Former Lee County teacher shows parents how to navigate school system

After spending years teaching students in Lee County, followed by a term on the school board, Gwyn Gittens is back in the classroom to teach parents how to navigate the school system and communicate with educators.

Wes Moussignac and Charlene Towe are just two of these parents.

“I have two boys,” Moussignac said.

“I’m learning something on how to better myself to help my child,” Towe said.

Gittens created the consulting company GwynEducation LLC, and this parent achievement course is one part of it. Through this course, she aims to train parents on effectively working with the people in charge of their children’s education.

“It hit me one day, but, why don’t we just train the parents how to go in, then, to talk about their children?” Gittens said. “We need to stop going up the river and just pulling people out and realize, why did they fall in in the first place? And I think that says so much about what we’re doing. You educate, and you empower the parents, and then you don’t have to try to coax them in.”

The hope is that by bridging the communication gap, the education system’s achievement gap will close up.

“There’s too much to be done,” Gittens said. “There’s too much in education that we need to really focus on. And I know too much from experience, too much just to walk away.”

“Now I know the proper questions to ask, you know, as far as trying to communicate with them,” Moussignac said. “Without this class, you know, you may just be like, ‘Where do I even start?'”

Gittens says she will also teach parents how to speak up at school board meetings. If you’re interested in learning more, visit the GwynEducation website.