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Parental Involvement
Parents, families and communities have a vital part to play in our new school system. The Children First
reforms recognize the essential role parents play in directing and supporting the educational
achievement of their children. The Department has taken unprecedented steps to make schools more
welcoming to parents and to make it easier for parents to be meaningfully involved in their children’s
education.
Read the Guide for Parent and Families as part of the Children First reform.
Parent Coordinators
Parent Coordinators are new staff members working on-site in schools. Parent Coordinators are
responsible for encouraging and promoting active involvement by parents in their children’s education.
They will also work to make all of our schools more welcoming to parents. In addition to principals and
teachers, the Parent Coordinator will be an important point of contact for parents at their children’s
schools. Parent Coordinators are trained to help parents find answers to their questions and concerns.
In creating this position, the DOE realized that most problems involving students and their families must
be solved at the school level. Unlike parent volunteers working in a school, the Parent Coordinator is a
staff professional who can work with his/her colleagues to solve problems. The goal is to make it easier
for parents to resolve issues at the school level or find the information and services they need to help
their children.
Another task for Parent Coordinators is to support existing parent organizations, such as the Parent -
Teacher Association and the School Leadership Team. While some Parent Coordinators are former
Parent Association officers, Parent Coordinators are not an extension of the Parent - Teacher
Association. Their job is to work with parent groups to find ways to attract and serve a broader range of
parents in each school.
The Children First reforms also address the key need to involve entire communities in improving schools.
Parent Coordinators will reach out to community and faith-based organizations to seek their assistance.
Health care, after-school activities, and mentoring programs are part of a broad range of issues for which
Parent Coordinators seek community assistance.
The Parent Coordinators in schools are part of a large parent support staff now working not only in
schools, but in the thirteen Parent Support Offices located in Learning Support Centers and in District-
based offices across the City. They will have a slightly different schedule than other school staff, with
hours during school time as well as nights and weekends. Parent Coordinators also have their own direct
line, which eliminates going through by school phone lines.
All of the new parent support staff members will attend training programs that will be conducted by the
Department’s newly created “Parent Academy.” They will receive ongoing training to make sure that
public schools respond to the needs and concerns of all parents.
All parents should take the time to introduce themselves to the Parent Coordinator in their school. Be
sure to get their direct phone number. As the school year unfolds, Parent Coordinators will offer many
opportunities for parents to learn more about supporting their children’s education. Because each school
in the City serves a unique community, Parent Coordinators will welcome suggestions both from parents
and community members.
The ultimate goal of the Parent Coordinators is to create the strongest possible base of parent services
for all families. They will do this by working closely with both the parents and staff in each school.
Linking Schools to the Community
Through Children First, the Department of Education is bringing together schools, families and local
communities to support children’s healthy development. For children to do their best in the classroom,
they must be healthy, safe, well- fed and supported both inside and outside their schools. The
Department is building stronger partnerships with local community groups to provide after-school
programs; coordinating with school-based health clinics and local health services; and assigning more
guidance counselors to work together with teachers, principals and families to help students who are
struggling with school work or behavior problems. The Department of Education’s new Office of Youth
Development and School-Community Services is coordinating all of these efforts to support the “whole
child.”
Parent Associations
Parent Associations play an essential role in our schools. They provide leadership and direction to
parents seeking to become more involved with their children’s education and within the school
community. A school’s Parent Association is a good place for parents to find out what’s happening in that
school. Through involvement in their Parent Association, parents can learn how their school operates
and discover a network of people committed to their children's school.
The Parent Association also provides an important link between individual schools and the District
Presidents’ Councils. These Councils handle issues affecting all schools in a District. They offer parents
an additional opportunity to share ideas and information about schools, communities, and parenting.
For more information about Parent Associations, see Chancellor’s Regulation A-660 located at:
http://docs.nycenet.edu/dscgi/admin.py/Get/File-459/A-660.pdf.
School Leadership Teams
The School Leadership Team (SLT) is the primary vehicle for parents to work with teachers and the
Principal to establish school priorities, decide how the budget is spent, and evaluate a school’s progress.
The Principal, Parent Association/Parent Teacher Association President and UFT Chapter leader or their
designees serve on the SLT. Parents form the majority of the members of each SLT and have the
opportunity to directly influence how a school operates.
The SLT is a vital communication link within a school, and between the school and its larger community.
The SLT is responsible for evaluating the quality of its school’s educational program and its effect on
student achievement. The SLT develops the Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) that sets annual
goals for the schools in all areas and focuses on developing educational strategies for improvement.
For more information on School Leadership Teams, please log on to the following sites:
http://www.nycenet.edu/govern/governancedece/default.htm
http://www.nycenet.edu/govern/leg2.html
http://www.nycenet.edu/govern/spend.asp
| August Martin High School 156-10 Baisley Boulevard, Jamaica, New York 11434 Phone: (718) 528-2920 Anthony Cromer, Principal © 2007 August Martin. All rights reserved. |