Possip loves our school partners and we want to share the amazing things they do on a daily basis! In our Possip Partner Spotlight we will feature a partner school to learn from them. Veritas Prep has been a partner with Possip for years – and we’re excited to learn from them.
This week our Partner Spotlight is on Veritas Prep Charter School in Springfield, MA. Their awesome Student & Family Services Coordinator, Annie Paredes, has great strategies for hearing and responding to the needs families express. These strategies include Town Halls, principal videos, and even a parent Help Desk that’s in the works! Check out our Q&A with Annie and let us know if you want to connect with her to learn more!
Possip Q&A
Possip: How did Pulse Checks™ inspire you to host a Town Hall with your families?
Annie @ Veritas: This year as an organization we want to make sure we are really listening to hear and 
not just respond.We wanted to a create a space where families could bring any questions they have. We actually had one of our homerooms do a Town Hall for their families and decided it was an important piece of building connection and relationships with our families.
Possip: What are some other ways Veritas Prep Springfield currently responds to parent feedback?
Annie @ Veritas: After we get our POSSIP reports, we meet on Tuesdays and discuss themes around questions/concerns. We address these in the meeting, and decide which parents need a call back that day or if there are specific teachers we need to check in with about feedback. We also make sure to send specific teachers any positive feedback we receive on the POSSIP; it’s a great way to boost morale. Also we’ve seen the theme around our grading system so our principal made a video and uploaded it to our parent portal.
Possip: What advice would you give to any other Possip partners interested in hosting something similar?
Annie @ Veritas: Be organized; assign who is doing what during the Town Hall. We had 2 facilitators, a note taker, a translator, someone in charge of the chat. We also had a brief slide with a presentation to guide parents through the Town Hall. Like any feedback, its important to be ready to hear critiques of things you believe are going well. Be ready to listen from different perspectives, what’s true for our reality might be different than others.
Annie Paredes, Student and Family Services Coordinator
Veritas Prep Charter School, Springfield, MA 01105
413-250-1842; aparedes@vpcs.org
