Giving Kids an Edge to Success

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2009

As the new school year approaches, University of Illinois Extension has launched a website to help parents and children make the most of the opportunities ahead. "Helping Children Succeed in School" (http://urbanext.illinois.edu/succeed) covers a wide range of information to achieve the goal of the website's name.

"Studies have indicated that children whose parents and/or other significant adults share in their formal education tend to do better in school," said Jane Scherer, U of I Extension urban programs specialist and director of its websites. "Some benefits that have been identified that measure parental involvement in education include: higher grades and test scores, long term academic achievement, positive attitudes and behavior, more successful programs, and more effective schools."

All parents want their children to be successful in school, she added. But, sometimes, they don't know where to start.

"The website has several sections covering the essentials," said Scherer.

Sections include: parental involvement; instilling a love of learning; school stress; learning styles; study habits and homework; test-taking; grades; getting extra help; and parent-teacher communication.

U of I Extension educators Darla Heath, Rachel Schwarzendruber, and Melinda Jo States, along with former Extension educators Kay Mayberry and Nancy Schreiber, prepared the website.

Source: Jane Scherer, Extension Specialist, Urban Programming/Web Coordination, jscherer@illinois.edu