15, 2012

By Eric D. Randall
Editor-in-Chief

More than 700 men visited the Niagara Falls City School District on Sept. 20 to participate in the statewide Dads Take Your Child to School Day.

“We want this to be step one in making fathers and men feel valued and welcomed in our schools,” said district Community Relations Director Judie Gregory Glaser, an organizer of her district’s event. The district plans to invite the men (who include uncles, grandfathers and others) to participate in a reading campaign.

Door prizes at elementary schools were donated by several sports teams including the Buffalo Bills, as well as Maid of the Mist, the Aquarium of Niagara, Niagara University and Four Seasons Cinema. To spread the word, the district partnered with a dozen other entities, such as the Niagara Falls Housing Authority, as well as Niagara County Legislator Owen Steed.

Father involvement in schools is associated with a higher likelihood of a student getting mostly As, and children that have a father involved in their life are two times less likely to drop out of school, according to a website devoted to the initiative.

Organizers include the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance/NYS Fatherhood Initiative, the state Office of Children & Family Services and the state Parenting Education Partnership. For more information, see http://goo.gl/vyPld.