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 Involvement Workers

Wichita Public Schools
Wichita, Kansas

Paraprofessionals Helping Parents

Title I paraprofessional parent involvement workers manage school-based resource centers
Parent involvement workers link home and school efforts to boost academic success
Site-specific planning, budgeting, and professional development keep PIW's work focused on school mission

Overview

Ted Green, who has a steady job in a factory but no high school diploma, was often frustrated when he tried to help his son, Elijah, with his homework. Noticing Elijah's struggles in school, his teacher asked Alice Henry, the parent involvement worker (PIW), if she could help. Stopping by the Greens' apartment one evening, Alice invited Ted to a homework help workshop at the parent resource center, where he met other parents with the same problem. Together, they learned not only how to support their children's academic efforts, but also how to use a few simple questions to extend the children's learning while enhancing their own understanding of math concepts. From her conversations with Ted during his activities at the center, Alice discovered that both Ted and Elijah needed dental and medical services; in addition, worried about Elijah's latchkey status, Ted wanted to find affordable afterschool childcare. Alice used her networks to find help for the Greens, and now Ted counts her as a family friend.

Twenty-four of Wichita's elementary schools and an early childhood education center employ paraprofessionals as parent involvement workers, who operate parent resource centers and reach out to draw parents into partnership with teachers. Based on what parents and teachers need, PIWs develop programs to provide coordinated, informed support for students' studies. Parenting classes, family nights, and workshops help build a tight link between school and home. A centrally located, districtwide parent resource center is open to all parents.

District Context

Located in south central Kansas, the Wichita Public School system is the largest in the state, with more than 47,000 students. The district has 68 elementary schools, 16 middle schools, and 13 high schools. Fifteen elementary magnet schools are organized around a variety of special themes including: a "traditional" program that emphasizes reading, composition, grammar, handwriting, spelling, mathematics, and social studies; the performing arts; the environment; "open" education; and health and wellness.

Nearly 22 percent of Wichita's students are African American; 10 percent are Hispanic; 5 percent are Asian; and 2 percent are American Indian. In 1994-95, 48 percent of students received free or reduced-price lunches.

Major Program Features

Coordination between Home and School

PIWs serve as a vital link between teachers and parents. When teachers conclude that students need more parent help with their studies, they ask PIWs to help. Teachers use PIWs as a resource for classroom activities. PIWs communicate with teachers and parents through notes, meetings before and after school, telephone calls, and home visits.

Teachers appreciate the contribution PIWs make to the schools' mission. Knowledgeable about the curriculum, PIWs meet weekly with teachers at each grade level to discuss lesson plans and student progress. Teachers and PIWs also publish a parent newsletter that not only summarizes and explains the content covered in classes, but also discusses issues affecting the school district, such as the school budget, magnet schools, and learning opportunities for parents and students. Although they are not paid for the extra time, PIWs often serve on school committees and attend staff meetings.

PIWs invite parents to the resource centers for workshops that focus on how to coach their children in various subjects, including math, reading, and spelling. More than 3,000 different activities at the parent resource centers cover all skill areas in grades K-5. PIWs work with classroom teachers to coordinate center activities with classroom instruction. For example, when math classes introduce the concept of multiplication, parents may make multiplication flash cards and learn how to use them in games so that children can master facts and applications. A math specialist teaches families to use math manipulatives in the "Treasure Your Trash" program. Parents learn to use items such as egg cartons, string, and bottle caps for counting. When teachers identify students who are not reading at grade level, PIWs show parents how to construct game boards laminated on folders, learning slides, and bound composition books to encourage creative writing at home. Parents work with several color and number recognition activities, cutting out letters and numbers that they can take home.

The district operates a take-home computer program for Title I parents. PIWs recommend families for this program, and train parents on basic computer skills and computer activities they can do with their children. Parents take the computers home for six weeks.

Parenting Classes

Parenting classes are a regular feature of resource center programs. Parents learn new ways to interact with their children and to promote their academic success.

Counselors conduct the "Love and Logic" workshops in separate groups for teachers and parents. This program emphasizes letting children not only make responsible decisions but also learn from their mistakes. Teachers and parents both take this workshop to ensure consistency between the classroom and home.

"Effective Black Parenting" concentrates on how corporal punishment compares to the brutality of slavery. Presented with alternatives to corporal punishment, African-American parents learn that children often react differently to various forms of discipline. Conducted in Spanish, the "Los Niños workshop has some of the same cultural implications. Although some worry that such approaches nurture racial separatism, PIWs have found that they promote family pride, and all parents are welcome at every workshop. More than 100 parents have completed these programs over the last three years; for many it was their first experience of involvement in school activities.

Family Nights

Several times each year, PIWs work with school staff to plan family nights during which parents, teachers, and students come to the schools. These events usually have a specific theme, such as math, uses of computers, or health issues. On hand to answer questions, teachers and community leaders lead activities for parents and children.

Contacting Parents

PIWs telephone parents and make home visits to encourage them to participate in school activities. Documenting each contact, PIWs track parental participation in a family roster. Their goal is for all parents to participate in at least one activity each year. PIWs often visit families who either have a historically low participation rate or are experiencing problems. During home visits, PIWs are always accompanied by a teacher, social worker, counselor, or a school principal. Informing parents of the school programs, they explain that parental participation makes a difference to children's education, and they assure parents that the school will provide transportation and childcare for school events. Offering support and encouragement, PIWs always begin home visits on a positive note; they bring parents something helpful such as flash cards. Recently, PIWs at some schools visited all the homes of parents who had not attended parent-teacher conferences. At another school, the principal and a PIW visited every family in the school over a nine-week period. PIWs are not required to make home visits; it is just something that they do to ensure that every family is involved.

By providing specific roles for parents and encouraging teachers to view parents as partners, PIWs strive to make parents feel welcome at the school. PIWs operate a "Helping Hands Day," where parents volunteer at the school weekly, performing clerical duties for teachers. This program brings parents into the school; teaches them new skills, such as operating a copying machine or using a computer; and helps nurture social relationships between PIWs and parents. Although the PIW contacts parents to participate in this program after teacher referral, some parents are contacted on an ad hoc basis. Parents eagerly participate in the program, allowing teachers more time for instruction and making parents feel part of the school system.

PIWs use incentives to encourage parents to attend school activities. The district developed the Very Involved Parent (VIP) program, in which parents receive points for each event they attend. At the end of the year these points are redeemed for gifts, groceries, meals, books, and other items donated by local merchants. PIWs obtain donations from local businesses to use as incentives for parents at school events. PIWs assist in scheduling parent-teacher conferences in the evenings or at other convenient times for parents. For students living outside the surrounding neighborhood, schools hold conferences at churches and community centers near the parents' homes. PIWs attend these conferences, giving parents learning materials to help their children.

PIWs often refer parents to area service agencies for food, clothing, or health care. Parents often develop close relationships with the PIWs, informing them of their problems. PIWs also connect parents with GED classes, adult literacy programs, and other adult tutoring programs.

Parent Advisory Council

At each school, PIWs serve on parent advisory councils that deal with Title I issues. This year the schools developed "Parents Active in Title I," a pilot program that creates a compact between parents and school administrators. Parent "contracts" delineate what parents need to do to support instructional strategies. For example, PIWs give short-term assignments to parents to carry out with their children, such as learning 50 sight words, reading for 20 minutes, or moving bedtime up to 8 p.m. for all first and second graders. The district hopes to expand and implement this program fully, in conjunction with new Title I legislation that promotes parent participation in school decisionmaking.

Bilingual Component

Two schools with large limited- or non-English speaking populations employ bilingual PIWs to assist students and families. In many instances, parents at these schools are not literate in any language. Bilingual PIWs translate teachers' classroom notes and the school newsletter for parents, and they serve as translators in parent-teacher conferences. They work with parents in resource centers, make home visits, and conduct weekly classes for parents who wish to learn English. The district also employs two bilingual translators who work in schools for special events or purposes, as requested. Bilingual PIWs have increased non-English speaking parent involvement fourfold.

Support for Implementation

School Plans

Every spring, schools develop a plan to meet the needs of the parents at their site through the use of a "Home-School Partnership Planner." Viewing parents as both teachers and learners, schools organize events that foster communication between parents and teachers and get parents involved in parent-teacher organizations. The school and the PIWs conduct needs assessments by interviewing parents and conducting surveys. Although the district has provided the staff for the parent resource center, next year, under new site-based management guidelines, schools that do not have Title I schoolwide projects will have the option to discontinue the parent resource centers. However, school administrators are confident that they will continue to support PIWs in the future. Through site-based management, schools can take ownership of the parent resource centers and meet the specific needs of their students.

Funding

Included every year with the schools' Title I budgets is a parent involvement budget, which funds PIWs, parent resource centers, and other expenses associated with parental involvement. Title I schoolwide projects set aside money in their budget for parent involvement.

Professional Development

PIWs receive training and guidance at the districtwide main parent resource center. Every month PIWs receive three to six hours of professional development. Attending workshops along with teachers and other paraprofessionals, PIWs learn about child development and new instructional strategies. Recent training workshops have focused not only on curriculum areas such as math manipulatives, language development, spelling strategies, mathematics, but also on areas such as leadership development, dealing with difficult people, running parent-teacher conferences, and using TQM. PIWs request or pursue their own professional development as well. For example, a PIW who needed computer training had her supervisor arrange training for her. PIWs also submit a formal evaluation of the schools' program each year to the district's parent resource director.

Evaluation

PIWs are evaluated periodically at the district level on their ability to design and implement the programs, participation in professional development, and demonstrated level of commitment. The district requires that all classified employees be evaluated on leadership, initiative, and appearance. Meeting with PIWs regularly, the director of the district parent resource center observes them when necessary and helps them set goals for each year. PIWs work full-time and earn $9 to $12 an hour, plus medical benefits. They belong to a local union for classified employees.

Evidence of Success

Schools credit the work of PIWs for increasing parental participation in Title I programs, in which some parents participate daily. One Title I school boasts 95 percent parent participation in at least one school activity each year, and 100 percent parent attendance at parent-teacher conferences. Title I parents now aspire to leadership positions in parent-teacher organizations.
-###-

[School Employee Effectiveness Training]