MALDEF National Parent School Partnership Program Parent Involvement and Immigrant Families

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MALDEFNational Parent School Partnership
Program Parent Involvement and Immigrant Families
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Our Mission

• MALDEF is a national organization whose mission
  is to promote and protect the civil rights of
  Latinos, through advocacy, leadership
  development, community education, and when
  necessary, through litigation.

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MALDEF IN BRIEF

• Overview
• In the last three decades the Mexican American
  Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) has
  worked diligently to protect and promote the
  civil rights of Latinos in the following five
  areas
• Education
• Employment
• Immigration
• Political Access, and
• Public Resource Equity

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Why Parent Involvement?

• One in every five Latinos between the ages of 16
  and 25 enrolled in school have left or dropped
  out of school.
• The U.S. Department of Education reports that 19
  of Latinos drop out of high school, that is
  double the 8.6 of Anglos and many percentage
  points more than the 12.1 of African Americans.
• Clearly there is a need for intervention programs
  that help reverse these alarming Latino student
  trends. Especially when the new Census 2000
  figures show that there are more than 35 million
  Latinos living in the United States.

Ref Urban Institute and the U.S. Dept. of Ed
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Why is Parent Involvement Important?

• School quality is enhanced
• Teacher morale is improved
• Students are more likely to earn high grades
• Students are less likely to be suspended/expelled
  or drop out
• Parental feelings of self-efficacy
• Parental attitudes toward school improve
• Families are strengthened

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Facilitating Parental Involvement

• Flexible schedules
• Provide transportation and child care
• Develop multiple outreach methods
• Make the first school meeting a social event
• Include a session on expectations and roles of
  parents
• School announcements should be in Spanish
• Meetings should respond to some need
• Provide staff development regarding PI

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Research shows...

• Teacher practices are important
• more important than background variables
• parents are rated more positively and less
  stereotypic
• In turn, parents and principals rate teachers
  more highly if they communicate often with
  parents.
• If schools implement programs of partnership
• Families, regardless of education level or
  income, will become involved.
• Lack of understanding of each others
  expectations

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Barriers to Parent Involvement

• Logistical Barriers
• Time, Money, Safety, Child Care
• Attitudinal Barriers
• uncertain about their role
• limited capacity to help at home
• communication problem
• Expectations
• school expect a certain level of participation
• parents feel they are judged

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Barriers to Parent Involvement

• Cultural Barriers
• teachers are respected and seen as experts
• parent involvement is not as common in Latin
  American countries as it is in the U.S.
• communication styles

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Specific Strategies to Promote Parental
Involvement

• Assess family needs and interest
• Set clear/measurable objectives
• Recognize cultural resources
• Communication should be personal, goal-oriented,
  and creative
• Use the extended family
• Provide list of mastery skills for each subject

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Specific Strategies to Promote Parental
Involvement

• Initiate a classroom volunteer program.
• Create a parent resource center.
• Set up a homework hotline students and parents
  can call.
• Invite parents to present talks.
• Offer workshops on how to improve grades and
  study skills.
• Maintain regular communication

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Specific Strategies to Promote Parental
Involvement

• Develop a phone tree (or contact tree) for those
  who do not have phones.
• Host families can show adopted families how the
  school works and what is expected of parents.

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MALDEFs Parent School Partnership Program

• 16 week curriculum
• To inform
• To participate
• To exercise their rights
• Main idea is to help parents feel more competent
  and empowered
• To have parents be the experts of their
  childrens education

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Parental Empowerment Model

• The goal is NOT to change people, but provide
  tools to help them better manage their lives.
• Greater involvement when parents acquire the
  knowledge, skills, confidence, and trust in
  others to take control of their lives.
• True empowerment is achieved when parents are
  actively involved in groups or agencies that can
  affect changes at local, district, or statewide
  levels.

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Program Goals

• To increase parents knowledge of the educational
  system from teacher conferences to organizing
  parents
• To increase parental involvement in the schools
  to enhance the academic achievement of Latino
  children
• To deepen parents understanding of their legal
  rights and responsibilities within the
  educational system

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Program Components

• National parent school partnership training
  manual and curriculum
• National education policy forums
• National multimedia awareness educational campaign

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National Parent School Partnership Training
Manual Curriculum

• A trainer of trainers manual for parents,
  school personnel, and community based
  organizations to implement a parent leadership
  program in their local areas
• A training curriculum which provides trainers
  with the following easy to follow information
• 16 session modules
• Procedures Forms
• Best Practices

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National Education Policy Forums

• MALDEF sponsored forums involving parents,
  educators, community leaders, policy makers, and
  the business sector in the discussion and
  advocacy of Latino issues such as
• Testing and standards
• Social promotion
• Disciplinary issues

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National Multimedia Awareness Educational Campaign

• Partner with educational institutions, local, and
  national media outlets to disseminate information
  for parents
• Provide parents with up-to-date information on
  educational policies and issues through MALDEFs
  website
• Collaborate with local and national media to
  produce public service announcements about
  MALDEFs program.

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The Training Manual

• MALDEF will provide a detailed manual to ensure
  that trainers follow MALDEFs program goals and
  objectives.
• The manual contents consists of
• Program history
• Program goals objectives
• How to start the parent leadership program
• How to recruit parent participants
• How to implement the training sessions
• How to start parent led school projects
• How to organize the graduation ceremony

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Program Curriculum Themes

• Parents rights and responsibilities
• Structure and function of the schools
• The parent/teacher conference
• Understanding group process
• Responsible leadership
• The road to the university
• Effective concise presentations
• Accessing the media

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How Does PSP Work?

• This program works best by partnering with a
  local school. (Conducting the training at a
  school site.)
• The school is chosen using a criteria that
  determines the needs of the school.
• Using the curriculum and manual designed by
  MALDEF.
• Using a holistic approach that provides parents
  who want and need to learn more about why it
  is important to participate in their childrens
  education.

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How to implement PSP?

• Choose a school site and use the parent center,
  auditorium or classroom. You may also use a
  community center.
• Recruit approximately 25 to 30 parent
  participants for the 16-week training.
• Schedule an orientation time for all recruited
  parent participants.
• Establish a calendar that outlines all scheduled
  classes
• Total of 16 weeks
• Each session is 2 hours long
• Parent participants choose the time and the day
  for the classes. This process is done by
  majority vote of those present during your
  orientation for the program.

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Program Results

• We teach them the administrative structure of the
  schools, how they are financed, how to
  effectively solve problems, and how to hold
  school officials accountable.
• Our program gives parents hope that there is a
  solution to the problems they face with their
  children in school.
• Our parent leadership training program teaches
  parents how to change schools by working within
  the system.
• Our program also teaches parents how guide their
  child towards a college education and what they
  as parents need to do to ensure their children
  are eligible for college admission.

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Program Results

• Parents get involved in our parent leadership
  program for one very simple reason their
  children.
• They love their children and want the very best
  for them.
• Foremost, our program gives parents the
  confidence needed to advocate for change, to face
  school administrators, and to monitor their
  childs progress in school.
• They learn how to be partners with the school
  towards the educational achievement of their
  children.

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Things To Consider

• Make an assessment of parent participation at
  your local schools.
• Is there a parent center at your local school? If
  not, find out why.
• Assess the types of parent leaders at your local
  school. Are they always the same people. What
  is the climate at the school for parent
  involvement?
• Speak with parents to find out their needs.
• Are there programs at your local school that
  cater towards parent participation or enhance
  parent leadership?

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THE END

• Isabel Sance-Valverde
• PSP Director
• Isance-valverde_at_maldef.org