Usually, classrooms at Archer are filled with students. But at the recent Back to School Day, they were filled with parents, some of whom were doing calculus for the first time since they were in high school.
Archer’s annual Back to School Day took place on campus Saturday, Sept. 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parents of middle schoolers attended from 8:30-11:30 a.m., while parents of upper schoolers attended from 12-3 p.m. Parents first visited the courtyard to receive name tags and a map of campus. They attended each of their child’s classes in 15-minute increments, referring to the schedule they had been emailed ahead of time.
Nina Cerbo is the mother of 10th grader Maya Cerbo, who came to Archer last year. This was her second time attending Back to School Day at Archer. She said she appreciated the help she received from Ambassador Leadership Team members who helped direct parents to the right classrooms.
“We were super nervous last year because we didn’t know the campus very well. But this year, we were excited … to be in her classroom and see who her teachers were, see what she was going to learn about this year and meet some new parents that were there,” Cerbo said. “It’s a fun day.”
Computer science teacher Kelly Lougheed has taught at Archer for eight years. She hosted four classes of parents at Back to School Day. Just as parents like Cerbo enjoyed meeting their children’s teachers, Lougheed said she had a great time meeting her students’ parents. As computer science classes are elective classes, many students will take the class multiple years in a row, meaning they are taught by Lougheed for several consecutive school years.
“I always enjoy seeing the parents that I’ve seen before,” Lougheed said. “Of course, it’s nice to meet the new parents, as well, but having parents of returning students is always special because I can sort of build that relationship for longer.”
Lougheed said each teacher presents slides about the course content, as well as a subject-related interactive activity. Creative writing teacher Kathleen Keelty invited parents to write their own poems, while Lougheed prepared code-related activities.
“At this point, I use slides that I’ve used in previous years that tell information about the class — our goals for this year, for computer science, why you should study computer science,” Lougheed said. “But then we need an activity as well, for the parents to … feel like they’re being in a class. So typically, I’ll take an activity that the students have done — or even one that the students haven’t done, but I just think it’s good and fun for a first day activity — and I’ll put that in.”
Susan Evans-Agard is the mother of senior Quinn Evans-Agard, who joined Archer in ninth grade. She said this Back to School Day felt like a very full-circle moment after having her daughter attend Archer for the entirety of high school.
“I really enjoy seeing the teachers — going into each class that my daughter attends and getting a great understanding of what it is that she’s being taught, what it is that the teachers have in store for the year ahead,” Evans-Agard said. “This being [my] fourth year of Back to School, for me personally, each year has been impressive. The teachers at Archer — they get to know who your child is and they foster really amazing relationships.”
Cerbo said she looks forward to Back to School Day each year and appreciates the opportunity it provides for parents and teachers to connect in person.
“I am grateful that we get to actually meet the teachers in person versus just doing Zooms when we can,” Cerbo said. “I understand that [Zoom meetings] are convenient for everybody, and I’m happy to do them, but it’s nice to have a personal connection with everybody on that day.”
