WHY CONGRESS SHOULD SUPPORT

INDEPENDENT PARENT CENTERS

When parents fully engage in the educational process, students have:

• Higher grades and test scores*
• Better attendance and more homework done*
• Greater enrollment in post-secondary education*
• Fewer placements in special education*
• More positive attitudes and behavior*
• Higher graduation rates*

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“I’ve been to dozens of Title I schools, sometimes several times each, as I write reports and articles on their progress. Many have had parent centers and parent liaisons. But it’s always the same parents, and rarely have I ever seen a parent center that talks about what standards are, how to get involved in writing the parent involvement policy for the school, or how to review and provide input on Title I school plans.

In my opinion, schools perceive that type of parent involvement as crossing some line . . . Low performing schools especially don’t have the right incentives to provide some of the most important information on school reform to parents. It’s really important for parents to have an independent parent center where they can get the information and support they need.“

--Anne C. Lewis, Education Writer

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For school reforms to result in success for all students, efforts of parents collaborating on reforms and/or pressing for them, as need be, must multiply by the thousands.

Parents often need outside help to get the information, support, and training they need to collaborate with schools and to press for significant improvement in the learning environment for their children. Sometimes, it is hard for parents to get all of the information they need from schools; sometimes parents simply feel more comfortable in a place run by and for parents.

Current provisions in Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provide for excellent and important ways for parents to get involved in their children’s education, and we believe that those provisions (found in Section 1118) should remain in the law.

However, as noted in the recent Goals 2000 Report card, parent involvement of the type envisioned by Title I remains a distant goal for many Title I schools in most states in the nation. Unfortunately, many Title I schools (though not all) have failed to fully bring parents into the development of parent involvement policies, school-parent compacts, and into planning and improvement for the school as provided for in Title I. It is thus essential for families to have an independent source of information and support that they understand and trust so that they can participate in an informed and effective manner and help move the schools toward the goal of full participation of parents in improving student achievement in the schools.

That is why it is critical to have independent, nonprofit parent centers — places where parents can go for support, information, and training on what Title I schools ought to be providing their children and how to work with schools, using the parent involvement provisions of Title I, to improve the educational program.

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Only a handful of those interviewed . . . knew their kid’s STAR [test] scores. The parents of only four or five students had actually had the scores explained to them in any detail.

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Less than one in five parents had been consulted by their children’s teachers about any plan to assist their academic success . . .

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More telling than these summary figures are parents’ repeated descriptions of interactions with the public schools which left them feeling inadequate and hopeless and which leave a more neutral observer shocked. Parents are frequently unable to learn even the basic facts of their children’s situation, let alone access enough information to make informed decisions about their child’s education.

--From Harsh Realities, Brighter Futures: A Report and Action Plan for Alum Rock Schools, prepared by San Jose ACORN, June 17, 1999.

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Families deserve an independent voice in the most important and formative endeavor that their children will engage in outside the home.

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In Fall of 1998, Local School Council members in Chicago were asked whether they thought it important for LSC members to receive their training from non-school district employees. The answers, overwhelmingly, were “yes.” Reasons included:

“Outside training is more detailed and more sensitive”

“Because CPS [the Chicago Public Schools] will only give you information they want you to know.”

“The trainers I experienced sent from CPS two years ago did not do anywhere near the in-depth job that independent groups do. . . The training is most beneficial if it is tailored to the problems and possibilities in a school, rather than just a discussion in general terms. CPS trainers don’t want to get involved at the local level and when asked specific questions will stress [the] power of central administration.”

“Because you cannot be part of something and a good judge at the same time! You are not objective when you have to say certain things!”

“Need objective/non-biased dialogue.”

–From Fall 1998 Survey of Local School Council Members from Parents United for Responsible Education

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Many school districts and schools have hired family involvement staff. Despite this trend, many families are not being reached, and thus are not involved in their children’s education. Based on the experience of the limited number of nonprofit parent centers that currently exist, including the state-level Parent Information and Resource Centers currently funded under Goals 2000, outside parent centers can reach these families because:

• They are not formally connected to the schools. Therefore, they are seen as unbiased, and families believe they will listen to their concerns objectively. Such centers are able to play the mediator role more effectively and provide families with the information they need to effectively advocate for their child;
• They go outside of the schools to reach families. Many families feel alienated from the schools due to their own experiences as students or their children’s experiences. Independent centers which go to neighborhood community centers, homeless shelters, low-income housing sites, transitional housing programs, Head Start, and others reach many more families. They go where families are and recruit them to be involved with their child’s education;
• Independent parent centers often are more successful in presenting information in a culturally sensitive way and in parent-friendly terms;
• Staff from independent parent centers can objectively evaluate schools as to their family friendliness. They can help parents present their perspectives;
• They are able to explain school options and education policies and reforms without fear or reprisal;
• Many have bilingual staff who effectively reach out to parents in their native language and teach them how to be involved in the school system.

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We really appreciate [the] efforts, dedication, and the leadership demonstrated in the training of our Local School Council members by [staff from Parents United for Responsible Education, an independent, local nonprofit parent center in Chicago, Illinois]. The training . . . was very enlightening, beneficial, and informative. . . . This program has aided our school in the development of more collaborative efforts.

-- Letter by Dr. Olga Villalba, Principal of Robert Burns Elementary School, Chicago

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RECOMMENDATIONS

Therefore, as Congress moves forward on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, it is critical that the bill provide for independent parent centers to assist families in meaningful parent involvement in the following two ways:

1. State Parent Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs) currently funded under Goals 2000 must be renewed, with a focus on serving families. Congress should oppose the Administration’s PIRC proposal, which takes the only program currently providing families with an independent voice around ESEA and refocuses it on providing technical assistance and professional development (on parent involvement) for schools and school districts. Instead, Congress should reaffirm and strengthen the state level centers for families currently in the law.

2. It is also critical that Congress boldly declare that parents deserve an independent voice in the educational process, and expand that opportunity by providing for Local Family Information Center grants, which would fund local nonprofit parent centers. Working together with PIRCs, these centers can help to leverage an $8 billion program to make real educational improvements for low income students.

For copies of recommended LFIC language/background, and recommended amendments to PIRC provisions, please call Christine Stoneman or Margot Rogers at the Center for Law and Education, 202-986-3000.