"The more informed and empowered parents are, the more likely it is that children will succeed, not only in school, but in all aspects of life."
Anne Henderson
Author, MCS Board Member
Multiple academic studies have shown that parental involvement in their children's education is critical to academic success. Realizing parental involvement, however, requires a cooperative effort on the part of parents, schools and communities. The DC Parent Information Resource Center (DC-PIRC) was established to coordinate just such an effort in Washington, DC's diverse communities. Because of MCS' successful track record in leading efforts, MCS was chosen by the US Department of Education as the lead agency for the DC PIRC.
The only one-stop shop in Washington, DC working in the area of parental involvement in education, DC PIRC achieved its goal of serving over 25,000 families and personnel involved in the education and care of Washington, DC's children and youth. DC PIRC joined a national network of 60 statewide PIRCs across the United States federally funded under the Title V of No Child Left Behind. PIRCs across the nation worked hand in hand with State and Federal Programs to provide information and resources on early childhood through high school parent involvement.
The purpose of the DC PIRC was to:
- Help implement successful and effective parental involvement policies, programs, and activities that lead to improvements in student academic achievement.
- Strengthen partnerships among parents, teachers, principals, administrators, and other school personnel in meeting the educational needs of children in the District of Columbia.
The DC PIRC accomplished this by:
- Providing leadership and coordination that connected stakeholders in the area of education.
- Providing information about resources to families for their successful navigation of the educational and service systems.
- Building community by facilitating dialogue, conflict resolution and building on the strengths of a diverse community.
- Providing programs and promoting policies that supported educators in engaging parents as partners in the education of their children.
- Fostering coordination of service delivery that was responsive to the needs of the school community.
Parents As Partners Training (PAP)
The Parents As Partners Training took parents on a step-by-step journey through the process of school achievement with the goal of getting their children into college. The PAP training was developed by Stanford University in conjunction with the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights group, the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). Implemented successfully in Arizona, California, Kansas, and Texas, the training originally targeted Hispanic parents only. MCS adapted the program for the Washington, DC area, ensuring that it would reach all parents in the City, and especially targeting the majority of Washington, DC parents who speak English. Often children attended the sessions with their parents and gained readiness skills for pursuing a college education. MCS held the six-session parent trainings in its Partner Sites.
Parents who took the training wanted to:
- Better understand the value of, and know how to access, quality early childhood parent education programs that gave their children a full healthy start and prepared them for entering the school system.
- Better understand the evaluation data concerning their schools and children made available to them and know what the data meant in terms of opportunities for supplemental services and school choice.
- Become active participants in the development, implementation, and review of school improvement plans.
- Learn to communicate effectively with teachers, principals, counselors, administrators, and other personnel.
Regardless of level of formal education or English proficiency, parents who graduated from the training knew:
- How to engage teachers during a parent/teacher conference or school counselor if necessary.
- What their children needed to graduate from high school and enter college.
- The value of academic activities at home and sample activities to encourage, such as their children reading at least 15 minutes per day three to five times per week.
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