Parent-U-Turn “Relevance Model That Works for 21st Century Schools”
Author Mary Johnson
Parent-U-Turn is a parent advocacy group based in California dedicated to improvingthe educational opportunities of urban students in Los Angeles schools and communities. Parent-U-Turn's greatest strength is advocacy. Parent-U-Turn's model is research-based approaches for integrating parent involvement programs.
Parent-U-Turn is
affiliated with
UCLA/IDEA and
UCLA Center X and is a research-based approach for integrating parent involvement programs. Parent -U-Turn
showcases best practices for parent engagement.
www.Californiaparents.net
Parent- U-Turn Past and Present Clients:
1. Lynwood Unified School District
2.Los Angeles Unified School District
3.Pepperdine University
4.UCLA Center X
5.Inglewood Unified School District
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TYPE I- Access to Information and Data Collection
Parent-U Turn provides parent leaders with opportunities to analyze and reflect on how the issues of school restructuring, social justice and multiculturalism will affect their school communities
Parents need to have access to timely and accurate information in order to best support their children’s academic success. This includes:
- Parents using, analyzing, and collecting data about their schools
- Parents understanding data and using data that drives reform
- Parents becoming empowered to investigate and document conditions in their schools by becoming researchers in their own communities
- Parent access to information about the resources and rights to support their children.
TYPE II- Parents in Decision-Making Roles
Parent-U-Turn members work to increase parent involvement in decision-making, especially those who have been traditionally disconnected from the schools.
Parents provide leadership in schools by being at the table with teachers and administrators in multiple ways. For example, they actively set policies and are involved in key decisions along with school leaders. They ensure the schools have adequate resources to carry out their missions and obligations. In addition, parents provide training and evaluation of school structures. Finally, decision-making must incorporate input from families and the community. Parents in decision-making roles should include:
- Local Advisory Committees with genuine parent participation
- Effective advocacy and education as a direct result of understanding how systems are structured (e.g. how decisions and power are distributed between schools, staff, parents and students)
- Providing parents with knowledge, skills, and opportunities to actively engage them in all levels of the decision-making process per NCLB
- Representation of parents on the school decision-making teams
TYPE III-Parents as Student Advocates
Parent-U-Turn works to establish a corps of parent and community leaders that can participate in educational reform efforts through access to skill building resources.
Parents need to know how to navigate and negotiate the school system. We need to support the creation of an environment where parents have access to information and support systems to be effective advocates by monitoring and directing the education of our children. This includes:
- Parents need to know what children need, how to access resources and how to implement a plan of action.
- Parents need to understand a power map detailing the functions and structures of the system.
- Parents need to understand and be able to communicate in an educational setting, using terms spoken by educational professionals.
Parents as advocates. Parents will learn:
- About course requirements and the curriculum used in the classroom.
- Ways to support their children—“It’s important that parents discuss with teachers how to engage their child and use the child’s strengths to build strength in the child’s weakest academic area.
- How to write complaints and hold people accountable.
- Ways to successfully advocate for their children, particularly those in Special Education and English Learners.
TYPE IV-Parents as Leaders at Home and in the School-Community
Parents participate actively in the communities where they live and work.
Parents need opportunities to build leadership and advocacy skills to enhance student-parent-community partnerships. Schools will serve the family and community needs for health and social service and provide resources and information for accessing those services.
- Parents will learn intergenerational and cross-cultural communication strategies, with a special emphasis for immigrant families.
- Parents will learn “21st century parenting skills”, such as how to develop boundaries, parent-child communication, and identifying risk factors (e.g. drugs and gang involvement.)
- Parents will understand the college requirements and financial aid process.
- Leadership training will be offered that will include meeting facilitation, public speaking, conflict resolution and cross-cultural training
- Communications training so parents will be more effective in navigating their children through K-12 to college.
- Parents receive on-going support and technical assistance to equip them for effective participation.
TYPE V- Effective Two –Way Communication
Parent-U-Turn provides information about college access to parents and students
Communication in multicultural and multilingual communities must be translated in languages that parents speak in their home. Communication between home and school must not only be a regular, two-way occurrence, it also has to be relevant and meaningful. These multicultural and multilingual ways of communicating with parents must include, but not be limited to, the computerized machines, newsletters, personal contact, letters/flyers, and the school marquee. Parent Liaison roles in multicultural schools must also help bridge open communication between school and home and help create effective home/school relationships. This includes the cultural awareness to ably work with parents of diverse cultural, linguistic, and economic backgrounds and experiences. In many urban and multicultural communities, the Parent Liaison role is the key to fostering relationships with parents and open communication between schools and communities.
TYPE VI-District Level Support
Parent-U-Turn educates parents by modeling student-centered learning, authentic assessment and the inquiry process.
Structures must be provided to build parent capacity that is well-defined and where meaningful participation such as dialogue, empowerment and action are critical components of educational reform. This mid-level structure will be fully funded and led by parent councils that will:
- Provide parents with training and capacity building opportunities to effectively engage in school reform at the local and district level.
- Provide parents with information and resources to meet the needs of the whole child.
- Enable parents to support students and school programs.
TYPE VII- Friendly Schools Atmosphere
This is the major reason parents give for not participating or volunteering at local schools.
Schools will post welcome signs throughout the school in many languages including English. The staff of each school will provide mandatory customer service every year for the entire school. Parents will be asked to fill out a survey on services rendered.
A friendly school atmosphere was also left out of Epstein’s six keys that were adopted by the State of California. The number one complaint in urban schools from parents is that the school staff is rude and unfriendly.
