We used to call it "Monster Ball". Or Death Valley. It was the loneliest time of the year, an afternoon or an evening where introspection replaced the constant flurry and noise of children's learning. We comforted each other, scavenged for food, armed ourselves with projects and resolve, trying to fill empty hours. Nothing to listen to but quiet, shadows, the hum of the clocks. The interminable waiting. Our "Monster Ball", or as the school district called it, "Parent-Teacher Conferences."

It was 1999. I was a first-year teacher. Old-timers told me, "This is Bridgeport." "Our school is an 'over-flow' school." "Our parent population changes every year." It made sense. This was the culture of the school. You can't expect parents to come out in this town. Parents rose to our expectations and didn't show. Oh, some daring individuals showed their face at our doors. About 20 to 30 in all.

That year, someone called the teachers' union and reported that some teachers had snuck out early. Under cover of darkness, they had simply deserted assuming no one would be looking for them.

We still can't put our finger on why or how the unthinkable happened. But it did. This year, 2004-05, some 143 parents (out of 232) came to our fall conferences, 151 attended the spring. This time, we were rushing through the conferences, squeezing in the last one, then another one, then another. The principal's first announcement over the intercom, "Teachers, the time is 7:25, will you wrap up your conference." At 7:45, we were still trying to be polite.

How did this transformation occur? We first began to notice an increase in parent attendance at our Cornerstone literacy events. Our break through event was called "Booktacular" and a record of 75 parents attended. Children dressed up as their favorite book character, we held a "bingo-for-books" and parents attended workshops on the DRA. Then "Take a Ride on the Polar Express" was held. Families came in their pajamas to eat dinner and listen to stories. "Love A Book Night" followed. A professional story teller, Gina Simpson, spun her magic to the tune of live African drums. "Celebrando Lectura Latina" brought our year to a close with a Spanish fiesta. Our events averaged 60 to 80 attendees. What was becoming clear was that parents liked coming to our school!

Not so coincidentally, our reading scores started to go up. Annual Yearly Progress was made, and Maplewood Annex was one of a handful of Bridgeport schools that managed to stay off the failing list. Thanks to the No Child Left Behind act, parents were free to choose our school and not just be randomly selected from an overflow list.

Our final parent event for the year is a culmination of another Cornerstone-Parent grant called "Talespins". In addition to the dance troupes, bagpipe players and ethnic foods featured, one of our parents has volunteered to read his poetry. Our home-school coordinator, Ana Pagan, is collecting a long list of all the ethnic dishes, parents are bringing to show off the cuisine of their culture. Parents are creating the event and the staff is coming as guests.

We used to call it "Monster Ball" the parent-teacher conference night at Maplewood Annex. But now we're thinking of changing the name to "A Midsummer's Night Dream."