NINE-WEEK PARENT INVOLVEMENT EDUCATION PROGRAM

The Nine-Week Core Program is offered at no charge to parents and is taught by professional facilitators trained by PIQE. Parents choose to participate in either morning or evening sessions depending on their individual schedules.  Classes are offered in the parents’ primary language so that they can feel comfortable and confident in their interactions with the rest of the parents in their class.  To date the classes have been taught in sixteen languages.

The initial planning session delineates the mission of the program and emphasizes the importance of taking the first step toward better parent/student communication.  PIQE’s nine-week program helps parents understand how they can become an integral part of their children’s education.  Emphasis is placed on increased interaction with the school staff.  For example, parents are encouraged to talk with teachers and counselors about how their child is doing in class and the types of enrichment programs available at the school and in the community. Parents learn how to navigate the school system and better understand what classes their children must take to prepare themselves for a post-secondary education.  The ninth week consists of a graduation celebration where parents who attended four of the six curriculum-based classes, receive their certificates of completion.  This celebration is very meaningful to parents who may not have a formal education and an opportunity for the children to see their parents as graduates themselves. 

The program’s intent is to provide parents with information, knowledge, skills, and a personal commitment to improve the conditions surrounding the educational and personal development of their children.

After completing the PIQE nine-week program, parents will have gained and be able to articulate new knowledge relative to:

• How the US school system functions, the academic expectation of the US school system for student grading, promotion, public schools expectations for parent engagement and support and college-going requirements.
• Establishing and maintaining a supportive home learning environment (homework, daily routines, television viewing).
• Importance of promoting reading (time to read at home, use of library, reading for pleasure and information).
• Establishing and maintaining communication with their child’s teacher, counselor, principal (initiating parent-teacher conferences, in order to enlist their assistance to promote their child’s academic success and social-emotional development).

After completing the PIQE nine-week program, parents will have gained opportunity to practice new skills related to development of:

• Strategies for communicating with teachers, counselors and principal in order to identify and respond to the academic and social strengths and needs of their children, i.e. find out child’s reading level, develop academic support plan child at school and at home.
• Strategies for accessing resources (library, tutoring programs, academic contracts, mentoring).
• Strategies that promote positive and effective communication with their children.
• Strategies that promote development their child’s positive self-esteem and personal discipline.

After completing the PIQE nine-week program, parents will have increased confidence and changed attitudes in their ability to:

• Successfully support children through US public school system to prepare for college requirements.
• Negotiate with school teachers, counselors and principals in order to access resources that support and enhance child’s academic progress.
• Build their children’s foundation for positive citizenship, problem solving, self discipline and cultural and moral values that lead to success in school and life.

PIQE has graduated more than 375,000 parents from its nine-week parent involvement program since 1987.  It has been implemented in 1,500 K-12 schools in 155 school districts throughout California.  PIQE has graduated an additional 25,000 parents from its nine-week parent involvement program through its expansion and replication programs in Dallas, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; Worthington, Minnesota; and on six Indian Reservations (Crow & Cheyenne) in Montana.

PIQE’s nine-week parent involvement program cost $2-300.00 per parent depending on the area, size of schools and student demographics.  Generally, the host school covers 40-50% of the program costs with Title I & III and NCLB Funds.  In rural areas, some schools cover the entire program costs with added Migrant Ed funds or special grants.

RATIONAL:  If you add categorical funding, California will invest approximately $96,000 per student K-12 and it costs California an estimated $200,000 to educate and prepare a K-12 teacher.  Therefore, a $2-300 investment per parent to prepare them to work more effectively with their children at home and to partner with the schools is the best and wisest investment a school and a community can make!

The American Philosopher John Dewey once said, “What the smartest and wisest parent wants for their children, the whole community must want for all the children.”