Family Involvement

The Importance of Family Involvement at the School
Have you been hearing a lot of talk about how the traditional family has gone out the window? I know I have. The main point everyone talks about is how families tend not to eat dinner together nearly as often due to an abundance of after-school activities and crazy schedules. This got me thinking. Is my school (as an after-school activity) taking families away from their dinner table? I took a closer look at how we operate and came up with the answer-yes- but so does every other after-school activity. But, then I looked even closer and I realized that we promote family values in so many other ways.


In fact, Pendergrass Academy is dedicated to encouraging traditional family values and togetherness. It is absolutely necessary to emphasize to our students the importance of respect as a part of their martial arts training. It is also essential to the dynamic of a family to know the importance of respect as it is one of the traditional core family values; respect for each other helps grow the bonds families have between members.

Furthermore, we advocate family involvement at every class, event and function held here at the school. We do this for several reasons. First, the martial arts is a sport that requires support. Students with the support of their families behind them are more likely to succeed and reach Black Belt than those going at it alone.

Therefore, involving the brothers, sisters, moms, dads and grandparents of students in activities such as Fun Nights, Tournaments, Picnics, Holiday Parties, etcetera is something that separates Pendergrass Academy from your average martial arts facility. We are trying to accomplish something here that goes beyond the instruction of martial arts. We are trying to help our students grow as people outside of the school as well.

Not to mention, it is so much more fun to involve the families of students in everything that we do. The more the merrier, right?!

In the end, after taking a look at what we are really doing here, I felt so much more at ease knowing that as a school owner, I am contributing to the bond made between family members instead of putting a strain on it. It made me realize the importance of what we are doing not only as a martial arts school, but as a place for families to gather and support one another.