The Riverbank Unified School District held its 2023 Parent Summit on Saturday, March 11, on the RHS campus.

The overall theme this year was “Promoting a Pathway to Student Success through Family Support.” All the workshops and booth displays were centered around this theme.

After an overview of the days’ activities, the morning started at Ray Fauria Memorial Gymnasium on campus, with registration and breakfast ahead of a session with a keynote speaker.

RUSD Superintendent Christine Facella introduced the speaker, Jose D. Aldaco, whose talk centered on “Success Through Perseverance.”

The perseverance he spoke about helped lead him from Mexicali, Mexico, ultimately to San Jose, California, then to Ceres. His path took him from being a youngster in Mexico, only speaking Spanish, to becoming bilingual and completing his education at Stanislaus State University, Turlock.

Now, Aldaco is superintendent of the Waterford Unified School District. He is also a member of the Waterford Lions Club, and has served on the Waterford City Council for seven years, the last two as mayor.

After the keynote, participants scattered across the campus to attend any of the six workshops offered there.

Topics included AVID - Setting Students Up for Success, College Readiness, Digital Citizenship, Making Math Fun! Building Fluency Through Games, Parents and Managing Stress, and Strengthening Relationship with Youth For Mental Health.

A printed program that was available to registrants listed the classroom numbers for the workshops, as well as when sessions were scheduled, in English or Spanish. The keynote program was presented in both languages.

The booths in the gym featured a number of community and educational organizations and institutions.