Valuing Parent Knowledge of their Child
Parents are their child’s first teacher, playmate, friend, role model, you name it – parents embody it! Parents are everything to their child(ren); as such, they have a lot on their plates. Ultimately, parents spend the most time of any adults with their child, day in and day out, especially prior to their child even entering the school system. There is no question that parents know their children; therefore, their knowledge should be valued in the educational process. What does this mean? Quite simply, don’t leave parents out of vital conversations regarding their child(ren)’s education.
The Carolina Family Engagement Center (CFEC) has pledged to deliver high-quality parent education by providing training and technical assistance in family engagement to parents, teachers, school districts, and community partners. Thus, educating parents in family engagement is only one piece of the puzzle. Teachers, school districts, and community partners must be receptive to the idea of parents as co-educators. Family engagement is about every adult in a child’s life working together to help them reach their full potential (famengage.org)
Through CFEC’s Parent Leadership Partners (PLP) program, parents learn about leadership opportunities within the school and the history of public education, are able to identify areas of concern or possibilities within the school context, and ultimately learn how to advocate on behalf of their child(ren). The PLP program was specifically created by CFEC for parents who want to strengthen their ability to take on greater leadership roles in their children’s education. By working directly with parents, and meeting them where they are, CFEC has been able to forge genuine relationships and collaboratively develop key understandings of what it means to be a parent leader. Through this program, we are seeing parents who can build relationships with other parents, creating a vibrant and supportive network that aims to advocate for sustainable changes in school-family partnerships. It is also our hope that schools are ready to embrace this new cadre of parent leaders!
This work would not be complete without collaborating with our community partners to assist in better understanding the reach of family engagement services across South Carolina. For instance, we recently completed Latino focus groups in collaboration with PASOs (a South Carolina organization supporting Latino communities with education, advocacy, and leadership development) and the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE)’s Migrant Education Programs, of mothers, grandmothers, and caregivers located in the Upstate, Midlands, and Lowcountry to understand how family engagement in education looks from their perspective. A key takeaway is that we need a strategic and sustained approach to providing important school information to Spanish-speaking families. However, equally telling was their mentioning that they want to be included (e.g., in school decision-making processes and at events) and to be able to use their strengths (e.g., strong family support system) to benefit their child(ren) in school.
Regardless of parents’ backgrounds, all parents can benefit from extra guidance, resources, and encouragement toward helping their child(ren) learn and be successful within and beyond the classroom. This is why we highly encourage parents to start early in their child(ren)’s lives to set them up for success. This includes enrolling their children in Palmetto PreK to gain the additional support and services for their child(ren) but to also build their own network of caring adults who want to see their children succeed. With the help of parents, teachers, school districts, and community parents, we can increase student achievement by building stronger family engagement partnerships within the state of South Carolina.
For more information on CFEC’s Parent Leadership Partners (PLP) program visit our Family Partners Page.