Hallways and classrooms weren’t filled with students Monday.

Instead, parents of those students got a chance to take their place.

Although it was hard for Sonja Simpson to take time off from

work for Parent Visitation Day, she made it a point to be there. &uot;You have to take time out for you kids, and sometimes you have to make time,&uot; she said.

Simpson’s children, Kamiya and Daryon, attend different schools, but that didn’t slow her down a bit.

Yesterday, schools around the city celebrated the day specifically set aside for parents, which is designed to enable them to meet their child’s teachers, find out exactly what they are learning and how he or she is progressing in each class.

Victoria Dennis, a parent of one of Williams’ students, realized the importance of her role in her daughter Arquita’s education. Now, instead of working the night shift, she works during the day. She saw it to be more feasible for her daughter’s sake.

Overall, turnout at the various schools in the system was good, many teachers and administrators said, but they still would have liked to see more parents attend.

Since his three years at the School of Discovery Genesis Center, Patrick Evans, special education and developmental reading teacher, said he has seen a drop in participation at the annual event and expected more this year.

Evans said he fears that too many parents are &uot;taking their child’s word&uot; about their performance, when in many cases the child is not telling the whole truth about it.