Horry County school hosts “Team Dad” to encourage engagement in kids’ lives

Father figures matter.

That’s the message Riverside Elementary School sent to the nearly 200 people at the schools first “Team Dad” event Tuesday evening.

The hour-long event meant to give dads a chance to hang out with their kids in a fun environment while getting involved in the school, said Christina Prince, organizer and reading intervention teacher.

“We felt like we hit a need in the community,” Prince said. “We want our dads to be super familiar with their schools and with their children.”

School staff and volunteers ran the night and coordinated activities and food, Prince said. Riverside Parent-Teacher Organization paid for 70 pizzas to feed the crowd, and dads had the option to buy chocolate bars to help support future events.

Riverside hosted a “parent university” night last year where parents could learn more about the school and more about how to be a good parent, Prince said. That night was such a success that administration decided to focus on the fathers.

“We strive to do what’s best for our students,” principal Vicki Underwood said. “Dads come to these events sometimes, but this is just special.”

The night kicked off with a quick speech from Wallace Evans Jr., executive director of A Father’s Place in Conway. Evans stressed the importance of a father during a person’s childhood, citing statistics that show student success linked to involved parents. Many people see school-related activities as just the mother’s domain, he said.

“Too often in schools, fathers are missing,” Evans said. “But if we can get that ground swell of fathers working with their kids early on it’ll help in the long run.”

Families were split into groups and ushered to three activities: pizza, a building competition and a game in the gym. Each group spent about 15 minutes in one activity before moving onto the next.

Lee Edwards and his 10-year-old daughter Jami tried to win the building competition by constructing a tower out of dry spaghetti, tape and marshmallows. The tower didn’t stand for long, but that didn’t break the family’s spirit.

“This is the most important part of her life, and you’ve gotta spend some time with them” Lee Edwards said. “It’s all about her, she’s my baby.”

Organizers have two other “Team Dad” nights planned this school year but hope the idea spreads to other schools in the county, Prince said. The more involved the father, the more successful the child, she added.

“We just really feel like we’re on to something,” Prince said. “We hope to build a stronger family, a stronger school and a stronger community.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2015 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Horry County school hosts “Team Dad” to encourage engagement in kids’ lives."