A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Goals 2000: Increasing Student Achievement Through State and Local Initiatives - April 1995

Appendix D
Goals 2000 Parental Assistance Centers

Research and practice have shown that parent involvement in education is a critical factor for raising student achievement. Title IV of the Goals 2000 Act provides $10 million in grants to local non-profit organizations to work collaboratively with schools and other organizations to increase parental involvement in their children's learning. Goals 2000 has funded 28 Parental Assistance Centers nationwide through a highly competitive process. Each center serves an entire state or a region within a state, and targets both urban and rural areas that have large concentrations of low income, minority, or limited English proficient parents, though services and information are offered to all interested parents.

Parent Assistance Centers--in collaboration with schools, school districts, social service agencies, and other nonprofit groups--are working to increase parents' knowledge of and confidence in child-rearing activities, strengthen partnerships between parents and professionals in meeting the educational needs of children from birth through graduation, and enhance the developmental progress of the children assisted under the program. They have each designed their outreach strategies and services to emphasize local priorities and conditions. They encompass a rich variety of practices including parent-to-parent training activities, hotlines, mobile training teams, lending libraries, support groups, and referral networks. All of the centers also must provide support to preschool children through either the Parents As Teachers (PAT) or Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) programs, both widely replicated, home-based models that have proven to be highly effective in helping parents prepare their children for school success. For example:

• The Missouri Partnership for Parenting Assistance is a collaborative effort to provide parenting education and assistance throughout Missouri. The project provides training to parents with children from birth through high school. It also expands literacy services to low income families. Furthermore, the center is expanding parent access to services, materials, and resources through statewide dissemination of information and policy coordination among education, social services, and other resource providers.

• The CONNECTIONS parent center in Geneseo, New York, is sponsored by the Geneseo Migrant Center. The center's main goal is to assist migrant farmworker parents in developing the skills they need in order to aid in their children's educational development. To meet client needs, the center has implemented flexible hours to improve parent access to trained staff members. In addition, the center places educators in migrant camps to instruct adults in English as a Second Language (ESL), and brings a computer-equipped van to sites where parents might be gathered.

By working at a state or regional level, parent assistance centers are expanding statewide information and support networks to better assist parents in their efforts to help their children learn. The diverse needs of each state are reflected in the wide variety of services provided by the parental assistance centers.

[Appendix C: Urban and Rural Reform Grants]

[Appendix E: Amendments to the Goals 2000: Educate America Act]