Parent Leadership

The Parent & Educator Partnership supports Parent Leadership through two programs: Parent Liaison Program and the Parent Mentor Project.  Since 2004, the Illinois State Board of Education has funded 11 Parent Mentor grant sites using Federal funds.  Currently there are no additional grant funds available to expand the Parent Mentor Project.  However, in Spring 2010, the Parent & Educator Partnership held the first Parent Leadership Institute to equip parents to become parent liaisons in collaboration with their local school districts.  Read below to learn more about Parent Liaisons or to see if a Parent Mentor is in your area.

For more information about the Parent Leadership Program, you may download a brochure or email us.

The Parent Liaison Program

The purpose of Parent Liaisons is to help parents of school-age children effectively navigate the educational system in partnership with school district personnel and to assist school districts with meeting the requirements of IDEA; and Title 1, Family Involvement (ESEA, Section 1118). Parent Leaders are supported by the Parent & Educator Partnership through in-kind support, however, there is no direct funding from ISBE for local development of parent liaisons.

For more information about the Parent Liaison Program, you may download a Description of the Parent Liaison Program or email us, or read more here.

The Parent Mentor Project

Parent Mentors help parents of children with disabilities, in partnership with local school district personnel, to effectively navigate the educational system.

Each local parent mentor grant site is a collaboration among agencies, such as, school districts or special education cooperatives and not-for-profit parent or disability groups. Through grant funding, each local team employs one or more parents of children with disabilities as Parent Mentors. At this time, the grant funding is committed, so there are no new grant funds available. If you would like to start a parent mentor program locally, as a volunteer within your school district, we have created the Parent Liaison program.

 

In The Spotlight

Several school districts around the state have committed to working with a Parent Leader from their district to facilitate a Parents and Teachers Talking Together (PT3) workshop.  Parents and teachers who know our students best begin by having structured dialogue focusing on outcomes for students.  Following the discussion, there is a process for identifying common priorities and then developing an action plan.  Common priorities are discovered by addressing the following questions:

  1. What do we want for our students?
  2. What do we need to do to get what we want for our students?

To date, the PT3 has been facilitated at in six school districts across the state of Illinois.  

Some comments from participants include:

  • "I like seeing that parents feel the same way as teachers about family involvement."  
  • "Great discussions tonight!"
  • "I think the meeting was a positive start to more family involvement."
  • "Happy to see teachers and parents working together for our students' best interest."
  • "It was great to network with each other. I hope we can move forward with these plans/goals."
  • "A great start to improving the culture at our school!"
  • "It was great seeing the conversation continue between parents and teachers while we ate."
  • "This was a great start to establishing the connection between parents and staff."
  • "It was great to see parents and teachers talk about things they feel are important for their child's success at school."
  • "I am looking forward to helping improve our school.  I am glad I came."

VIEW PT3 OVERVIEW HERE