Bellaire hosted its Roadmap to High School Success event after school on Feb. 4 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Parents attended the event to learn and speak to staff members about how they could better support their students through graduation or different pathways. The event included information stations for graduation requirements, testing, college and career planning, attendance, academic success and the Emergent Bilingual (EB) program. Bellaire also invited community organizations to visit and offer families support and resources.
According to Juan De La O, a representative from the Tulsa Welding School and Technology Center, many students have not yet made a decision on what they want to do after high school, so it’s important to introduce them to professions like welding.
“Trade jobs are a great opportunity for students looking to get into these types of trades because there are so many opportunities,” De La O said. “From now to the year 2030, there will be about 2.9 million job offerings that are available in these types of trades, whether it’s welding, electrical applications, industrial maintenance or HVAC refrigeration.”
For immigrant parents Hong Yang and Min Shen, the function offered insight into the American school system. Yang and Shen found the U.S. education system to be unlike its Chinese counterpart.
“We never studied in this country as high school students, so it’s a good time to learn through this training,” Shen said. “In China, they only post the top students, but the U.S. is different, and the school wants to be fair to all of the students.”
Although this is the first time Bellaire has hosted the Roadmap to High School Success event, a similar occasion called TELPAS Night was hosted the previous year with a heavier focus on ESL families.
“This year, we wanted to expand that and bring in everybody,” counselor Jovanna David said.“ We want parents to know that you have this support, because at the end of the day, we know that when parents are involved, students do better.”
David hopes that events like this will benefit students and parents by raising awareness about the resources available to them.
“When parents are involved and aware and know that they have this pathway, we have college advisors that will give you scholarships and things to apply for,” David said. “It’s more about bringing in parents, families and really engaging everybody.”
For more information on graduation requirements or alternative pathways, contact the Bellaire Counseling department.
