Local parents seeking assistance–from career development opportunities to legal services to access to general toiletries and school supplies–now have a one-stop place to go. The Parent Resource Center, which officially opened on Jan. 30, is currently located in the building behind the office of the Santa Clara Adult Education’s campus. Attendees of a private ribbon cutting at the Parent Resource Center on Jan. 28 included several members from the Santa Clara Unified School District’s Board of Trustees and Superintendent Dr. Stan Rose. City Councilmember Teresa O’Neill also came and gave a speech before the ribbon cutting.
“There are a lot of people in our district already serving our students in many ways,” said Carrie Casto, parent education and family literacy coordinator with the Santa Clara Unified School District. “By increasing collaboration of services and streamlining resources, we can better meet the needs of our parent community. We’re combining the current resources in the district, such as migrant education and community liaisons bilingual in Spanish and Vietnamese who do outreach for district families. We also presently have a homeless liaison on staff. So taking those services among other services that exist in our district and partnering with Santa Clara Adult Education, we can better meet the needs of preschool to adult families in our district.”
Casto shared that the Adult Education program comes with a comprehensive class list, which includes ESL classes, career and technical education, parent education, an adult high school diploma program, a HiSET/GED program and career development programs.
According to the Parent Resource Center brochure, other services extended by the center include a clothes closet, translators and workshops. Referrals in the areas of counseling, health care, dental care, immigration and community partners are also available.
“We have book donations from the Santa Clara City Library for parents to read here with their children or to take home to read,” said Casto. “There is a space here for children to play in while parents are meeting with a program coordinator about taking classes. We are also in the process of talking to food banks so we can set up a pantry here with non-perishable foods from the food banks.”
In the future, the Parent Resource Center will announce a donation schedule for specific items.
The Parent Resource Center is located in Building C at 1840 Benton St. (between Scott Blvd. and Lincoln St.). The hours of operation, which might be subject to change, are Monday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Call (408) 423-3541 for more information.