Families find back-to-school support in Winchester

A new school year can bring excite­ment, new oppor­tu­ni­ties and a fresh start. 

It can also bring questions. 

Who should a par­ent con­tact when a child is strug­gling? How do you ask for a meet­ing? What is the dif­fer­ence between an IEP and a 504 Plan? What can a care­giv­er say when some­thing does not feel right but they are unsure where to begin? 

Families should not have to answer all of those ques­tions alone. 

That is why Change Collective KY and All Voices Reading Room are part­ner­ing to host Back-to-School Together, a free fam­i­ly-nav­i­ga­tion event on Sunday, Aug. 16, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at All Voices Reading Room in Winchester. 

The part­ner­ship brings togeth­er two orga­ni­za­tions with dif­fer­ent but close­ly con­nect­ed strengths. 

All Voices Reading Room is a non­prof­it lend­ing library and com­mu­ni­ty space built around lit­er­a­cy, diver­si­ty, inclu­sion, advo­ca­cy and belong­ing. It cre­ates oppor­tu­ni­ties for chil­dren and fam­i­lies to read, learn, con­nect and feel welcomed. 

“School is a huge part of a child’s life that can shape their iden­ti­ty,” the All Voices Reading Room team shared. “From self-con­fi­dence to social life to skill build­ing, we want to help pro­vide resources and sup­port for every child to suc­ceed, be includ­ed and feel secure.” 

Change Collective KY is an inde­pen­dent, par­ent-led effort that helps fam­i­lies nav­i­gate com­pli­cat­ed sys­tems, under­stand their options and find support. 

Caregivers are often expect­ed to under­stand unfa­mil­iar school ter­mi­nol­o­gy, process­es and deci­sion-mak­ing struc­tures with­out any­one first explain­ing how those sys­tems work. 

Parents may rec­og­nize that their child needs sup­port but still be unsure what to ask, who to con­tact or whether their con­cern is sig­nif­i­cant enough to raise. 

Back-to-School Together is designed to make that first step feel more manageable. 

During the care­giv­er por­tion of the event, fam­i­lies will receive prac­ti­cal, plain-lan­guage infor­ma­tion about school sup­ports, par­ent par­tic­i­pa­tion, ask­ing effec­tive ques­tions, doc­u­ment­ing con­cerns and locat­ing com­mu­ni­ty resources. The goal is not to over­whelm fam­i­lies with poli­cies or paper­work. It is to help each care­giv­er leave with clear­er next steps and words they can actu­al­ly use. 

Children will have their own activ­i­ties, includ­ing sto­ry time, col­or­ing, games and char­ac­ter visits. 

The event is open to all fam­i­lies, whether their chil­dren are enter­ing preschool, kinder­garten, ele­men­tary, mid­dle or high school. Families do not need to be con­nect­ed with a par­tic­u­lar pro­gram, school or orga­ni­za­tion, and they will not be asked to share pri­vate cir­cum­stances publicly. 

The first 10 reg­is­tered fam­i­lies who attend will also receive a $50 Walmart gift card for back-to-school needs. One gift card will be avail­able per fam­i­ly, and recip­i­ents must be reg­is­tered and present. 

This event reflects some­thing both orga­ni­za­tions believe: fam­i­lies are stronger when infor­ma­tion, con­nec­tion and sup­port are with­in reach. 

No sin­gle after­noon can answer every school-relat­ed ques­tion. But it can help a par­ent iden­ti­fy the next per­son to con­tact. It can give a care­giv­er lan­guage for a dif­fi­cult con­ver­sa­tion. It can con­nect one fam­i­ly with anoth­er fam­i­ly who understands. 

Most impor­tant­ly, it can remind par­ents and care­givers that ask­ing ques­tions does not make them dif­fi­cult. Needing help does not mean they have failed. And they do not need per­fect words before they begin advo­cat­ing for their child. 

Event information 

Back-to-School Together 
Sunday, Aug. 16 
2 – 3:30 p.m. 
All Voices Reading Room 
5 Cleveland Ave., Suite 301, Winchester 

The event is free, but reg­is­tra­tion is required. Space is limited. 

Register at: 
https://forms.gle/o34SawjcWyBaWhyn6