Parent Meetings Highlight Partnerships

MHP Community Life staff regularly schedule meetings with parents of students in our preschool and afterschool enrichment programs to share information.  Two recent meetings highlighted a high level of parent engagement and underscored great community partnerships that provide important resources to parents and students.

Emmanuel Jean-Philippe, principal at Arcola Elementary in Wheaton and a member of the MHP board, met with more than two dozen parents of pre-kindergarten students. He walked them through the kindergarten registration process and answered questions. Cleydi Pacheco, MHP Community Life Senior Programs Manager, said parents were very grateful for the opportunity to understand the process better, and the conversation seemed to lift some of the anxiety that can come from that big transition, not just for the student but for parents as well.

Parents of elementary students in after-school enrichment programs at MHP Wheaton properties participated in a fun, educational evening with help from MHP partners Amerigroup (special thanks to Robert Martin) and Manna Food Center. Amerigroup presented information about living a healthy lifestyle and provided a short Zumba class for parents (see photos). The Manna “Manny” bus — a mobile pop-up food pantry — was parked in the parking lot, and parents were invited to stop in a pick up a bag of vegetables to take home. Partnerships like these are a crucial part of MHP’s strategy to provide enhanced programming and information-sharing to empower families who live in MHP residences.