News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Gainesboro Elementary School Second Graders invited parents and guardians to enjoy lunch Tuesday with their children.
It’s part of an on-going effort to allow parents to come eat with their child once per grade level in the Fall and in the Spring. The school also does a special holiday lunch during Thanksgiving open to parents. Principal Sonja Smallwood said keeping the relationship close between school, child, and parent is what the program is all about.
“Before COVID, parents, some, just came in and out whenever,” Smallwood said. “Of course, we had to put a stop to that. So last year, when those restrictions came down a little bit, we decided to establish these, so we could have those parents in, but it was more controlled to meet those security demands.”
Smallwood said schools faced many restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic, some that never went away. Schools also now have tighter security than in the past. The parents are only allowed in the cafeteria and can only stay the allotted lunch period.
“I think the parents really enjoy it, and I know the students do,” Smallwood said. “We average approximately 100 parents per lunch, and it just a special time for both of them to get a glimpse into their regular school day. And we want to continue that as much as possible.”
Smallwood said she plans on continuing to do Parent Lunch Days because they are important both to the kids and the parents.
“It is one of the most important things, you have to have relationships with each other in order to help our students learn and grow as they should,” Smallwood said.
The school has the parents sign up for the day beforehand. This way they know how many and which parents are in the building and belong to which student.
Third graders will participate in the program following Fall Break.
