FISS Program at Jacobs

FISS Program Continues to Educate, Engage and Empower Families Virtually at Jacobs Elementary School
Posted on 01/07/2021
FISS Program

Family Institute for Student Success Program Continues to Educate, Engage and Empower Families Virtually at Jacobs Elementary School

-Orlenda Jackson

More New Bedford Public Schools families graduated & overcame many of the challenges faced during COVID-19. The Family Institute for Student Success (FISS) Leadership Committee and Jacobs Principal, Richard Leeman, congratulated Jacobs families for committing to the FISS program despite the many challenges they face due to COVID-19. The FISS Leadership Committee also expressed thanks to the New Bedford Public Schools administration team for its support in hosting the nine-week program at Jacobs, and also praise the recruiters and facilitators for giving their utmost in the middle of these unpredictable & unprecedented times. NBPS continues virtually educating, engaging, and empowering families to ensure student success.

In congratulating Jacobs School families for their commitment to complete the nine-week institute, Principal Richard Leeman noted, “Our ultimate goal is to nurture the growth of responsible, kind, educated, well-rounded, and happy students. We cannot do that separately and studies show that the school-family-community partnership highly influences student success. Congratulations FISS families! Also, I wanted to thank you for inspiring me to engage in some new coursework. As a result, I signed up for an 8-week conversational Spanish speaking class!”

Christina Rivera, a Jacobs Parent and FISS Graduate stated, “The thing that impacted me the most about FISS is being taught about the importance of my role as a parent, and how early on it is that my role takes place in my children's education. I also learned that there are many things that are set in place early in their education to help them in their development to succeed in life, and it's our job as their parents to encourage and push them to be the best version of themselves as possible. There are also many resources available that I can use to help them, if the need arises, to get them where they need to be.”

Julia Tino, a Jacobs Parent and FISS Graduate added, “Thanks to this program, I have been motivated to participate in other virtual workshops such as Math for parents and English classes which have helped me a lot on a personal level. Today I feel much more able to support my daughter in her tasks and much more confident and capable as a mother."

The NBPS Family Institute for Student Success (FISS) is modeled after the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) of California. FISS New Bedford was made possible by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education. Since FISS started in 2019, we have graduated over 130 families, which directly supports over 250 New Bedford Public Schools students across the district. For more information on this program, please contact Orlenda Jackson at [email protected].