Junior high reaches out to South Cape parents

If the parents won't come to you, you go to the parents.

It's a simple concept, one that Central Junior High principal Lee Gattis hopes will be enough to attract hard-to-reach parents to a special, second-chance back-to-school night Tuesday at the Salvation Army gymnasium.

Central Junior High holds its regular back to school night every September, but there's often a large segment of the community -- those from the south side of Cape Girardeau -- noticeably absent.

This year, Gattis and his staff decided to hold a second event, but not at the school. It will be on the city's south side in an attempt to reach those parents who didn't make it the first time around.

"We want to make sure people know we have an open line of communication," Gattis said. "Some people don't even know how to communicate with teachers."

The event will begin at 7 p.m. and will include snacks, door prizes and overviews of classes by teachers. Perhaps most importantly, it will also include a short presentation on the Missouri Assessment Program tests, the state assessments seventh- and eighth-graders at the junior high take every spring.

"We battle that every year because a lot of our students and parents don't see the importance of it," Gattis said. "But it's how our schools are measured."

Julie Trapp, community center director at the Salvation Army, said there's a variety of reasons parents on the south side might not come to school events, including transportation, work schedules and even their comfort with entering an unfamiliar school.

"They know the Salvation Army, some of them have probably come for help here," Trapp said. "They may be more comfortable here than going to the school."

Gattis, who has been in the school district 41 years, said this is the first outreach effort of this nature he's aware of in the district.

"I don't know how we're going to do, but if we get anybody, then we've accomplished what we're after," Gattis said.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, ext. 128