Area dads, father figures participate in ‘Take a Child to School Day’
Aaron Smith walked down Massachusetts Avenue in Brighton Heights on Thursday morning, the song “Right Foot Creep” playing from a speaker in his backpack.
His kids — Cienna Smith, who’s in first grade, Domnic Smith in second and Paul Barry in third — bounced along beside him, shaking off the jitters and getting ready to round out their school week at Pittsburgh Morrow preK-8 in Brighton Heights.
Mr. Smith brings his kids to school every day, a different song playing as they walk down the street. But on Thursday, Mr. Smith was one of many dads and father figures who took the time to bring their children to school as part of the district’s first Take a Child to School Day.
“I feel like it shows a lot of what the Pittsburgh parents can do and what the Pittsburgh dads can do,” Mr. Smith said. “We just try to make it fun, have fun with it every day.”
The event, which took place at each Pittsburgh Public school throughout the morning, encouraged fathers and positive male role models to actively engage with their students by dropping them off at school or greeting them as they walked into the building.
“Take a Child to School Day is really important for us because it encourages fathers and adult role models and figures to really come and be a part of bringing their children to school,” Superintendent Wayne Walters said Thursday. “All of it matters. All of it matters, all of our community coming together to support our children matters.”
Take a Child to School Day is celebrated in several states across the country including New York, where the event first started in 2007. For Pittsburgh Public, the parent and community involvement expands on their annual Take a Father to School Day where fathers and father figures spend the day participating in various activities with their children at school.
The initiatives come as organizations and schools try to bolster father involvement. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 18.4 million children, or one in four, live without a biological, step or adoptive father in the home. But the involvement of a father or a positive male role model is found to have positive impacts on children.
According to the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse, when fathers are involved in their children’s lives kids tend to learn more, perform better in school and exhibit healthier behaviors. And student test scores and grades improve along with attendance and involvement in school activities.
“We’re very excited,” Morrow Principal Carlton Watson said of the event. “We welcome parents into the building all the time. We want them to be here.”
Throughout the morning families filled the sidewalk along Davis Avenue where they were greeted by administrators, teachers and community volunteers holding blue and yellow signs that said “Welcome Morrow.”
Fathers took time off work to bring their children to school while others supported their nieces and nephews to show that they are important.
Anthony Brammer took a photo with 6-year-old daughter Arianna outside the school before ushering
her through the doors.
Arianna’s mom typically brings her to school because Mr. Brammer works, but on Thursday he made sure to carve out some time to show his daughter how much he supports her.
The goal, he said, is “to show her what a good man does and what a good father is and things of that nature is important. So that’s why I wanted to bring her today.”
Ric Harris dropped off his son’s siblings after being asked by the family to be a positive
male role model for them during Take a Child to School Day and also later in the year when the district hosts Take a Father To School Day.
“It’s important for them to see the elders in the communities intermingling with the teachers and their friends and just seeing what they’re up to,” Mr. Harris said. “Sometimes you don’t know what the kids are going through. … I like to stick my nose in every once in a while so they know someone’s watching them.”