Our success as a Crusade tutoring and mentoring site has led to our receiving an AmeriCorps grant to increase participation for Crusaders in a mentoring program. It is difficult to determine where the Family Center and the school begin and end. They form a tightly woven fabric of support for the entire school program. Grove Avenue School is the Family Center and the heart of the Family Center is the Community Room. From the weekly coffee hour, which has met every Friday for five years, to a family sewing workshop to Family Center and site-based management council meetings, family members of all ages have been welcomed into the school.
Parents enjoy their involvement in the school, and children are proud of their parents' visibility.
Families have the opportunity to socialize and provide meaningful support for their children's education. Often parents themselves are motivated to continue their own education. Families have a role in the governance of our school. Membership on the SBM Council has evolved to fifteen, including six family members, four teachers, one support staff member, two college professors, a business representative, and the principal. The decision-making process we use is consensus, with the principal serving as an equal participant.