December 2, 2008
Carnegie Library Hill District
Agenda: parents Rights, Title 1, NCLB
Since there were only 2 parents at this meeting, PURE Reform was provided the opportunity for a lengthy conversation with Mark Conner, Director of Family and Community Engagement. Some of the initiatives that are underway or proposed for the PPS regarding parent engagement include:
1) Use Alert Now, telephone calling system to alert parents to district meetings, initiatives and other important information.
2) Held a four hour event for the parents/students served by schools on the Hill in collaboration with the Hill House and YMCA. Included lunch, kid’s activities, parental workshops, performances from children, and a presentation form keynote speaker, Saleem Ghubril, Director of the Pittsburgh Promise. About 125-140 parents and students attended.
3) A collaboration with Beginning with Books, starting a new program called “Raising Readers” in 10 schools. Schools are chosen to participate through applications to the district. Schools to participate will be announced in January.
4) Participating in a 2 ½ year process with the West End community to establish what the community deems important resulting in increased after school programming and increased participation in PSCC meetings.
5) Starting a Parent Leadership Instruction program modeled after a four weekend retreat seminar run by Commonwealth Institution for Parental Leadership (CIPL)
6) Bringing Karen Map, Author of “Beyond a Bake Sale”, to the PPS address principals.
7) Hiring an after school coordinator.
PURE Reform is impressed by Mr. Connors dedication to the principle of parent engagement (PE) and his advocacy of the wide array of methods being used to achieve increased PE. We will follow these programs to gauge effectiveness. We will also attend a Parent Engagement meeting that actually discusses the intended agenda.