PARENT COLLEGE WITH UNITY ALLIANCE

Overview

Parent College was created as the primary strategy to build the capacity of parents/families to be actively engaged in their child’s education. The goal of the program is to “educate and empower parents as partners, advocates, and lifelong teachers in their child’s education through educational courses and leadership opportunities.”

 

Parent College is a program designed to create a positive culture and predictable climate by collaborating with parents and providing parents personal enrichment courses that enhance effective interaction, strategies for how to promote social, emotional, health and wellness, and academic achievement, and connects parents to community resources.

 

The goal of Parent College is to work collaboratively with parents in a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental environment to establish the best possible outcomes for students while strengthening the relationships between parents, students, school staff, and the community.

Our Vision

All Idaho public school families are equipped and empowered to advocate and partner with schools to ensure every child has access to quality education and achieves excellence in schools.

Theory of Change

If we provide all Idaho public schools parents with knowledge and experiences that build their capacity to advocate and support not only their child’s learning but their own personal learning, then parents will become more engaged and intentional in demanding and supporting quality education for their children in ways that result in improved student outcomes and school improvement.

Parents are teachers

Provides a clearer understanding of how children grow and learn and the teaching and learning approaches used in Idaho Public Schools.

Parents are advocates

Builds capacity to advocate for children, understand the standards and expectations for learning, and support learning at home.

Parents are leaders

Helps parents build the skills necessary to assume leadership roles in schools and the community.

Parents are learners

Provides parents with the opportunity to build upon their own skills for personal professional growth.

Some examples of topics that parent college can offer:

Skills for life
  • Social & Emotional Learning Series
  • Serving as Role Models for our Children
  • Basic Emergency Response & First Aid
Health and Wellness
  • Mental Health Recovery from Crisis
  • Mental Health Recovery from Daily Stress
  • Physical Recovery from Stress
  • Financial Recovery
  • Bulling Prevention and Intervention
  • Suicide Prevention and Intervention
Navigating Education
  • What Your Child Should Learn by Grade Level
  • Strengthening Study Skills at Home
  • Code of Conduct
  • Special Education and the IEP Process
  • Accessing quality adult/career readiness programming
Parents as Leaders
  • amily Engagement 101
  • Engaging Families in Shared Decision Making
  • How to Run an Effective Parent Council
  • Understanding our Implicit Bias and Its Effects on Our Children

More information

ADVANTAGES OF PARENT/FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

Parental/Family Engagement is essential for student development and offers many benefits. Many studies explore how parental engagement can improve students’ success and teachers’ work. Some of the advantages are:

  • When there is good communication between parents and teachers, absenteeism decreases. According to a report by Johns Hopkins University (JHU), this helps reduce student absenteeism by 24 percent.
  • Academic performance increases. According to JHU, aspects such as comprehension and reading fluency improve when there is parental engagement, even more so if parents spend time reading with their children. The student feels more motivated to learn, and their grades improve.
  • It also helps improve student behavior in the classroom. Having parents and teachers communicate more helps students feel more motivated in their classes; their self-esteem and attitudes in class improve.
  • The benefit extends to all ages. Although the benefits are usually discussed in the context of preschool or elementary school students, there are other studies focused on high school students. Parental engagement is something that makes a difference at all educational levels, although its influence decreases as the student progresses in age. Still, in high school, for example, having the parents engaged can affect the decision of whether the student wants to continue studying or not.
  • Parental engagement improves teacher performance. When parents have better communication with teachers, they learn to value the work and the challenges that teachers face, which makes the teachers feel appreciated. It also helps the teachers to get to know the students more, allowing them to teach in a more personalized and effective way.
  • It helps when the parents feel happier and more engaged with their children’s education. A good connection with the school lets parents understand the curriculum better and the advancement of their children. It also helps them feel more comfortable and happier with the quality of education. It can even motivate those who did not finish their education to continue it.

Parental engagement can have a significant impact on the school culture. As parents engage, they become equal partners in education together with schools and the community. Working as a unified force, schools, parents, and the community can provide the necessary support, and resources to provide the best education for all our students.

  • Parent College will meet 3 times during the academic year. Before the academic year starts, at the end of the calendar year, and the last session at the end of the school year. The idea is to align parent university/college content with what is happening at school.
  • Classes take place on Saturdays from 8 am to 2 pm. Breakfast and lunch are provided. During breakfast, parents have an opportunity to visit community partners’ tables with information and resources. At lunchtime, parents come together and share their experiences.
  • Classes are bilingual (English and Spanish). The same topic is presented in English and Spanish in separate rooms.
  • Childcare is provided.
  • Classes facilitators are teachers/administrators/staff, and/or community members. Facilitators are compensated for their time.
  • In each School District, Parent College can be divided into Elementary, Middle, and High schools. This means having 3 Parent University/College sessions running in a school academic year.
  • After a Parent College program is completed, they can be certified to provide workshops/classes in between Parent College sessions.
  • In between College sessions, there is a follow-up/checking in with parents, to ensure they stay engaged and attend all three sessions.
  • Parent College can explore the possibility to partner with Community Colleges in the regions and provide college credits for those parents who attend all classes and have the desire to pursue higher education.
  • At the end of Parent College, there is a graduation ceremony where parents, students, school staff, and community members participate.
  • It would vary depending on the number of parents/families participate in each session, and would also vary if we have 3 Parent College running in one school academic year (Elementary, Middle, and High School)
  • Costs to consider: Curriculum development, facilitators compensation, childcare, food, materials, Parent University/College coordinator compensation, facilities costs.
  • A rough estimate may be $3000 to $4000 per Parent College cohort group.