[RP TownTalk] Gazette article: Community gets familiar with Riverdale Elementary School

[Dwight Holmes]

Kudos to Danielle and everyone else who made this happen!
http://gazette.net/stories/022808/portnew182443_32367.shtml

Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008
Community gets familiar with Riverdale Elementary School
Open house targets parents of future students
by Maya T. Prabhu | Staff Writer

About 10 prospective Riverdale Elementary School parents attended an
open house designed specifically for them Wednesday morning,
familiarizing themselves with the school and talking with the school's
principal.

Danielle Glaros, who has a 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter, organized
the open house because she had spoken with many new parents in
Riverdale Park who were beginning the process of looking for a school
to send their child. Though the children are zoned for Riverdale,
parents could choose to send their children to a private school or
public charter school.

''I've been volunteering with the school for [about two] years and a
lot of new moms aren't familiar with the school. So this was an
opportunity for them to come in and ask questions," she said.

Parents and future parents met with Riverdale principal Carol Cantu
and Prince George's County Board of Education member Heather Iliff
(Dist. 2) to learn about the school.

''I can't think of any reason why anyone wouldn't choose [to send
their child to] Riverdale Elementary School," Iliff said.

Iliff noted that the school has consistently met its academic targets,
has high parent involvement and is a Title I school, qualifying them
to receive additional resources. Title I schools are in high-poverty
areas and receive aid from the federal government.

Parents asked Cantu about the school's children who come from
non-English speaking families and what she does to ensure that her
teachers stay at Riverdale.

About 70 percent of the school's students come from non-English
speaking families, but within two months of attending Riverdale,
children are speaking English, Cantu said.

And Riverdale's parent liaison, Neftali Ortiz, said that the only
teachers who left since Cantu became principal at the school were
retiring. Cantu is in her second year at the school.

''One of my goals is to keep my staff," Cantu said. ''I listen to them
and let them know how much they're appreciated."

For a few hours Wednesday morning, parents sat in on kindergarten
classes and took a tour of the school.

Riverdale Park resident Anissa Sunday said she felt like her questions
had been answered. She has a 3-year-old daughter.

''I want to get my child into a Prince George's County public
elementary school. I think by coming in you gain a comfort level about
where you're sending your child. But it is a school system that
doesn't have the best reputation," she said.

Sunday said she was able to see that Riverdale had a nurturing and
safe environment where the children seemed to feel comfortable.

''And that's what's important," she said.

E-mail Maya T. Prabhu at mprabhu at gazette.net.

-- 
1st Annual Riverdale Park ArtsFest
Town Center (at the MARC)
Sunday May 4, 2008 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Riverdale Park Community Calendar
On the Wiki
http://rpwiki.wetpaint.com/page/Riverdale+Park+Events+Calendar