Sandra Collins This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Educators, parents share dialogue on education

   www.gazette.net/200438/princeg - [Cached]

   Published on: 9/16/2004   Last Visited: 9/16/2004

   Sandra Collins said she did her best to bridge the gap between parents and teachers during her time as an educator, mostly in Prince George's County.
   
   It was not uncommon for Collins to use her personal days to visit parents.
   
   "If a parent could not make it to me, I would make it to them," Collins said during a recent education summit. "If they worked at [the U.S. Department of Agriculture], I would go to USDA. If they worked downtown, I would go downtown."
   
   To Collins, who now works as coordinator for the school system's Office of Family and Community Services program, talking is important.
   
   "I believe in talking," Collins said, adding that students should not receive conflicting messages.
   
   She referred to play telephones students would make when she taught first grade. "You can talk in it, but if nobody talks on the other end, you're not going to get anything done," she said. "We have to talk with one another. The key is 'with,' not 'at.'"
   
   Collins participated on Saturday in a panel discussion on "Engaging Parents and Educators: Bridging Parental Involvement Gaps."
   ...
   Carol Kilby, president of the Prince George's Education Association, who was on the panel with Collins, said there seems to be a distrust, a breakdown and disconnect when it comes to parent and teacher relationships.