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

Roles for Education Paraprofessionals in Effective Schools - 1997

Parent Technicians

Norfolk Public Schools
Norfolk, Virginia

Parents Supporting Parents

Paraprofessionals reach out to involve parents in children's education
Program uses creative strategies to link home and school
Professional development improves paraprofessionals' skills

Overview

Last Thursday, Jane spent the morning preparing the cafeteria and taking care of last-minute details for a fathers' luncheon she planned at her school. The luncheon was well-attended, with more than 80 fathers, grandfathers, uncles, big brothers, and godparents coming to eat lunch with students. Jane, a parent technician for the last ten years, had been searching for ways to get fathers or other male relatives involved in the school, so she invited them to lunch. After lunch, she helped some parents choose books to read with their children in the Parent Center, and she made several telephone calls to arrange parent-teacher conferences and home visits.

For 25 years, the Norfolk public school system has trained and hired "parent technicians" to serve as community liaisons to the parents of at-risk students. The 40 technicians plan workshops, organize projects, make home visits, arrange conferences with teachers, and perform many other services that support the instructional program by keeping parents involved. At several Norfolk schools, Parent Centers that house circulating collections of resource materials are run by parent technicians, who offer workshops and convene meetings.

Program Context

The Norfolk Public Schools serve 36,266 students in grades K-12; about 6,000 of these students are eligible for Title I. The district has five high schools, eight middle schools, and 35 elementary schools. Thirty-six of the city's public schools participate in the program; 11 of these schools are Title I schools, ten are now Title I schoolwide schools, and 15 schools receive funding under Title VI (previously Chapter 2). In addition, two prekindergarten centers funded through Title I are served by parent technicians.

Major Program Features

The parent technician component of the Title I program employs 40 paraprofessionals, one assigned to each school and five to the prekindergarten centers. In the 1993-94 school year, 3,348 Title I students and their families were served by the technicians, and 4,063 students and their families were served in Title VI programs. Of the targeted students in preK-K who were served, 83 percent were African American, 15 percent were white, and 2 percent were American Indian, Hispanic, or Asian American; 39 percent of the students received free or reduced-price lunches.

History

In 1969, the district sought to improve services to Title I students. It decided to build a corps of trained parents who would work to increase parental involvement in schools and promote parents' participation in their children's education. Principals recommended individuals for the positions; most of the technicians were parents who had been school volunteers. The entire program focused on expanding the district's efforts to include parents in planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating Title I programs for students.

Participant Selection

In Title I schools, parent technicians are assigned to the Title I instructional teachers, and their services target Title I students and their parents. In Title I schoolwide projects, parent technicians serve all students and their families. In schools where the program is funded through Title VI, the technicians work with at-risk students (identified through academic and poverty indicators) and their families.

Interaction with Teachers

In schoolwide projects, parent technicians confer regularly with all classroom teachers regarding students' and parents' needs. Parent technicians in non-schoolwide projects meet with Title I teachers on a regular basis--usually daily--although the frequency varies with the needs of students and families. Daily meetings are also scheduled with counselors and principals.

Activities

On an average day, a technician might spend time in a wide range of activities, including:

Planning
Arranging parent-teacher and other parent-staff conferences
Delivering student performance information to parents
Recruiting parents for school events and communicating regularly with them
Conducting home visits
Organizing and conducting workshops, usually in the school's Parent Center
Assisting with the Outreach Library
Meeting with staff or attending staff conferences
Performing duties as requested by principal
Working with community agencies
Providing a forum for parental input--e.g., conducting surveys or evaluations
Giving tours or presentations

Parent technicians often sponsor three workshops per week at a Parent Center, with some workshops offered at night to accommodate working parents' schedules. Specific examples of the activities parent technicians have developed include:

A six-week Families as Readers literature discussion group, in which parents work with a communication skills specialist and a Title I evaluator/disseminator to learn how to engage children in critical discussions about their reading.
A "bus stop chat" program, in which a parent technician arranges for teachers and school administrators to meet informally with parents at the school bus stops in the neighborhood. The parent technician developed this program as a way of establishing contact with parents of at-risk children, and the technique has proven very effective in making gains with this hard-to-reach population.

Support and Professional Development Programs

The program is now directed by the district's Department of Special Projects, which offers technicians a variety of inservice options. Sessions often feature presentations from other agencies, such as Family Services of Tidewater, Children's Hospital, and the Norfolk Community Services Board. Topics include team building skills, parent recruitment, building self-esteem, safety awareness, effective communication, and early childhood STEP training. Technicians are required to accumulate at least nine hours of inservice training per year, but they are encouraged to participate in as many sessions as they wish.

Issues

Parent technicians must be high school graduates who have related experience (voluntary or paid) working with parents "in a helping capacity." The district also requires that technicians be informed not just about elementary school activities and programs, but also about the community and its social programs. Technicians must also demonstrate the ability to organize and lead workshops and to communicate effectively with persons who have diverse backgrounds.

The salary range for the position is $9,000 to $12,000, including funds for travel expenses. A regular work-week is 32.5 hours, and technicians usually work during the school day. However, many technicians put in extra hours on evenings and weekends, and some principals have offered them a flexible schedule because of the need for this extended service.

Funding

Salaries and other aspects of the program are paid through Title I funds in most schools; in schools not eligible for the Title I program, funds from Title VI cover the program's costs. Approximate annual per-pupil costs are $88 and $76 for the Title I and Title VI parent technicians, respectively.

Evidence of Success

Each year, the district surveys parents of Title I students for feedback on the services provided (including those offered by the parent technicians). Most parents say they feel well served by the workshops, home visits, and Parent Centers. In addition, parents' survey responses have helped the Department of Special Projects tailor the program to suit parents' needs. For example, two years ago, a sizeable portion of parents noted that the workshops--which were offered during the day--were difficult for working parents to attend. Now, because the parent technicians worked with their schools to change their own work schedules, many of the meetings and workshops have been rescheduled for the evenings.
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[Developing a Partnership (DAP)]