BALDWIN COUNTY, Ga. — Baldwin County Superintendent Noris Price wants to make parent involvement with their schools a priority.
"We know that if parents are involved in the educational process, their children will be more successful," she said.
In an effort to boost parent involvement, the school district is looking to hire neighborhood leaders.
"They're responsible for basically knocking on doors and helping those parents that are not as engaged to understand the importance of them being engaged," Price said.
Price needs one parent from Graham Homes, the Harrisburg Community, Milledgeville Manor and Wray Homes to serve as their liaison to other parents in their neighborhood.
"These are neighborhoods that don't have as much parental involvement as we would like them to have, so the engagement of those parents are low for us, and we would like to see an increase," she said.
Neighborhood leaders will get paid to host two events each school year and improve communication with the school.
Program Coordinator Courtney Bentley says the money comes from a federal grant through Georgia College.
"It is a $2.5 million grant, and it's over a five-year period and the neighborhood leaders element is $10 per hour, 10 hours per week, so $400 a month," she said.
Leaders will check in with site coordinators at Midway Hills Primary and Lakeview Primary once a week.
"Communication is really key not only from the school side, but also from the side of the parents," Price said.
Applications are open, and Price plans to have neighborhood leaders in place for the upcoming school year.
If you're interested in signing up for the program, you can call Karen Stanley at 478-457-2960.