Rialto District’s Virtual Parent Summit to inform, engage parents

The Rialto Unified School District’s Parent Summit offers more flexibility for parents with a new format, engaging keynote and positive ways to help students excel in their education and social-emotional needs.

With the theme “Every Child is a Unique Genius,” the 2022 Parent Summit will be broken into four virtual sessions with the kickoff held at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 25. Parents can register for the event on the RUSD website at: https://kec.rialto.k12.ca.us/ParentSummit. 

The Virtual Parent Summit will include guest speakers, informative breakout sessions, student performances, resources for mental health and wellness, and education leaders providing families with a valuable informational hub for student success! There will be valuable information for attendees with engaging sessions on strategies to accelerate learning by students in engagement, reading, and math. And that’s not all! There are opportunity drawings and attendees will have the chance to win a TV or laptop, among other prizes.  

“As we emerge from the pandemic experience of the last couple of years, we know that going back to normal does not serve our students and our community to the fullest extent,” commented Dr. Raymond Delgado, RUSD Lead Profession Development Agent who oversees the Parent Summit. “This year’s Parent Summit is focused on building new partnerships with parents and our community to ensure we work together as a community to foster the unique genius in every child.”

Used as both a celebration of parental engagement and a source of valuable information for parents and guardians, the Parent Summit has drawn thousands of participants from across the RUSD each year for the last 14 years. 

“This year the Parent Summit will be an exciting opportunity for families and staff to learn and explore effective ways to maximize education,” Dr. Patricia Chavez, Lead Innovation Agent, Education Services, stated. “Our educational partners will be provided with helpful resources such as strategies that will help bring out the genius in every RUSD student.”

This is the Parent Summit’s second year in a virtual format. This year virtual sessions will be spread out across three weeks, with English and Spanish sessions offered, to make the information more digestible for parents and guardians while also allowing District staff the time to dive deeper into important topics. 

“I am super excited about this year’s Parent Summit,” commented Erika Gibbs Cochran, President of the District African American Parent Advisory Council. “I look forward to learning what resources are available for me as a parent to best support my children and hearing from other parents what works for them.”

After the March 25 Kickoff, the schedule for the Virtual Parent Summit sessions is as follows:

• Strategies to Accelerate Learning by Motivating my Students’ Engagement (Spanish: March 29 Spanish, English: March 31)
• Strategies to Accelerate Learning by Motivating my Students’ Reading Skills (Spanish: April 5, English: April 7)
• Strategies to Accelerate Learning by Motivating my Students’ Math Skills (Spanish: April 12, English: April 14)

Dr. Delgado said he’s excited to share resources with the community with a commitment to driving student success.

“We have some of our best minds working on workshops that will support student emotional development and engagement, accelerating reading skills, and accelerating math achievement,” Dr. Delgado said. “We hope this is just the beginning of a future in which our community will come together more than ever to support every child as they grow emotionally, mentally and cognitively. In Rialto, we are working towards doing so much more than returning to an educational experience of the past. We are working to provide a holistic education that allows each student to find their voice as they develop their unique genius.”

For more information on the District’s virtual Parent Summit please call 909-879-6002, ext. 2904 or email parentinstitute@rialtousd.org.