Project Overview
Parent involvement is an important part of the program at Camp Thoreau. Camp Thoreau is a before and after school program that is run by the Milwaukee Recreation Department. It was developed to serve the families of Thoreau Elementary School in Milwaukee. The program runs year round and services about 80 families a year. I have worked in this setting for 15 years. Parent involvement in an urban areas is traditionally a problem but I am excited to work along side the parents. I am implementing a series of parent workshops that occur four times a year. The workshops incorporate relevant issues that are important to families and children. The upcoming topics are Homework Help in the fall, Nutrition in the winter, Bullying Prevention in the spring and Finding and Using Community Resources in the summer. The surveys that were received from the parents were key in deciding which workshops had the most interest. We provide child care, refreshments and computer/printer access to the families when they attend.