LATHROP – For the past month, some parents at Lathrop High have been receiving an education of sorts.

They’ve been involved in the Parent Institute for Quality Education, a nine-week program consisting of various workshops to better help them with what to expect from their students while in high school and even beyond that, noted Janet Heupel at LHS.

“We have about 30 parents who come in the morning (since the program began),” she said on Wednesday.

The inaugural session took place on Feb. 14 with the planning stages of the program that originated back in 1987 as a result of discussions involving parents of a predominantly Latino elementary school in the San Diego area.

From that, they looked at ways of addressing the conditions that prevented their children from succeeding in school. But it was PIQE founders Rev. Vahac  Mardirosian and Alberto Ochoa who were able to launch the first program.

The program at Lathrop High follows such guidelines as parents receiving information in their primary language. The hope here is that they become educational advocates for their students.

Thus far, they attended instructional courses in “Understanding the High School System,” “Indentifying the Classes that Form Part of the 4-year Plan,” “Recognizing the Importance of Grades (GPA),” and “Reviewing Other Important Requirements and Programs.”

Sessions are held on Thursday mornings through April 18.

Heupel indicated that the morning courses are taught in Spanish, with “Discussing Higher Education Options” as this week’s program.

In addition, PIQE evening courses are offered to parents who speak English and / or Punjabi, she added.

For more information, call Lathrop High at (209) 938-6364.