DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 325 543 UD 027 472

AUTHOR Nicolau, Siobhan; Ramos, Carmen LydiaTITLE Together Is Better: Building Strong Relationships

Between Schools and Hispanic Parents.INSTITUTION Hispanic Policy Development Project, Inc., New York,

NY.

SPONS AGENCY Kraft General Foods Foundation, Glenview, IL.;Reader's Digest Foundation, Pleasantville, NY.

PUB DATE 90

NOTE 76p.

PUB TYPE Guides - Non-Classroom Use (055)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Elementary Secondary Education; *Hispanic Americans;

Misconceptions; Outreach Programs; *ParentParticipation; *Parent School Relationship; *ParentStudent Relationship; Population Trends; SchoolHolding Power

ABSTRACTThis handbook offers background and suggestions for

developing programs in which parents learn how to activelyparticipate in their children's education. It is based on 42participating projects throughout the country. It contains thefollowing seven chapters: (1) "The Hispanic Profile"; (2)

"Misperceptions and Misconceptions"; (3) "The Elements of aSuccessful Parent Involvement Program"; (4) "Recruitment Strategies:DOs and DON'Ts"; (5) "Retention Strategies: DOs and DON'Ts"; (6) "Is

It Worth the Effort?"; and (7) "Special Challenges: Hispanic Fathers,Teenage Mothers, Troubled Families." The following conclusions aredrawn from previous attempts to develop parent/school partnerships:(1) parent behavior is subject to change; and (2) participatingHispanic pareats, mothers in particular, become full partners in theeducation of their children. Also included are an introduction andthe following four appendixes: (1) "Barriers and Solutions," achecklist of potential problems and solutions; (2) "Sample Programs,"sketches and profiles of some projects around the country; (3)"Sample Outreach and Follow-up Materials," examples of letters,informat.Lon, and fliers to parents from project administrators; and(4) "Directory of Projects," a list of the participating projects onwhich the information in this handbook was based. (MY)!)

* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made *

* from the original document. *

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'This is not a book about the 35 percent of U.S.Hispanic students who are achieving in school andmoving toward stable, successful futures. It is abook about the parents of the 65 percent mostof whom care deeply about the achievement andfuture of their children, but are unfamiliar with thesystem of education in the United States, do notunderstand how they are expected to relate to it,and do not know how or where to find assistance.

'It is also a book about teachers, school personnel,and leaders of education unionsmost of whomcare deeply about children and want them tolearn, but are unfamiliar with Hispanic parentingpractices, do not understand the cultural strengthsof the Hispanic families whose children are fillingtheir classes, and do riot know how or where tofind assistance.-

,t.)

TOGETHERIS BETTER

Building Strong RelationshipsBetween Schools and

Hispanic Parents

by Siobhan Nicolauand Carmen Lydia Ramos

HISPANIC Poucy DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, INC.

NEW YORK WASHINGTON, D.C.

1990

The Hispanic School/Parent Partnership Competi-tions and the publication and dissemination of thishandbook were made possible through the generoussupport of Reader's Digest FJundation and TheGeneral Foods Fund, Inc.

Copyright 01990 by the Hispanic Pohcy Development Project, Inc.All rights reserved. No part of this book rray be reproduced withoutpermission from the publisher

Hispanic Policy Development Project, Inc.250 Park Avenue South, Suite 5000ANew York, N.Y. 10003(212) 523-9323

Together is Better was produced using Macintosh Pius and SE comput-ers, and is reproduced from master page proofs created on an AppleLaserWriter Plus, a gift from Apple Computer, Inc., and an AppleLaserWriter II NTX, a gift of the Ewing M. Kauffman Kandation.

5

"Nearly a quarter of America's children areon an educational path leading nowhere....The gap

between their skills and paformance and those oftheir peers is growing wider. These are the children

of the poor, who are also often ethnic minorities."Patricia Gandara

Professor of EducationCalifornia State University at Sacramento

Too many of the minorities to which Professor Gardararefers are Hispanic children: 40 percent of Hispanics dropout of high school; another 25 percent graduate from highschool without the skills required to find employment thatwill pay a living wage and offer opportunity for advance-ment.

Think what this means: Sixty-five percent of our His-panic children are condemned to marginal futures.

This is not a book about the 35 percent of U.S. Hispanicstudents who are achieving in school and moving towardstable, successful futures. It is a book about the parents ofthe 65 percentmost of whom care deeply about theachievement and future of their children, but are unfamiliarwith the system of education in the United States, do notunderstand how they are expected to relate to it, and do notknow how or where to find assistance.

It is also a book about teachers, school personnel, andleaders of education unionsmost of whom care deeplyabout children and want them to learn, but are unfamiliarwith Hispanic parenting practices, do not understand thecultural strengths of the Hispanic families whose childrenare filling their classes, and do not know how or where tofind assistance.

This is a book to help Hispanic parents and schoolsunderstand each other's cultures, goals, hopes and needs.This is a book that attempts to translate the mutual caring ofparents and schools into the strong relationships that canpromote the academic achievement of Hispanic children.

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This handbook is dedicated to allthe schools and parents and chil-dren who participated in theReader's Digest Foundation/Gen-eral Foods Fund Inc. competitions.Their willingness to try, theirwillingness to risk success or fail-ure while we looked over theirshoulders, their willingness to trustus and let us into their families andschools, turned concept into reality.As a direct result of their efforts,other schools, parents, and childrenhave been given the opportunity tolearn and benefit.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

The Hispanic Profile

Misperceptions and Misconceptions

The Elements of a SuccessfulParent Involvement Program

Recruitment Strategies:DOs and DON'Ts

Rentention Strategies:DOs and DON'Ts

Chapter VI Is It Worth the Effort?

Chapter VII Special Challenges: HispanicFathers, Teenage Mothers,Troubled Families

Conclusion

Appendices:

Appendix 1Appendix 2Appendix 3

Appendix 4

Barriers and SolutionsSample ProgramsSample Outreach and Follow-UpMaterialsDirectory of Projects

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page 6

page 7

page 11

page 17

page 19

page 25

page 32

page 34

page 42

page 44page 46page 56

page 70

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TOGETHERIS BETTER INTRODUCTION

The Hispanic Policy Development Project's focus on parent/school cooperation grew out of the three years of research that led tothe publication "Make Something Happen": Hispanics and Urban HighSchool Reform. That report, published in December 1984, docu-mented the growing number of Hispanic young people who eitherfail to graduate from high school or graduate without an adequateeducation. One of the major findings of "Make Something Happen"was that successful education requires that schools and familiesfunction as full partners in the education of children.

A sobering second finding of "Mlke Something Happen" was thatthe interaction of poor Hispanic parents and the schools theirchildren attend ranged from low to non-existent.

Because the benefits and mutual reinforcement derived from aschool/parent partnership are so often the key to a student's aca-demic achievement, HPDP set out to discover why Hispanic parentsand schools so seldom make the crucial connection.

With the generous support of R aader's Digest Foundation andThe General Foods Fund, HPDP sponsored a competition to pro-mote and test strategies to increase Hispanic parental involvement.

In 1986 and 1987, a request for proposals was sent to elementaryand middle schools across the country, to groups in their commu-nities, and to the schools' parents' organizations. The only criterionfor entry was that the school population be at least 25 percentHispanic. Those who entered the competition were asked to definethe challenges they faced in establishing relationships betweenHispanic parents and schools, and to describe programs they wouldlike to undertake to build partnerships and to address specificproblems relating to Hispanic children. HPDP received 610 propos-als and made 39 awards.

In 1988 HPDP worked with additional agencies and schools atvarious sites to explore techniques to reach specific groups that hadproved to be the most difficult to attract, teen mothers, fathers, andseriously at-risk families.

The 42 participating projects explored a wide variety of activitiesdesigned to recruit Hispanic parents and retain their involvement.Some were extraordinarily successful. Others tried but failed. Bothfailures and successes provided valuable insights.

Effective strategiesas well as some of those that do not workare documented in this handbook.

CHAPTER IThe Hispanic Profile

U.S. Hispanics are not a homogeneous group. Although unitedby a common language and an origin in Spanish colonization, theyare separated by age, race, socioeconomic status, geography, thenature of their arrivalimmigration, migration, exile, di- asylumand by the length of their residence here, as well as by their countryof origin. Some Hispanics were settled, long before the Pilgrimslanded at Plymouth Rock, within what are now the boundaries of theUnited States. Others arrived at the turn of the century, or over thedecades of the 1900s. Still others have only recently entered theUnited States. The chart below indicates the population breakdownof the major Hispanic subgroups.

Hispanics by Sub-Group, 1989PuertoRican1 2%

Source Bureau ofthe Census, PressRelease a CB89-158, Oct 12, 1989Due to roundlng,percentages totalmore than l 00n

room636

aban

Centraland SouthAmerican1 3 %

Cterlitaamic

The Hispanic Populations

The number of Hispanics ir f!le United States reached 20million in 1989.The Hispanic fraction of the U.S. population will be at least10 percent by the year 2000.It is estimated that by the year 2020 Hispanics will be thelargest U.S. minority.

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HISPANICPROFILE

8

TOGETHERIS BETTER

U.S. Hispanics, with a median age of 26, are much younger thanother Americans. The median age for non-Hispanics in the UnitedStates is 33. Hispanics also have more children. Their youth and rela-tively high birth rates, together with continued immigration, createconsiderable momentum for future growth.

US. Hispanics are concentrated in the urban centers of ninestates: Florida, New York, Illinois, Texas, California, Arizona, NewJersey, New Mexico, and Colorado. Eighty-nine percent of the U.S.Hispanic population Ls lDcated in these geographical areas.

Contrary to popular myth, Hispanics learn English as rapidly asother immigrants of the same socioeconomic status. And they arenot all poor. There is a stable and growing Hispanic middle-class.

However, despite the fact that Hispanics are eager workers, asizeable portion of the Hispanic community suffers lower averageincomes and higher rates of unemployment and poverty than doesthe general population. Low educational achievement has beenand continues to bea major barrier to the advancement of Hispan-ics in U.S. society.

While lack of education has always been seen as a barrier toupward mobility, in today's labor markets it constitutes a seriousobstacle to survival. The well-paid, unskilled jobs that have tradi-tionally supported first-generation immigrants are rapidly disap-pearing. Today's entry level jobs offer lower salaries and requirehigher skills. An individual entering the job market must knowmore to earn less.

Increasing numbers of Hispanic families are becoming trappedin the ranks o: the working pooreven when both parents work,even when they hold down more than one job. Lack of skills locksmany others into welfare dependency.

Educational Achievement:The Problem and The Answer

By the year 2000, U.S. Hispanics will constitute a large share ofschool children and young job seekers in this countryalmost 16percent. In major markets where Hispanics are concentrated, theywill constitute a majority of the school populations and the entry-level work force.

Research indicates that the success of children in school usuallycan be predicted from the educational status of their mothers. Thatbeing so, Hispanic youngsters are distinctly disadvantaged becauseHispanic women in the age range 25 to 34 yearsthose most likelyto have school-age childrenare over three times as likely to havedropped out of high school as are other American women in thatage group.

1 1

Many poor Hispanic youngsters, like many other low-incomechildren, come into the classroom unpmpared to tackle school workthat their middle-class peers find easy, because their parents havenot known how to provide them with the social, linguistic, andcognitive skills teachers expect. Seventy-five percent of the childrenhave no preschool or daycare experience; many have never been outof their immediate neighborhoods. They start the job of learningwithout the proper tools.

For example, large numbers of low-income Hispanic children,like other poor youngsters, suffer delayed language development.But although language delay is a strong contributing factor in thelow achievement levels of both monolingual and bilingual low-income Hispanic children, it is not the only factor. Lack of experienceoutside their neighborhoods is another. Poor Hispanic children, likeother poor children, rarely visit museums, zoos, the theater, orsummer camps. They do not travel on vacations. They watch littleeducational television. Their parents seldom read to them. Theyenter school with exposure to a very narrow sliver of the world.

If special steps are not taken to help Hispanic parents preparetheir children for school and to assist children who arrive unpre-pared, the gap between their skills and those of their peers widensas they go from grade to grade. Many never catch up, and many are"left back." For example, about 44 percent of 13-year-old Hispanicstudents are one or more years below expected grade level. Too oftenthis leads to a sense of failure; the students perceive themselves to be"dumb."

Great numbers of these students do not make it through highschool. Over 40 percent drop out of school. An estimated 59 percentof Hispanic dropouts leave school before completing the 10th grade.

Many schools fail to understand the problem; others understandit but are at a loss to resolve it.

Hispanic Parents An Untapped Resource

Parents who wish their youngsters to succeed in U.S. schoolsmust do certain things in the pre-school years to give their childrenthe skills they are expected to have mastered when they enterkindergarten.

Although they teach their children essential social skills such ascooperation, most low-income Hispanic parents are unaware of spe-cific practicessuch as talking and reading to children and encour-aging their curiositythat lay the academic skills foundation. Thesepractices begin in the home, and must be carried out by a child's firstand most important teachersthe parents.

Additionally, low-income Hispanic paren ts o ft en are u ni nformedabout the value of out-of-school activitiessuch as trips to parks,

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HISPANICPx, PILE

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TOGETHERIS BETTER

zoos, museums, and librariesthat may provide a solid base forunderstanding the larger world and nay reinforce what youngsterslearn in class every day.

While most Hispanic parents understand that children snoulddo their homework, few have any idea that school-age childrenshould spend up to 20 hours a week engaged in other "constructivelearning activities" outside the classroom, such as

readir.g for fun;wriiing (even if it's writing telephone messages or helpingwith the grocery list or performing similar chores);pursii:ng hobbies;watching educational television;talking with adults about the day's events;spending leisure time with the family: playing games, goingon family outings; andparticipating in sports.

Knowing how to help your child succeed in the U.S. schoolsystem is an acquired skill and can be learned. Many low-incomeHispanic parentslike other poor parentsdre unaware of thecrucial role they can play in supporting their children's sense of ac-complishment and self esteem.

Many low- income Hispanic parents are in the dark about howcl,ildren learn and how schools function.

Many schools are in the dark about low-income Hispanic fami-lies.

The result. are misperceptions and misconceptions.

CHAPTER IIMisperceptions and

Misconceptions

How Some Teachers Perceive Hispanics

....they are so different. I just don't know how we can include them.They don't fit in.

....I send home notes and I call and still I can't get them to a meet-ing. I think that a lot of them just don't care.

....they are clannish; the few that come all sit together and refuse toparticipate. I don't know why they even bother. They don't contributeanything. I think that many of them are illiterate.

....where have they been all their lives? The children don't know any-thing. They come into kindergarten without knowing colors or numbers.They can't hold a pencil.

....the children are unresponsive. They won't look adults in the eye,and they refuse tc participate in class unless directly called upon.

....how am I supposed to teach them when they don't speak or under-stand plain English? Why do their parents speak to them in Spanish?

....why don't their parents learn English? Everybody else did. Howam I expected to communicate with these people?

How Some Hispanics Perceive Schools

....the teadmrs are professional people. They know what is best forchildren. I went to the third grade; how can I question my son's teacher?She knows what is best for him.

....I am called by the school when there is a problem with my son,then the teachers make me feel embarrassed and hurt about his behavior.I feel I don't belong in the school.

1 4

11

MISPER-CEPTIONS,MISCONCEP-TIONS

12

TOGETHERIS BETTER

....I teach my children to behave like the teacher says and not beasking questions or talking too much. She says my child is too quiet. Idon't understand. My child is good.

....we feel we are discriminated against. We as parents are notwelrome or even allowed access to the school. Theysay if we cannotsprak English, there is no point in wanting tosee the principal or thecounselors.

....we want what others have, help that is realistic. Sure, someparents are carelms, but we have a lot who do care.

...I want to be correct but nobody tells me what is correct here.

....teachers aon't like me. I flunked school. Better for my kids if I stayaway as much as possible.

....my husband, he works two jobs and I have two babies. We got notime to go to school. Besides, what can we tell a teacher?

Certainly these quotations do not reflect universal points ofview, but they are instructive. They demonstrate how stronglymany teachers and many parents feel that the other does not care.

Yet the remarkable outcomes of those experimental projects thatincreased Hispanic parental involvement demonstrate clearly thatboth schools and parents do care. Hispanic parents and schools canand do establish lasting and effective partnerships once ignoranceand communication gaps are overcome.

Schools Need Help in Bridging The Gap

The negative feelings that some school personnel harbor towardHispanics stem mainly from an unfamiliarity with the family tradi-tions and the life realities of the Hispanic parents whose children arerapidly filling their classrooms. In major urban areas, populationpatterns have altered significantly over the last decade. As a conse-quence, schools that historically served white populationssome-times white middle-class populationsfind themselves ill preparedfor the arrival of large numbers of low-income Hispanic students,many of whom speak little English and come from troubled back-grounds.

Few teachers or administrators are offered guidance or trainingto help them interpret Hispanic behavior, reach out to Hispanicparents, or understand the considerable strengths Hispanics canbring to a school/parent partnership. In many instances there are noHispanic personnel in the schools in a position to assist their non-

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Hispanic peers. Left on their own to sink or swim, many schoolofficials and teachers misread the reserve, the non-confrontationalmanners, and '1, non-involvement of Hispanic parents to mean thatthey are uncaring, passive, and uninterested in their children'seducation. Teachers see that the children aren't learning and theparen:; aren't helping. And when their traditional strategies andmethods for involving parents fail to elicit a response from Hispanicparents, principals and teachers become frustrated. Too often thatfrustration becomes an impatience and indifference that affects theschools' expectations for Hispanic students.

Sadly, some teachers decide that since Hispanics aren't going tocooperate, there isn't much point in making the extra effort to reachthem.

First- and Second-GenerationHispanic Parents Need Help

Most Hispanic parents want their children to succeed in school.In fact, the vast majority of Hispanic parents are not refusing to

cooperate with the schools. Most poor Hispanic parents behave ina manner consistent with the way they were expected to behave inthe countries in which they or their parents were born. Like all ofus, Hispanics tend to do as their parents did.

The U.S. school system assumes that parents will take someresponsibility for their children's success in formal education bypreparing them for school, teach; ng basic skills and reinforcing whatgoes on in the classroom after children reach school age. Most low-income Hispanic immigrant and migrant parents are unfamiliarwith this role. In their countries the role of parents and the role ofschool in relation to education are sharply delineated and divided:Parents have a serious duty to instill respect and proper behavior intheir children. That is a parent's job. It is the school's job to instillknowledge. leaching is not the parents' business.

Low-income Hispanics tend to regard the educational system asomnipotent. They treat it with great respect and relate to it the waymost Americans relate to medical doctors, lawyers, and priestswith awe. Doctors, lawyers and priests seem to know complicatedthings that are beyond most of us and they speak in strange jargon.More often than not we accept their diagnoses of our physical, legal,or spiritual ills, even when we really want to question them.

So it is with poor Hispanic parents and schools. The parentsview the educational system as a bureaucracy governed by edu-cated non-Hispanics whom they have no right to question. Evenparents who speak English perceive the institution as vast andintimidating. The schools have complete control and the teachers arethe experts when it comes to educating children.

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13

MISPER-CEPTIONS,MISCONCEP-TIONS

Although bewildered by the system and its structure, most first-generation Hispanic parents believe and trust that the schools willeducate their children and will provide them with the skills neces-sary to enter the Kb market and to become successful members ofsociety. With some ':oncern about how "different" the school and theteachers are, but geneeAly confident that all will be well, the majorityhand over their childrenneat and very respectfulto be educated."Respectful" or en means not looking adults in the eye, not speakingto adults unless spoken to first, and not asking questions. Casualconversations between parents and children, or adults reading tochildren, are not the norms in most poor Hispanic homes. Curiosity,or trying new things, is not encouraged.

Most Hispanic children are warmly and enthusiastically wel-comed and loved, but the parents' deep sense of responsibility toinstill proper behavior and respect, and to protect the children froma world that they themselves do not fully understand, frequentlyhinders their ability and willingness to build on their traditional par-enting practices to include the skills that prepare children for successin the U.S. system.

Language delay is one of the most serious obstaclesand oftenthe most misunderstoodthat many low-income Hispanic childrenmust overcome when they enter school. The good Hispanic child isthe quiet, obedient child. As the proud and adoring mother of twolittle girls told us"....my little ones are so good. When we come homefrom school they go Ltraight to their room and sit on the bed quiet. Theynever bother me."

But conditioning preschool children to be quiet around adultsamounts to conditioning them to be non-verbal. When parentslimit language interaction to create an atmosphere of respect and, inaddition, seldom read to their young children, those youngstersmcnolingual and bilingual alikearrive in school with underdevel-oped language skills. This is a challenge for any child, but those whosimultaneously must learn a new language and catch up on languagedevelopment in general are truly disadvantaged at the starting line.

Some Native-born Hispanic ParentsAlso Need Help

Hispanic parents are not a homogeneous group and, contrary topopular stereotype, not all are recent arrivals. About two-thirds oftoday's Hispanic parents arrived here at an early age or were bornhere. Many of these parents, in fact, dropped out of the very U.S.school system to which they are now delivering their children.

For young dropped-out parents, school is not the symbol of hopeand opportunity that it represents to many immigrant parents. On

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the contrary, it is the site of their failure; there is little that makesthem want to return as students or as parents. Despite the fact thatmost of them want their children to do well, they do not want tosubject themselves to renewed feelings of inadequacy. In someinstances parents fear that teachers may judge their children'spotential in terms of their own failure. And very often, parents donot know what it takes to prepare a child for school and to supporta child's academic progress. In varying degrees they may be un-aware of how they too must build on and add to the parentingpractices of their mothers and grandmothers.

It is also important to bear in mind that almost all poor Hispanicfamiliesimmigrant and native-bornare struggling simply tosurvive. Often both parents work, sometimes at more than one job.Mothers may have a number of young children in their care. Mothersmay be single and on welfare. Their neighborhoods may be danger-ous, transportation and childcare expensive or nonexistent. Thestruggle to survive may leave some families deeply troubled and inneed of help that they may resist seeking because "we do not discufamily affairs with strangers."

The Basic (But Flawed) Assumption

Low-income Hispanic parents lack of education functions as aninternal and external barrier to school/parent partnerships. Theassumptionon the part of both immigrant and native-born par-ents as well as the school ,that poor Hispanic parents have littleto offer the schools or their children has a serious negative impacton all concernedespecially the children. Isolated from each other,schools and parents cannot work as a support team Instead they areleft alone to puzzle out each other's realities.

Many teachers have values and expectations that stem from theirown educational experiences and from teaching middle-class chil-dren. Yet many childrenHispanics and othersare socializedsomewhat differently from the middle-class children for whommost American schools are designed. When those children and theschools meet, both parties can find themselves seriously handi-capped. Frequently teachers, who must gain the children's confi-dence and unlock their potentials, do not know where to begin withthe "different" child. Parents, for their part, have no idea what theschools expect. When the parents are not part of the educationalteam, the children and the teachers undertake the educationaljourney on a tricycle with two whePlsone third of the supportmechanism is missing. More often than one wishes to admit, a gulfbetween home and school translates into inadequate learning or nolearning at all.

This isolation need not prevail. Through the experience ofsuccess and through the experience of failure, 42 School/Parent

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MISPER-CEPTIONS,MISCONCEP-liONS

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TOGETHERIS BETTER

Partnerships have shown us at the Hispanic Policy DevelopmentProject how to strike down some of the barriers and bridge the gulf.

As one project director reported

"...non-Hispanic teachers must be made aware of traditional Hispanic

views of teachers. They must learn that a parent's quietness may not beout of lack of concern but one of not questioning the authority of theteacher. The hardest part of a parent program for Hispanic parents is tohumanize teachers and to let parents know that teachers want to talkbilaterally if not bilingually about their students."

Parents who participated in successful partnerships told us

"Before, I was afraid to walk into the school building; now it's likewalking into my own house."

"It gave me an opportunity to become involved in school affairs which isvery important to me. They understood I needed a babysitter and theyhad meetings at times when I could get there."

"I liked the meetings because the principal was able to form a relation-ship with the Hispanic parents. I was afraid to talk when the educatedparents were in charge. In (his small group we are learning. When weknow enough we can join the regular parents' groups."

"Now I know how to help my children. It makes me proud."

CHAPTER IIIThe Elements of a SuccessfulParent Involvement Program

!t is absolutely clear that the single most important element inlaunching and maintaining a successful school/parent partnershipis committed leadership. The school must want to make somethinghappen and they must be willing to extend themselves to see that itdoes. Half-hearted efforts accomplish little. Overcoming the cul-tural and social conditioning of low-income Hispanic parents doesnot require the expenditure of large sums of money. It does, how-ever, require time and energy, patience and persistence.

It also requires flexibility. The recruitment and retention meth-ods that attract mainstream parents often fail to attract poor His-panic parents.

"The Way We Always Did It Doesn't Work"

The programs that failed to attract Hispanic parents were thosethat had second thoughts about trying new techniques. Often aranking official in the school bureaucracy would review the pro-gram in progress and call for changesback to "the way we alwayshave done it." What those officials accomplished was the mainte-nance of the status quobut they gained little or no increase inHispanic parental involvement.

Keys to reaching Hispanic parents are strong personal outreach,warm, non-judgmental communication, and the ability to conveyrespect for the parents' feelings and concerns. While Hispanicpersonnel certainly can facilitate the process, the projects provedthat non-Hispanics can be very effective in gaining the confidence,respect, and affection of Hispanic parents. In fact, the two mostinnovative and successful partnerships were led by a Chinese prin-cipal, in one case, and an Anglo principal in the other. (It must benoted, however, that both these principals were able to speakSpanish.)

Personal outreach ana communication take timelots of it. It isnot an activity that a regular staff person can handle in sparemoments. The partnerships that succeeded all had project coordina-tors who were (1) genuinely interested in working with the Hispaniccommunity, (2) sensitive to the culture and needs of the Hispanic

2U

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ELEMENTSOF ASUCCESSFULPROGRAM

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TOGETHERIS BETTER

community, and (3) determined to make the program work. Theywere also the coordinators whose supervisors gave them time to dothe job.

Perseverance and aeativity were found to be crucial factors inorganizing and maintaining parent programs. The less successfulprojects often were those led by individuals who had been as-signedas opposed to those who had volunteered for the job. Theirhearts were not in the initiative and their performance showed it

But one coordinator does not a partnership make, howeverenergetic he or she may be. The programs illustrated the fact that thebest efforts of a project coordinator will fail if he or she does not havethe active support of the school principal and the staff. When theprincipal and the teachers are supportive of parent partnershipprojects, when these individuals show that they sincerely wantHispanic parents to become involved in the educational process,and when they are willing to be flexible and try new strategies,parents sense the sincerity and they respond. A congenial environ-ment, plus some degree of camaraderie, invites and supports parentparticipation.

All the programs that lacked the support of teachers and princi-pals failed to increase Hispanic parent involvement. And all theschools that felt that the poor Hispanic parents should begin their in-volvement by joining the existing parents' organintions failed aswell. Low-income parents are intimidated and made exceedinglyuncomfortable when expected to cope with unfamiliar organiza-tional structures and procedures. Moreover, they are not alwayswarmly welcomed by the existing parents' committees who per-ceive them as a threat to their control, particularly when the schoolpopulation ir predominantly Hispanic. Eventually, when they haveacquired the skills they feel they need to contribute and compete asequals, poor Hispanic parents can and do join the Parents AdvisoryCommittees.

Some of the partnership programs were more successful inincreasing Hispanic parental involvement than others. But the les-sons derived from all the projects and from the experiences sharedby the participants demonstrate WHAT WORKS and WHAT DOESNOT WORK . The programs have shown us how schools can recruitHispanic parents into a partnership, and how schools can retaintheir thterest and participation in a mutually supportive partner-ship.

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CHAPTER IVRecruitment Strategies:

DOs and DON'TsMost low-income Hispanic parents, for the diverse reasons de-

scribed in the previous chapters, resist entering into parent/schoolpartnerships. Therefore, the first challenge in launching such apartnership is finding a way to get the parents to the first meeting.

As project coordinators discovered, marketing the idea of aparent/school partnership to poor Hispanic parents is no easy feat.

One project coordinator wrote:"It is one of the most difficult jobs Ihave ever undertaken...."

How To Make The First Contact

The projects used the following techniques to try to reach andrecruit Hispanic parents:

Home visitsTelephone callsFlyers and handwritten notes from teachers given to stu-dents to take homeNotices posted on school bulletin boards, in local neighbor-hood stores, at health centers, at social service agenciesAnnouncements at Sunday Spanish-language church serv-ices, on local radio and television progeams, in schools'monthly calendars and news!ettersArticles in local newspapersChild-made invitationsVolunteers posted at school doors and yard gates duringdrop-off and pick-up timesDistribution of Spanish-language posters throughout thecommunity

With the exception of home visits, most of the methods provedinadequate in recruitment. They did not convince the parents toparticipate in any school activity (although some of them, used inconjunction with other, more effective techniques, probably helped).

The personal approach, which means talking face to face withthe parents, in their primary language, at their homes, or at the

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school, or wherever a parent could be "engaged," was the strategydeemed most effective by 98 percent of the project coordinators.

But a single home visit or conversation may not do the trick. Itmay be necessary to make personal contact two or three times toconvince parents to attend an activity. Many parents are uncomfort-able or suspicious of the invitation to become involved in schooiactivities. Many who are not bilingual feel nervous about attendingan activity they think will be conducted in English. Mothers withsmall children and no childcare facilities, as well as those who haveno way of getting to and from a meeting, need helpbaby sitting, aride, or money for transportation.

Some of the projects had anticipated these needs and were ableto provide immediate solutions to the problems the parents raised.Other projects made mid-course corrections and established sup-port systems to respond to the obstacles their home visits brought tolight. Certainly the home visits helped to personalize invitations, anelement which many Hispanics find important.

The following selected comments from the reports of the projectcoordinators demonstrate their conviction that one-on-one is theonly effective way to make that crucial first contact:

"We believe that recruitment must be very active and persuasive in itsnature. Passive recruitment such as flyers aren't effective....personalcontact is invaluable..., home visits are a must...."

"The most effective strategies were personal. Home visits, grape vines,gatherings at the gate."

"During our home visits we assured parents of the availability of trans-portation, babysitting, and meals. The home visits were the most effec-tive. The letters were least effective."

Getting To Know The Parents

Home visits actually serve two purposes. In addition to being aneffective way to convince parents to at least try one activity, homevisits provide an opportunity to get answers to questions that arebasic to the creation of a successful program.

Schools cannot design rational partnership programs untilthey understand who their partners will be. Are they single par-ents, welfare parents, working mothers, intact families, large fami-lies, immigrant families, native-born families? Do they speak Eng-lish? Who are the primary caretakers of the childrenthe mothers,the fathers or the grandparents? Are the neighborhoods dangerous?Do they live near or far from the school? Is transportation available?Do the fathers permit the mothers to go out alone? Are there places

23

or institutions in the neighborhoods where the families gather or feelcomfortable? Do many of the families appear troubled?

The decisions about whom to invite to which kind of an affair atwhat time is difficult if you do not know who your families are or howthey live their lives. The projects that took the time, to know theirfamilies were the ones that succeeded.

There are innumerable factors that restrict how and when poorfamilies can make themselves available. Schools that want to en-courage their participation must adapt the programs to the sched-ules and life realities of the families they are serving.

=oedhtatom recommend the followingetralegieft

DO eldp mersitramil to someone who knows how towork** Asps* pews, undegamis their culture,antis sincerely interested in involving patents in schoolactivities Give the mcruiter the time required to do the job.

DO follow up visits with a friendly telephone a&

DO follow up invitations to activities with a telephone callone Or two days before the event.

DO post the principal or tewh. s.outside the school in themornings and in the afternoons to personally greet parentswho drop off and pick up their children. This techniqueproved to be an effective irareenker that "humanized" and"pemonalized" the schoolmade it a warmer and morecaring plaa.

DO use parent-to-parent contacts. Build parent networks.If some Hispanic parents are involved in school events, en-courage them to bring their neighbors to school activities.Some programs msde a survey of where families lived sothat they mild put together groups of parents living in thesame community.

DO use a nucleus of involved Hispanic parents to serve asUetivetieeul center for organizing other parents. These

sre most effective when they receive special lead-el* Wining on program objectives and school proce-dune and regulations.

DO post prat rainbows* school gates, in yards, or inhollosays to greet other parents peoonally and give theminfOrmetion about upanning events.

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Thepojestosordhutors agreed on the follow-*OM i DONTs:

DOM um miffing. or Ryas (in Spada or in English) toInslispirealetsictivklei.Mailinge way bead to be10101$1,460#1111111011ipsnatsilo named. Some-

not *open a Whitton idtarteuchasiligithed laws If s letter Musa* sestrit

awitiffit ithelallowed up with am or two telephonealkalinising visit.

Dotrr sad initial consnunicationa on official schoolstations* Make the follow-up imitations and notices ap-pall:vied non-intimidating draped Is Suggest that theevent will be fun. See samples in the back of the book.)

DON'T issue an invitation that will make parents stayaway. For ample, never say or wife "Mts. Pulano, whydon't you come to our dass to learn how to be a goodparent." (One project actually sent out such a letter.)

That Crucial First Meeting

A Hispanic parent arrives in school, with a small child since she has nositter, to attend a meeting.

The parent is confronted first with the security guard at the school entrance,an individual who usually does not speak Spanish. He manages to direct theparent to the principal's office.

When the parent arrives at the principal's office she is then confronted by thesecretary, another individual who usually does not speak Spanish. If thesecretary is on the telephone, the parent has to wait. When the secretary finishesher conversation, she asks aggressively: "Yes?" Or, "Can I help you?"

The parent is finally off to the meeting which, she is told, is in the conferenceroom. (Where is the conference room?) The discussion is in English, and al-though she understands a little, she wishes someone would explain what is beingsaid. (What is PAC? SSC?) She is given handouts, written in English, on herway out of the meeting. As she leaves the school building she wonders, whatwas the meeting about?

The initial activity must be a warm, comfortable, profitable ex-perience for the parents. Otherwise, the first meeting will be thelast meeting they ever attendand all the effort put into personalrecruitment will have been wasted.

Successful projects were those that made the first meetingandall the subsequent meetingsfun. They understood that learning

25

need not be punitive and that adults do not respond well when theyare "talked at." Successful projects did not treat poor parents likechildren.

Bringing Hispanic parents into a strong parent/school partner-ship is, in large part, a matter of gaining their confidence. This is aprocess. It takes time and frequent positive contact to overcomesuspicion, fear, and reluctance.

School is not a place in which most low-income Hispanic parentsfeel comfortable. The most successful projects recognized that theschool itself was an obstacle to establishing a relationship, andthey scheduled their first events outside the school at some neutralneighborhood site or a location that clearly was the parents' turf.

One project took over the local McDonalds and invited theparents to a dinner. The principal and teachers donned McDonaldsuniforms and served the families, thereby actually and symbolicallysending the message that the school and its personnel were there toserve the parents and the children. After dinner the principal madesome brief remarks about building an on-going relationship. Subse-quent meetings were scheduled in the public housing project wheremany of the families lived. Eventually, when the parents and theteachers felt comfortable with each other, meetings and activitieswere held at school.

Another project ran its first event like a Tupperware party. Theschool gave coffee-and-doughnuts money to a number of parentsand asked each of them to invite up to 10 of their friends to theirhomes twice a month. The principal, along with a teacher, the schoolnurse, and a counselor, attended the gatherings and in a most infor-mal manner discussed school and health issues.

Still another budding partnership hooked the parents on aproject that involved a production of Snow White and the SevenDwapfs. The parents were asked to help make costumes and scenery.They were needed, in other words, and thei r kids were in the play. Bythe time Opening Afternoon arrived, the parents and the teacherswere pals, confidants, and co-workers, not to mention producers.From that point on, building the on-going partnership was a breeze.

The projects from which parents fled, vowing never to return,were those that did not consider how to make the parents comfort-able, those that loaded the first meeting with serious informationthat was directed "at" the parents, and those that tried immediatelyto integrate the Hispanic "first-timers" into the regular parents com-mittees. The projects that took the position that socializing has noplace in the serious business of education found themselves at unat-tended workshops.

064.

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24

TOGETHERIS BETTER In sum project coordinators warned

DONT have the fiat activity at the school YouiI findthg parents tney accept the invitation to attendbut theywon't show up. Schools can appear threatening to parentswho have little or no education.

DON'T Om tonna meeting or conference as the firstact*** Sack activities are easy for pareste. They signalthetemiliour will be mild% judgments about them orsehigipliktis they *col be al* to aninver. Instead,hada late activity and male sum that the entire event ismeat which they will be comfortable. Move the plumbsinto the partnership at their own pace.

Use the first icebreaker event to capture the parents' attentionand ease their nervousness. Offer them some carefully consideredoptions for the next eventoptions you have reason to believe willcorrespond to their needs and wants. Tell them when tne nextactivity will take place and make it plain that you really care abouttheir participation.

The real job begins after the first meeting: holding the parentsattentionmaintaining attendancegaining their participation inthe part-.ership.

0 "-4, 1

CHAPTER VRetention Strategies:

DOs and DON'TsRecruiting parents is difficult; retaining them is harder.

One of the demonstrations was confronted with yet another barrier toHispanic parent participation:

The schoors Parents Advisory Committee (PAC) was composet; of predomi-nantly Anglo parents. They were opposed to the Hispanic parentlschool partner-ship project even though a proposal, describing the plan of action, had been sub-mitted to them and had been approved. After the award had been made theytried to alter the program so that the Hispanic program and the program dollarswould become part of the regular PAC agenda.

After much discussion and disagreement between the project coordinator,the principal, and the president of the PAC, a meeting was scheduled for theHispanic parents as outlined in the proposal. The project coordinator did anoutstanding job and 300 Hispanic parents showed up, the greatest number ofparents ever seen at a school meeting.

The Hispanic mothers came to the meeting because the project director hadconvinced them that this meeting was different; it was specifically for them.

Although the PAC members were not invited, they arrived and before long,the PAC members took over the meeting. The agenda scheduled for the eveningwas ignored, and so were the Hispanic parents. As the Hispanic parents exitedafter the meeting, the majority were heard saying that they would not attendanother. They commented that things had not changed. They felt betrayed.

Only 35 Hispanic parents attended the second meeting.

Retaining the participation of the Hispanic parents who havebeen recruited is the second challenge of the partnership game. Howdo you maintain attendance? How do you hold the parents' atten-tion? After all, as one project coordinator worried, "Not every meetingcan be a party."

Low-income Hispanic parents are no more frivolous than therest of us. Not every meeting has to be a party. However, everymeeting has to respond to some need or concern of the parents.Parents will come when they believe that they are getting somethingout of the activities, that their feelings are respected, and that theyare a needed and valued resource.

Successful retention strategies require flexibicy but it is not nec-essary for schools to abandon their agendas. In truth, the agendas ofthe parents and the agendas of the schools are similiar; both aredeeply concerned about the children. What may be different are thetimetables and priorities. When schools adapt their early programsto accommodate what the parents think is important, they find that

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TOGETHERIS BE i ill

before long the parents are eager to respond to the school's agendaitems.

The projects that planned an agenda of meetings, and imposedthe issues and the format on the parents without their input, foundHispanic attendance uneven and low. Those that tried merely toincorporate Hispanic parents who never had been involved in theschool system into existing parents' organizations met with similarresults. The projects that spent time asking the parents what was im-portant to them, and offering them options, had higher rates ofatter.dance.

The behavior we found most puzzling was a tendency on thepart of many schools to repeat programs that already had failed toattract Hispanic parents. They didn't work.

Project coordirators employed a wide variety of formats

parent/teacher meetingsconferencesassorted workshopsparenting classestutorial and homework :enters

leadership skills trainingESL classessocial eventscommunity projects

All the formats worked. But participation levels, regardless ofthe format used, seemed most directly related to three factors

Flexibility (as discussed previously).Consultation with parents regarding subject matter andformat.Providing a caring environmentthe manner in which thesubject matter is presented and the event is conducted.

ConsultationSuccessful programs are those that give the parents a sense of

ownership, which is what "partnership" is all about. As outlined inprevious chapters, the programs that work are those that first learnwhat the parents want and then offer them options about the waysin which the parents and the schools can work together to achievetheir goals.

The most effective programs are those that present the parentswith the needs and wants of the schoolsneeds that only theparents can meet. When the schools say that they need help and thatthey need to learn from the parents, the relationship becomes apartnership of equals sharing knowledge and expertise.

Subject MatterThough every situation i s different, a review of the interests of

parents found that the first issues they wanted to tackle were AIDS,

29

L

teen pregnancy, drugs, spouse and child abuse, and ESL classes.Schools admitted that had th ,y not asked the parents' advice,

they would have begun the program with homework, good studyhabits, discipline and communication. It is instructive to note thatthe programs that started with the parents' agenda items eventuallydid cover the issues the schools felt were vital. And, most important,the parents expressed interest in the school issues and their atten-dance at these meetings remained high. The partners had estab-lished a relationship of mutual confidence and trust. They wereresponding to each other.

FonnatLow-income paren#s often are not comfortable Ma formal meeting

or conference setting. They find informal, more participatory for-mats to be less intimidating. Small groups are more effective thanlarge ones, and role playing and other interactive methods of pre-senting ideas and information are more successful than lectures.

The following activities were popular with the parents:

Parent Activity Centers in children's classrooms. Parentssat in class with their children; they listened to, and partici-pated in, the lessons. This activity helped the parents tobetter understand what constituted their children's schoo:day."Make and Take" workshops where parents learned how

to make educational games, flashcards, and activity boxes(containing paper, crayons, scissors, etc.). They learned howto use these materials at home to assist their youngsterswith basic skills, math and reading.Community Projects such as painting murals, cleaning up

lots next to the school, planting gardens, building play-ground equipment, mounting a drive against neighborhooddrug dealers, organizing to get sidewalks or street lights.Such activities build spirit and a sense of community, theyallow parents to make direct and visible contributions, andthey do not place the parents in the position of beingjuaged.Tutoring and Homework Centers where students receivedassistance with homework, and parents attended workshopsand parenting classes.Informal Workshops given initially on the issues the

parents identified, and later on subjects that the schools feltwere priorities.

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Providing a Caring EnvironmentIn addition to providing activities requested by the parents, co-

ordinators indicated that making the parents feel comfortable andwelcome at the activities was essential in maintaining attendance. Acaring environment means:

Talking with parents, not at them.Sharing personal experiences teachers have had with theirown children.Never posing questions to which there can be wrong an-swers. Exposing adults' ignorance in front of peers willdrive them away.Providing childcare, interpreters, and transportation whennecessary.Offering refreshments, however modest, at all events exceptthose that take place in the classroom.Taking steps to recognize the efforts of the parents.Providing social events that create additional opportunitiesfor parents and school personnel to mingle informally.Setting aside a parents' room in the school that has a pleas-ant, living-room atmosphere in which the parents can meetinformally.Stocking the parents' room with applications and forms thatrelate to their needsDMV applications for learners' per-mits, license-renewal forms, food stamp forms, tax forms,voter registration cards, etc.and providing someone atspecific hours who can help parents fill them out.

The projects provided a wealth of experience and knowledge.Project coordinators offer the following DOs and DON'TS forkeeping the parents involved:

To Retain Parents:

DO schedule meetings and workshops with considera-tion for parents' availability. This is essential. Workingparents cannot attend daytime activities. Most Hispanicwomen cannot attend when it is time to feed their families.

DO pkk up and escort reluctant parents to meetingsand eventsespedally the first few times.

DO encourage to attend activities by providingthe childcare and 4' tion that will make ft postible.

continwd

keNtiammo

DO extend the invitations to families, and make it clearthat grandparents are especially welcome Many Hispanicchildren are in the care of their grandparents while theirparezts work.

DO delegate responsibilities to parents. Involve them indeclaion mating, pluming, and the implementation ofpleas. Do not dictate what parents should do and howthey should do it

DO keep patents involved in activities that offer incen-tivet far poiticipation. Provide parents with the informa-tion or ASP that they need by:

-Choosing workshop and meeting topics that are of hn-mediate concern, such as learning how to apply forddhicart and food stamps, what to do about childabuse, how to get help for alcohol and drug users, whereto find summer day camp programa.-Solidifying paftidpation by uniting parents to combatneighborhood problems traffic, vandalism, graffiti,theft, chugs, Ms.-Involving parents in educational activities that arepractical, activities that help them as parents.

DO involve parents in action-oriented projects roleplaying in workshops, participatory discussion sendons,making things to use with children to improve reading ormath akille Meetings that require parents simply to listento a speaker are seldom effective.

DO involve parents in activities they later can duplicateand share with their childnnfor example, trips, picnics,and cultural and social events.

DO encourage parents to visit classrooms and observeclass sessions.

DO design small group interaction activities to provide in-depth AM specific skill development. Parents becomemore involved and interact with greater ease in smallgroups. Large groups sometimes overwhelm shy parents.

continual-

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aostisoso

DO make parents feel comfortable during discussions.Neverallow parents to fed that they may appear foolish,ignorant, or "wrong" if they contribute their ideas.

DO prepare school personnel, especially teachers andoffice daft boom parents arrive at school for meetinp.School panda* must tadestand the comically theyserve. Weeks of patient acrultment an be destroyed byone rude or uncaring receptionist.

DO be generous with recognition and awards. Recog-nize parents for their efforts in newelettes aid on schoolbulldht boards. Give awards to both sits:lento and parents.

DO plan shod-term projects with high potential for suc-cess, and limit the number of meetinp pa project.

DO hold social activides for parents. Dances, pothickdinners and graduation ceremonies attract Hispanic par-ents. Social activities are non-threatening and provide anopportunity for Michels and parent organizers to "capturethe parent' and provide information in a casual mannerabout future activities.

DO organize special interest groups, such as sewing,gardening, or crafts dubs.

DO try new ideas and devise new projects to providevariety and to renew interest. When a strong core ofparents have become involved, consider organizing aretreat. Retreats crate a sense of cohesion, stimulatepositive group dynamics, and clarify the goals and objec-tives of parent programs.

Above are the positive guidelines. Now for the negative:

3,i

lb Retain Parents:

DON'T design the program to suit the convenience or(sedition of the school.

DON'T place the parents in the role of students whoare being taught by the schools.

DON'T assume that the parents have no knowledge orstrengths to king to the partnership, or that their parent-ing practices are bad. A strong sense of family,loyalty, dis-dpilne, and respect are qualities that teachers value.Parents should be praised for instilling these qualities intheir children.

DON'T tell parents they have to change the way theyare rearing their children. Tell them that they should con-sider building on their tradition by adding to it those prac-tices that will better prepare their children for US. schools.

And especially:

DON'T give up if the initial response is not over-whelming. Under the very best of circumstancesdoingall the right things with adequate personnelit takes time.If you can attract a core of parents, and keep them comingto events, word will spread. Little by little, others will dareto join. They will discover that it is a rewarding experienceand will tell their friends. Keep up the effort, and one dayyou will find that you can't keep the parents away.

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RETENTIONSTRATEGIES

CHAPTER VIIs It Worth The Effort?

The parents are reluctant, the outreach must be extensive and on-going, the activities have to be specifically tailored to the parents'needs and concerns, the response is likely to be slowis it reallyworth all the effort it takes to build Hispanic parent/schoolpartner-ships?

We think it is.The schools that established partnerships that increased paren-

tal involvement found that the parents who attended activities on aregular basis became knowledgeable and familiar with the work-ings of the school system; any mystery evaporated along with theparents' sense of discomfort and fear. Parents began to feel that theybelonged; many became deeply involved both in school activitiesand in the educational progress of their children. The involvedparents repeatedly remarked how good it felt to be able to help theirchildren learn.

Project coordinators reported that they saw many changes in theattitudes and behavior of the once reluctant parents. For instance:

More parents telephoned schools to make inquiries, and toask for homework assistance for their children.Parents became more cooperative in responding to school re-

quests.Parents no longer visited the school only when their childrenwere in trouble. More parents were dropping by school tospeak to school personnel, to share problems, to expressconcerns, or to ask for advice.Parents no longer waited to be asked to come inmany initi-

ated visits and communication with teachers.Many parents told project directors that they felt more confi-

dent about things in general, and they felt appreciated by theschool staff and principal. They confessed to feeling less inawe of the school, the personnel, and the administrativeprocedures.Some parents requested additional activities (parents' centers,

for example, and education training for husbands, relatives,and friends).Parents became more assertive with teachers and asked ques-

tions about educational programming.

35

Parents became more vocal at meetings and functions.Some parents showed an interest in becoming involved withdecision-making. Some joined Parent Advisory Councils andParent Committees.The camaraderie between parents and teachers had a positiveeffect in building trust and mutual respect.

From the schools' point of view, the successful partnershipsmade their jobs easier and more rewarding. As one teacher reported,"It put the joy back in my job. My job satisfaction is based onchildren learning. I am willing to put in the extra time if I seeresults, if I see that I am maldng contact."

Another teacher admitted that before her principal involved herin the program, she had been afraid of the Hispanic parents, andangry that she had to cope with parents with whom she could notcommunicate. A year later she was counting herself lucky. In all heryears of teaching, she had never had class parents who were so eagerto help with any project and so willing to respond to her suggestions.

Four of the projects in the first competition have been trackingboth the academic and the social and behavioral performances of"project students" and ' .4on-project students." These four projectshave baseline data for the year prior to the initiation of the partner-ship program and data for three additional years. The children of theinvolved parentsthe "project students"do not show large aca-demic gains compared to the children of the non-involved parentsthe "non-project students." But their attitudes toward school, theirparticipation in class, their behavior, and their study habits haveimproved markedly over those of their "non-project" peerssignsthat bode well for the future of these children.

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IS ITWORTHIT?

34

TOGETHERIS BE I l'El CHAFFER VII

Special Challenges: HispanicFathers, Teenage Mothers,

Troubled FamiliesThe first two rounds of the School/Parent Partnership Compe-

titions demonstrated that schools can build strong and rewardingrelationships with low-income Hispanic mothers.

While the Partnership Projects did not set out to target specificgroups of Hispanic parents, project directors repeatedly reported alack of participation on the part of three groups: Hispanic fathers,teenage mothersparticularly siagle teenage mothers, a ad parentsin severely troubled, multi-problem families.

Consequently, a third round of awards was targeted specificallyto these groups to see what additional lessons could be learned.

Hispanic Fathers

As a general rule, all fathers, regardless of their race, ethnicity, orsocioeconomic status, are less involved in school matters than aremothers. The general consensus among the project coordinators wasthat recruiting Hispanic fathers was "next to impossible." The vastmajority of low-income Hispanic fathers perceive education andanything related to itlike child-rearingas a woman's job. Andthe mothers tend to agree.

Although Hispanic families tend to be intact, it must be remem-bered that the male head of household in some families is not, in fact,the biological father of the children in that household. Involvingthese "fathers"whether uncle, grandfather, stepfather, or some-one else who plays the father rolein tile education of the childrenis likely to be even harder than involving biological fathers.

A Hispanic father is the master of his house. He considershimself to be the protector and the provider of the family, even whenhis wife works outside the home. He is expected to project a serious,even stern and unapproachable image. This often means that hedoes not express affection openly and does not communicate easilywith the children. At the same time he is expected to show respect tohis family, and in return the family is expected to show him respect.He is revered. Sometimes the family is afraid of him.

When project coordinators visited homes in the evenings, fa-thers usually were not seen. When they did happen to be home, they

3 7

seldom participated in the conversations. They observed from adistance, listened, and sometimes nodded.

Fathers avoid functions that are billed or can be construed as"learning" activities. It threatens their control, their dignity, and im-plies that the father needs counseling, or is not a good father, or hasflaws or weaknesses. An uneducated Hispanic father, even morethan a Hispanic mother, fears professionals. What if questions areasked that the father dczs not know how to answer? How will thatreflect on him as head of the family?

Certain lessons were learned from third-round programs tar-geted to fathers.

Most fathers can be lured into participation only by down-to-ea rth action projects that call upon their unique skills: building play-ground equipment, overseeing sporting events, painting a class-room or a mural, or moving furniture into a parents' room. Andfathers want to do these things with other fathers. They are often notcomfortable working with women. Fathers will attend events thatare celebrationsappreciation dinners, assemblies, open schoolnight, sporting events, and graduations. Meetings are almost neverattractive to fathers, but when they do agree to attend, in most casesit is to hear a male speaker.

Fathers generally prefer activities held in the evenings ard onweekends.

Project directors reported that when Hispanic fathers did par-ticipate in an activity, it was likely to be one of the following:

*Activities which included incentivesOne project reportedthat each parent who attended its meetings received a raffleticket for a door prize. When both the mother and the fatherattended, the family had a greater opportunity to win theprize. The attendance of fathers, if not their verbal participa-tion, increased.

*High school nightFathers enjoyed accompanying a son ordaughter to the program to assist in reviewing high schooloptions.

*Small group activities with other men, such as organizinggarage sales, helping to serve a meal, or manning tables at afunction.

Many teachersmale and female alikefind the attitudes oflow-income Hispanic fathers &stressing. Women teachers can feeldeeply offended. But the Hispanic fathers, like all of us, are productsof their socialization. Schools that wish to reach them have tounderstand their background and devise ways to bridge the gaps.

In addition, it must be recognized that if fathers are willing toparticipate only in action projects, and remain unwilling to attendmeetings and conferences, they nevertheless are sending nonverbal

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SPECIALCHAL-LENGES

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TOGETHERIS Bh 1 MK

messages to their children, messages that clearly say, "School isimportant. That is why I am willing to build playground equipmentor paint a mural or plant trees for the school on my day off."

Teenage Mothers

Being a mother is a big responsibility. Surviving the teenageyears can be a real challenge. When you put them together, being ateenager and a mother at the same time can be an overwhelmingtask.

The physical and emotional changes that assail youngsters asthey pass from childhood into adolescence, and the increased free-doms and responsibilities encountered when they leave the struc-tured confines of elementary school, create problems for mostyouth. The problem is particularly severe for today's young womenwho are subjected to peer pressure to become sexually active. Thatpressure, coupled with a lack of information about birth control, hasled to an epidemic of adolescent pregnancy. Each year more thanone million teenagers in the United States become pregnant, andmore thaa half of them give birth.

Many Hispanic teen girls, like other adolescents, are unhappy athome, are doing poorly in school, or believe that their parents do notunderstand them. Many think that becoming pregnant will solvetheir problems. They sincerely believe that producing a baby willturn them into adults. They see a baby as the only way out. The baby,of course, is no way out. To the contrary, the children these youngmothers bear only bind them to the home, frequently to welfare, andalmost always to poverty. The fun, as little as it may have been, isover long before the baby arrives. The chance to take control of theirlives is often lost as well.

Very few Hispanic teen mothers complete high school, and sothey lack marketable skills. If they marry as teenagers, the marriageoften ends in divorce or separation. More children may arrive. Byage 25, a woman who had her first child in her teens may have hadseveral more, and has little chance of ever altering her family's con-dition of poverty. Although most teen mothers hope to have theirown homes after the baby arrives, it usually does not turn out thatway. Most teenage mothers will live with their own mothers orifmarriedwith their mothers-in-law.

Project coordinators found teen mothers unresponsive. The girlsalmost always promised they would come to activities and then justdidn't show upeven when the activities were those suggested bythe teen mothers themselves during home recruitment visits. Whenquestioned, some said that they forgot or felt sick; others confessedthat they could not miss episodes of their favorite soap operas.Project coordinators despaired.

3 ;)

A special initiative focused on teenage mothers shed some lighton the subject:

Some 32 teen mothers were interviewed in depth and partici-pated in several focus groups. Twently-six were school dropouts,and 23 had born children before they werel6 years old. Over half hadmore than one child, over half had never moved out of theirchildhood neighborhoods, on;y one had a full-time job, and all ofthem received some form of public assistance.

They all had been children having children, and mosteven theoldest, who were 21 at the time of the interviewswere clearlydependent on their mothers, many of whom had been teen mothersthemselves. The girls were not only locked in a cycle of welfaredependency, they were trapped in a cycle of emotional dependencyas well. The normal maturation process by which one passes fromchildhood to assume responsibility for oneself and one's actions hadbeen arrested. Their misguided attempts to achieve adulthoodthrough motherhood had produced the opposite result. It hadprolonged the child/parent relationship with their mothers.

Many teen mothers, therefore, can best be reached by pro-grams that focus on the extended family. If one of the intentions ofschool/parent partnerships is to assist the child, then recruitmentstrategies that include the functioning heads of the families, grand-mothers and grandfathers, may be more effective than a focus onteen mothers alone. Programs with incentives seem to appeal to thepractical sense of many grandmothers. When the incentive offeredis increased by the attendance of additional family members, grand-mothers tend to see that their daughters leave the television andshow up to collect.

Teen fathers are even harder to reach than teen mothers. Anumber of demonstration programs sponsored by the Bank StreetCollege seem to indicate that programs that deal with life skills andfocus on jobs and training, as well as on children, can attract youngmen. It is interesting to note that the Bank Street school-based modelplaced emphasis on including the grandparents.

But not all the Bank Street models were school based, and it maybe that many teen mothers as well as teen fathers have to be reachedin non-school settings. A neighborhood-based San Antonio project,AVANCE, has been enormously successful in turning around thelives of young mothers and families. It started by offering freeneighborhood babysitting. The mothers and grandmothers whotook advantage of the service "paid for it" by attending parentingclasses which led to education and training opportunities for themothersand later the fathers.

Frequently the husband or male companion to a teen mother isnot a teenager himself, but an older man. He often exerts a significantinfluence on the teen mother even though they may not live together.This influence should be recognized in designing programs for her

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TOGETHERIS BETTER

and in any attempts to invol ,-;.. him in a program.Hispanic teen parenthood is increasing. Because daughters of

teenage mothers tend to become teenage mothers themselves, thereis little hope that the problem will go away. Extraordinary measuresmay be called for, and schools may want to consider making radicaldepartures from the way in which they historically have viewedtheir sole vis a vis parents. If the teen mothers can be ma, -led onlyoutside the schools, then schools may want to establish partnershipswith neighborhood centers and other community-based organiza-tions, thereby conveying information through third parties. Thereare successful examples of collaborations among schools, commu-nity-based organizations, parents, and students. Whatever it takes,the cycle of children bearing children must be halted.

One teen father reflected"Sometimes, when I'm holding Terry, I think to myself, 'It's weird, I

did just what my brothers did.' Two of them were teen fathers and thethird was a father at 21. Even my mother and father were teen parents.And I checked this out too, my grandmother was a teen parent. So, it'sbeen a line there. When I look at Terry I say, 'My God, will I be agrandfather at 35? NO!' I got to teach Terry. Her mother is 15, youknow. And her two sisters are teen mothers, too. It's pretty , 2gular, thisthing. Runs deep."

Troubled Families

Severely troubled families cannot guide their children whenthey themselves do not know where they are going.

Charlotte was 14 years old, big for her age and tough-looking an impor-tant quality around her peers because she did not want them to know what wenton in her life.

Charlotte came from a troubled home, the youngest and the only child leftathome. Her father was an alcoholic. Her mother feared and obeyed him.

Charlotte went to school evety day but was failing her classes. Around herteachers she expressed a kind of passive resistance. She was seen to "hang out"with her peers in the school parking lot at different times during the day andafter school.

One day she came to class displaying signs of abuse. She had been beaten.When confronted, she talked to her teacher.

She confessed that her father drank, and that it was her job to wait for himat night to put him to bed. The night before, she had fallen asleep before hearrived. He woke her up with a beating. When Charlotte's mother was con-tacted, she had only one thing to say, "It is t...harlotte's job to wait for herfather." When pressed, her mother said: "Charlotte is just rebellious and toughto handle. She needs to be disciplined."

In reality the mother was so afraid of her husband that she was willing tomake excuses for his behavior.

The proper authorities were notified, and steps were taken to monitor thehome situation. Recommendations were made for the father to attend "parentsanonymous" classes.

41

Troubled families are sometimes called high-tisk families, at-riskfamilies, or hard-to-reach families. Whatever the labels, these arefamilies with more than their share of problems:

inadequate or unsafe housingdangerous neighborhoodsunemployment andunderemployment

poverty and financial strainsdrug and alcohol abusedivorce and single parenthood

handicapped childrenfamily violencepoor healthlack of English fluencydepressionilliteracy

Troubled families generally feel disconnected and alienatedfrom the school system and often from society in general.

The school/parent pa ..':nerships found troubled families to bethe hardest group to recruit. They did not respond to extensiveoutreach, home visits, or the information and activities planned forthem, even though many of the activities were suggested by the parentswhen they were surveyed by outreach workers. Time and time again,when parents were polled by telephone, and when parents indicatedthat they would attend at the appointed hour, and when they wereassured that childcare, transportation, and refreshments would beofferednobody showed.

What kept them away?Conversations with the project directors who had struggled to

recruit and involve high-risk families in their programs revealed thefollowing:

High-risk families are consumed with a myriad of bottom-line survival issuesfood, clothing, shelter, dead-end Lw-paying jobs (and sometimes no jobs at all), violence, illness,addiction.The coping skills of many high-risk families are limited ornon-existent, which may explain why so many fall back ondrugs and alcohol.Depression is a serious problem for many of these families.Hispanic culture discourages making public the family'sprivate business. Hence, few seek the outside help theyneed, and few have any idea where help is to be found ifand when they decide that they want it.

It is not reasonable to expect that individuals who are barely sur-viving will have the time, the inclination, or the psychic energy to getthemselves together for a school meeting or a workshop. It is clearthat most cannot help their children until they first have gotten helpfor their own all-consuming problems.

In the meantime, most children from deeply troubled back-

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grounds are not learning. A school that finds itself with a largepopulation of troubled families is facing an enormous challenge thatrequires a total rethinking of how the school goes about its businessand how it views its responsibilities.

The school that is serving large numbers of at-risk families hasto function in place of the parents while it goes about the task ofseetng to it that the troubled families get the help they require tostabilize their lives and home environments. This has not tradition-ally been the schools' role. Otherssocial agencies, churcheswerecharged with these responsibilities. But school may well be theonly connection an alienated and isolated Hizpanic family haswith any source of help. The schools may have to fill the outreach/referral iole by default, and the government and privatesectors mayhave to give them the resources to do so.

The project directors who worked with high risk families haveoffered suggestions and insights for working with troubled parents:

Surveying parents when they register their children wasfound to be a good first step in gathering information onfamilies. It may be the only time a troubled parent willappear at school.Establishing a network of contacts with helping agenciesthat are sensitive to the needs and culture of poor Hispanicfamilies is another must. Building a strong relationship witha community-based agency in the neighborhood may be themost efficient way to go. In any event, the school has to bein a position to provide referral, and some central personhas to be in a position to coordinate the help that the familyneeds. This coordination is called case management. What-ever it is called, multi-problem families do not get betteruntil their problems are addressed in some consistent andsimultaneous manner.However difficult it may be, getting to know the familypersonally is a must. This means home visits, and it meansspeaking in the family's primary language.

The first visit is crucial in setting the tone and establishingrapport. No lectures, no teaching. Just a friendly chat. Be a goodlistener and draw out dialog from the parents. This will help you tolearn more about them, and about their needs. Acknowledge thedifficulty of being a parent in today's world. Share a personalexample with the family to help the process.

When the parents begin to open up, let them know that help isavailable for themchildcare services; interpreting services; refer-rals for family counseling; homework help for their children; ESLclasses; parenting help; presentations on child/wife abuse andalcohol and drug abuse; and transportation to and from whatever

4 3

services they require.But keep in mind that some high-risk families need more time

than others to become sufficiently comfortable with a parent coor-dinator to speak freely, to ask questions, and ultimately to ask forhelp. Many visits may be necessary. Keeping in touch with parentson the telephone on a weekly basis is required. Leaving a telephonenumber where you can be reached is desirable; sometimes anemergency arises that finally tnggers a parent's desire to seek help.

One plucky parent coordinator spent two years working with agroup of parents, 95 percent of whom were deeply troubled. She hadthis to say

"Be committed to give it all you have, both perspiration and inspiration.The parents are out there; we just have to make that first move, because theycannot."

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TOGETHERIS BETTER CONCLUSION

"The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of largerideas,never returns to its original size."

Oliver W. Holmes

Justice Holmes' statement suggests what the Parent/SchoolPartnerships discovered. As "the mind, once expanded..., neverreturns to its original size," so Hispanic parents exposed to schoolinvolvement do not revert to their original ways of thinking. Thosewho are approached in a sensitive manner, and brought into a rela-tionship of confidence with their children's schools, begin to altertheir parenting styles. The Parent/School Partnerships revealed thatparent behavior is subject to change.

The Partnerships created an awareness among the involvedparents that they must play a role in their children's education, thatschools alone cannot educate their children. The Partnerships famil-iarized parents with the skills their children require to be successfulin school, and showed them what they, as parents, could do topromote the acquisition of those skills.

The Partnerships provided participating Hispanic parents witha better understanding of the institution that so puzzled them, mak-ing it less intimidating. Participating Hispanic parents, mothers inparticular, became full partners in the education of their children.

The schools learned as well. They discovered that Hispanicparents are an untapped resource that can help them do their jobsbetter. The schools learned how to communicate cross-culturally,and they realized that flexibility can be fun, that new ways of doingthings need not be threatening. And teachers experienced the edu-cator's ultimate satisfactionthe students were learning.

But the momentum must continue. More poor Hispanic parentsmust be reached and educated about how the U.S. school systemworks. More schools must be willing to shed their preconceptionsand misconceptions and do what they were trained to doteachand communicate. Hispanics must cease believing that educationgoes on only in the classroom. Schools must let go the notion thatHispanic parents are the problem.

As more schools and parents work as teams, as more Hispanicparents understand and want to share in their children's education,and as schools encourage them and help them to do so, more oftoday's poor Hispanic children will be prepared to assume the re-sponsibilities of citizenship and the burdens of leadership that willbe thrust upon them in a not-too-distant tomorrow.

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APPENDICESBarriers and SolutionsSample ProgramsSample Outreach andFollow-Up MaterialsDirectory of Projects

When the parents are not part ofthe educational team, the childrenand the teachers undertake theeducational journey on a tricyclewith two wheelsone third of thesupport mechanism is missing.

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TOGETHER1S BETTER

APPENDIX 1Barriers/Solutions

In general those projects which were successful in overcoming thebarriers to Hispanic parent involvement shared many or all of thefollowing elements:

Activities were creative, diverse, and flexible.Recruiting strategies centered on the "personal approach."Project directors were familiar with their communities.Projects had support from principals and teachers.Project directors were dedicated, resourceful individualswith a sincere interest and concern for Hispanics.Project directors spoke Spanish.

The following chart summarizes the major barriers and the stepsthat can be taken to surmount them.

Soi I()\,,

Communication Problems

*Language differences*Tradition/cultural differences

*Conduct meetings, seminars,and workshops in Spanish.Have bilingual aide availablewhen Hispanic parents visitthe school.Encourage parents to bring abilingual relative or friend.Sensitize school personnel tothe Hispanic community, itsculture, and its special needs.Use cultural enrichmentactivities to bring school andfamilies together.

Feelings of Inferiority

Limited or no education *Involve parents in decision-making, planning, and imple-mentation of activities. Let themknow they are importantpartners.Give parents opportunities todemonstrate and use theirspecial skills and talents.

continued--

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APPENDICES

Feelings of Alienation

*Not welcome at school. *Welcome parents by conveying Apositive attitude when they visit theclassrooms and at meetings andactivities.*Let parents know you appreciatetheir presence and the time they aredevoting to the school.

Lack of Understanding of the Educational System

*Belief that school is anomnipotent force muchwiser than parents.

Fathers and mothers whowork full time find attend-ing daytime activities verydifficult.

*Hold workshops for Hispanicparents on the mechanics of theschool system, and on school cur-riculum. Remove the mystery from"the system."Have parents instruct other parents.

Lack of Time

Problems

*Affordable childcare orbabysitting is difficult tofind, especially for low-income parents with morethan one child.

*Attempt to accommodate workingparents and mothers of small childrenby holding activities and workshopsin the evenings or on weekends. Holdsome of the functions in their neigh-borhoods (i.e., church, communitycenter, parents' homes).

Finding childcare

Provide childcare for those parentswho want to attend meetings andworkshops.Plan activities in which parents andchildren don't have to be separated.Utilize extended family members orteenage siblings to provide childcare atmeeting site.

Transportation Problems

*Many low-income fami-lies may not be able toafford transportation toand from activities.

*Provide transportation, if possible,to and from activities.Set up carpools.*Get help from people and groupsin the community, such as thechurch, social workers, and apart-ment managers.Hold activities in the community.

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APPENDIX 2Sample Programs

The Parent/School Partnership Campaign generated hundredsof proposals to recruit and involve Hispanic parents in the educa-tional system. The enthusiastic response indicated a real desire onthe part of educators, community organizations, and others to workwith Hispanic parents and make them a part of the school family.

Proposals came from parents, teachers, principals, local andstate educational systems, non-profit organizations, and commu-nity groups. The target parents usually were described as low-income, limited-education families; many spoke little or no English.These families rarely participated in school activities, and the rea-sons given for their non-involvement were numerous:

The school's lack of a demonstrated concern about Hispanicfamilies.

A failure, on the part of the parents, to understand the schoolsystem.

The lack of childcare.The lack of transportation to school activities.The parents' work schedules, precluding daytime participa-tion in school events.

The lack of a good liaison person to do parent recruiting.The lack of a place to meet. .A lack of Hispanic role models and Hispanic leaders.

The activities that were proposed included workshops, meet-ings, conferences, a training institute, retreats, counseling sessions,family rooms, classroom-based activity centers, community centers,after-school tutorials, social gatherings, networking, a system ofrewards, and arts and crafts activities. Many other strategies, toonumerous to name, were also employed.

Too many of the projects, however, built on activities which hadnot worked before, such as simply iacreasing the number of meet-ings per school year. Other projects scheduled activities that were insome way frightening or too ambitious for the target parents (forexample, inviting parents to visit colleges or to attend a collegecommencement exercise, or holding a social event at a university).

What happened?One third of the projects were highly successful at increasing the

participation of their Hispanic parents; one third did increase His-

4 9

panic parent participation but only slightly; and one third of theprojects, suffering a variety of difficulties, did not increase parentparticipation.

Failure to increase parent participation may have stemmed fromrecruiting or retention strategies that did aot work with a particulargroup of parents. In some cases the target parents were high-riskfamilies that proved to be especially difficult to recruit and involvein school activities. In a few cases the individuals running the projectwere not compatible with Hispanic parents or lacked convictionabout the importance or usefulness of the project.

Whatever the case, because lessons were learned from every one of thedemonstrations, there were no failures. It must be remembered that theproject directors were pioneers, charged with running the projectswithout guidelines; the projects were experiments in an area thathad not been explored before. Therefore, all the experiences werewelcomed.

Following are brief descriptions of selected projects:

1) California Project Family Night at McDonalds

BackgroundThe participating K-6 elementary school had a student enroll-

ment of 920; of these, 552 were Hispanic. Less than 1 percent of theHispanic parents participated actively in the school. The projectdirector's first activity got the ball rolling.

The project director who was in fact the school principalpersuaded the neighborhood McDonalds restaurant to host "afamily night," with t he principal and teachers, dressed in McDonaldsuniforms, working behind the counters and serving food to thefamilies. Parent attendance was very high.

Why were parents willing to participate in this activity?The first parent activity should be fun, and this one was. The first

activity should be held in a non-threatening familiar place, ratherthan the school site, which scares many Hispanic parentsandMcDonalds, of course, was familiar to the parents.

The McDonalds Family Night was an ice-breaker. This activitywas easier for parents to accept than a meeting would have been be-cause it was a social function, and it was in the neighborhood. Schoolmeetings usually mean that discipline, classroom work, or home-work will be discussed. While these topics are extremely important,they will not attract parent participation right away. Social gather-ings, on the other hand, make people including school personnel

more relaxed and approachable.This school principal also took over her teachers' classes for a day

in order to permit teachers to visit their students' homes. A series of

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TOGETHERIS BETTER

workshops (in both English and Spanish) were held by the principaland her staff in the recreation room of the neighborhood housingproject. The workshops showed the parents how to develop theirchildren's study skills. Both the home visits and the special work-shops were efforts to reach those parents who had had little ornothing to do with their children's school.

One of these parents was a mother of 10 children, five in school:"I knew there were meetings...but I didn'tgo because I didn't knowEnglish, and I was embarrassed." It was also difficult for this motherto get to the meetings. "I don't know how to drive, I don't havea car,and I have the babies to take care of."

By the end of the project period, parent participation had in-creased to 478 parents (including 102 fathers).

2) Washington, D.C. Project Summer Day Camps

BackgroundThis bilingual PK-6 elementary school had 305 students; 183

students were Hispanic. The project aimed to help parents developskills to help their children, and to recruit parents to share theircultural resources language, songs, stories, crafts with thestudents.

Disappointed by attendance at the first activity (although 40 outof 106 parents attended the meeting), the project director took stepsto increase attendance. In the process of identifying areas of greatneed for the families, summer day camps for children emergedas amajor concern. When surveyed, 57 parents expressed an interest insummer day camps, and all families were represented at the meetingto discuss the available camps.

Why were parents attracted to this activity?The topic free summer camps was a subject of immediate

interest to the families. It is difficult to entertain youngsterssometimes two or three at a time who are at home all day duringthe hot summer months; working parents especially need a daycamp program during these months when school is not in session.Summer day camps provided a needed service, and therefore par-ents were attracted to the meeting.

By the end of the project period, 70 percent of the Hispanicparents had contributed time to the project.

3) California Project Gardening and Sewing Clubs

BackgroundThis K-6 elementary school had an enrollment of 520 students;

224 students were Hispanic. Although some parents were deeplyinterested in their children's school progress and some attended

51

isthool functions, they felt inadequate and ignorant regarding theirability to help their children in academic matters (many of theparents had little or no formal education).

The project planned a variety of workshops to train parents touse and develop instructional materials for school and home use.The first workshop was attended by 52 parents; only 25 had beenexpected. The other workshops were just as successful.

The project director also planned a series of "continuing pro-jects" for the parentscostume making, gardening, a video presen-tation, and painting a mural. The costume-making project, in par-ticular, was highly successfto. Twenty parents participated in pre-paring props and sewing costumes for the school play, "SnowWhite." The parents also became involved in helping the studentspractice their lines and thei r dances, and in putting together the scen-ery. It proved to be a unifying and rewarding experience for bothparents and staff.

Why were the workshops, as well as the special projects, soattractive to the parents?

The secret to this project's success was the project director asecond-grade teacher whose enthusiasm and sincerity touched theparents and invited their participation. They liked her, and theywanted to become involved in her workshops. The extraordinaryrapport established between the Hispanic parents and the directorhelped the project succeed.

After each workshop, she gave each of the participating parentsa box filled with crayons, colored paper, scissors, paste, and special-project materials for parents and children to use at home. Theparents enjoyed the workshops so much that they were alwaysready to attend another one. It is particularly noteworthy that a fairnumber of fathers participated.

The "continuing projects" appealed to the parents, as well,because they touched on personal skills. We all have special talentswe enjoy sharing with others. The projects gave them the opportu-nity to contribute something important to the school, something thatthey could well feel proud about. Sewing costumes for the play, forexample, made the parents feel useful and needed.

By the end of the project period,105 parents were confidently andcomfortably participating in a variety of school activities, and weresharing home projects with their children.

Over the course of time (three years), many changes took placein the school. These changes were both the result of increased parentparticipation and a catalyst for further engagement in school activi-ties of the part of the parents. The changes included increasing bilin-gual staff at the schoolboth teaching and administrative, translat-ing all school correspondence into Spanish, and dramatically in-creasing the number of English-as-a-Second-Language classes.

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4) Texas Project Intensive Training Institute

BackgroundThe PreK and Kindergarten Schools had a total student enroll-

ment of 778 children; 408 were Hispanic. Although the Hispanicparents had expressed a willingness to assist their children and toprepare them for school, most did not feel capable (45 percent of theparents did not have a high school diploma). The project sought totrain the parents of the pre-school/kindergartners to meet theeducational and emotional needs of their children and to becomefully involved in their children's education, year-round.

To accomplish this, the project director held an informal, week-long Intensive Training Institute for interested parents 27 moth-ers signed up to attend; 26 participated.

The Hispanic mothers received help on child growth and devel-opment, home learning centers, motivation and self esteem, and theprocess and techniques of language development. The parents alsolearned about the school system. Having a better understanding ofthe workings of the system would make it easier for parents tobecome involved in school activities without feeling inadequate and"lost."

This institute was followed by monthly workshops alwayswell attended on what children are expected to learn in kindergar-ten. Parents worked on "make and take projects." Several of theparents became classroom volunteers. The parents also received ad-ditional training on how to assist in school, and as a result severalmothers were employed by the school as lunchroom and classroomaides.

Why was this activity unique?The week-long Intensive Training Institute provided the moth-

ers with information that they needed before their children enteredpre-school/kindergarten. This project also made numerous effortsto make it easier for parents to participate: parents were picked upand taken home every day for a week, and three meals wereprovided for them and for the children who accompanied them.Childcare facilities were provided on the site.

The activity brought parents and teachers together day after day,for a week, in an informal setting. The friendly, relaxed environmentmade it possible for everyone to become acquainted and to put asidereservations and prejudices. School staff members became ordinarypeople. First names were used; titles were shed.

The institute was so successful that the mothers requestedanother training session for the fathers and relatives. By the end ofthe project period, 53 parents were actively participating in schoolactivities.

5) Boston Project Classroom Activity Centers

BackgroundThe K-I elementary school had a student enrollment of 870; 420

students were Hispanic. The school had considerable Hispanicparental presence Hispanic parents, for example, were alwayswilling to cook for school functions. But substantive Hispanic in-volvement in their children's education was lacking. The projectproposed to remedy the situation by creating Classroom-BasedActivity Centers for the parents.

Once a week, the classroom centers allowed parents to sit in theirchildren's classes. Parents were able to watch interactions betweenstudents and teachers, and they became familiar with the curricu-lum. Participating teachers received a voucher to purchase educa-tional materials for their classes, in order to provide the parents withsupplies to be used in the classroom or at home with their children.In addition, the parents attended parenting workshops and counsel-ing sessions.

Why was this activity unique?This activity gave the parents a first-hand understanding of their

children's hool day. Understanding the lessons helped mothers towork with their children at home, reinforcing what the children hadlearned in class, and parents were better able to work with teachersin resolving specific learning problems. Parents took pride in watch-ing their youngsters learn and interact with the teacher. Children en-joyed having their mothers or, hand.

Most of the nine classroom centers were successful. They at-tracted the participation of a total of 63 parents. By the end of theproject period, an average of 20 to 30 Hispanic parents also attendedmonthly School Parents' Council meetings; less than10 had attendedmeetings before the project began.

6) Texas Project Home Workshops

BackgroundThis 3-6 grade elementary school had an enrollment of 545;

nearly 100 percent of these students were Hispanic, and 75 percentof their parents spoke no English. The project aimed at helpingparents with parenting skills and providing information P'-outvarious ways of working together with the school for the growth anddevelopment of their children. Less than 5 perant of the Hispanicparents had participated in school-related activities.

After her attempts failed to get parents to come to school toparticipate in a variety of activities, this project coordinator (and

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TOGETHERIS BETTER

school principal) would not accept defeat. She determined that since"some parents will not come to school, we will go to them. Parentinggroups will be set up in different homes."

Four homes were selected; the hostess parents received moneyfor refreshments. The parent hostess was responsible for inviting 10other Hispanic parents to the workshops. The principal and mem-bers of her staffa counselor, the school nurse, the assistant princi-pal, and a teachervisited homes four times a week. Most of thesessions were attended by at least 10 parents.

Discussion topics (in English and in Spanish) included Listenimoto your Child; Caring for your Child; Routines, Rules, and Goals of School;Grades, Homework, and Academics; The Parents' Role; and ParentingSkills.

As parents became more comfortable with the school staff, theywelcomed the information about helping their children and began toask questions and express their concerns. The parents, for example,were worried about their children leaving elementary school andstarting junior high school. Counselors from the junior high schooland high school were invited to the home sessions to orient the par-ents about the transition and to answer questions.

Why was this activity unique?It catered to the parents. Nothing can be more accommodating

than to have parenting workshops right in your own living room, orin your neighbor's living room. Because the school principal had agenuine interest in involving her parents in their children's educa-tion, she was willing to be flexible. The principal insisted on attend-ing all the sessions four homes per week. She and her staffdemonstrated to the parents that they really cared about theirchildren. In return the pa rmts showed their appreciation by atten..:ing the sessions and eventually becoming involved in school activi-ties and attending events at the school itself. A total of 60 parents(including two fathers) participated in the home workshops. Theparents' ability to help their children improved, and their willing-ness to be a part of the school family increased.

The parents were surveyed at the end of the project to assess howuseful the home sessions had been. The following are selectedanswers from the partkipating Hispanic mothers (most have beentranslated from Spanish to English):

What did you like best about the meetings?

"What I liked mainly was the attentiveness of the persons whoconducted these meetings."

"How to learn to educate my son and get to meet all the mothers andcounselors."

, -0 0

"That we participated in unity. We all learned how to help ourchildren."

"The fact that the principal was able to form a relationship with theparents."

"Helping our child."

Additional comments:

"In all the programs I learned a lot of different things (and] how tohelp my children."

"I feel this is a good program in our Hispanic community because itgives parents a chance to reinforce how important education istoday."

This project was very successful. The school principal's determi-nation to reach her Hispanic parents and involve them in the edi_._:a-tional process was the driving force here.

7) California Project Members of Decision-Making Committees

B ack groundThis K-6 elementary school had a student enrollment of 500; 200

were Hispanic students. Hispanic parents w?re disproportionatelylet involved in school than were the Anglo parents, as measured byschool volunteer logs, leadership in school groups, and participa-tion in school functions. The lack of involvement was attributedmainly to the parents' unfamiliarity with the educational system,and to the cultural and social anxieties common to immigrantfamilies when dealing with new institutions and procedures.

The project had set three goals in its efforts to increase parentalparticipation:

Helping parents to become members of the school communityby involving them in social events and special projects.Linking Hispanic parents with educational resources appro-

priate to their needs.*Training parents in the support services needed at the schooland helping parents to become members of the school's deci-sion-making vehicles.

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The first activity was an International Potluck Dinner attendedby 51 of the 60 targeted Hispanic families. Parents eventually partici-pated in numerous other activities and projects, and all were wellattended.

One of the areas in which this project made significant gains wasincreasing the number of Hispanic parents serving on school com-mittees the PTA and the School Site Council. One project parentbecame vice president of the executive board of the PTA (thiscommittee has five elected members), and four project parentsbecame members of the School Site Council (this committee has sixelected parent members).

What was unique about this project?This was one of the few parent projects which worked directly

toward involving parents in the school's decision-making commit-tees. The project director was convinced that parents should betotally involved in every aspect of the schools their children attend

in school activities and in the decisions that affect their young-sters.

8) Texas Project A System of Rewards

BackgroundThe PreK-5 elementary school had an enrollment of 700; 693

were Hispanic students. This community school did not have anorganized parental involvement program; parent participation wasalmost entirely absent.

The parent project aimed to break a pattern of alienating prac-tices that separated the school and its students' homes. To accom-plish this, the project director and school principal created amultifaceted program, including:

Parent Training Workshops to give parents the information andskills to make their involvement in school more meaningfuland productive.

A Summer Leadership Training Ret reat to bring teachers, parents,and administrators together to plan a course of action inworking together.

A set of activities called Rewards a novel approach to parentinvolvement.

All the activities were well attended. But the Rewards activitieswere unusually successful. The Rewards aimed to motivate parentsby rewarding them and their children with tangible items for fulfill-

r0 i

ing specific obligations (attending parent meetings, conferring withteachers, supporting teachers in classrooms). The teachers' coopera-tion was also rewarded.

Why was this project unique?The rewards served to break the pattern of non-participation.

Since the rewards offered were att:tictive (gift certificates redeem-able at local stores), parents were drawn to the activities. Onceparents f2lt comfortable about coming to school, they did not lookfor rewards. One indication of this was the fact that they began toforget to collect the entry forms necessary to be eligible to receive therewards. The reward had ceased to be a reason for participating.

By the end of the project period, an average of 50 to 90 parentswere participating in school activities and events and rewardswere no longer necessary.

Although some projects were extremely successful at increasingparental involvement while others were less successful, lessonswere learned from all of them.

The above projects have been described to demonstrate theirunique strategies in attracting parents. Their project directors dem-onstrated that creativity and flexibility can accomplish a great deal.They recognized the importance of knowing their communities andtheir parents. If necessary, they provided transportation and child-care. Other projects also produced good results. It is important tounderstand that different tactics work with different groups ofHispanic parerts, and that not everything works with everyone.

5 8

55

APPENDICES

56

TOGETHERIS BETTER

APPENDIX 3Sample Outreach andFollow-up Materials

A selection of actual letters andleaflets, used by real schools in real

situations

(Names of places, schools, and individualshave been changed or deleted.)

Note: The letters on the next two pages are ex-amples of ineffective or counter-productivecommunications. Note the use of the intimi-dating formal school-system letterhead ineach. The first letter seems cold, alarming,and somewhat disrespectful. The second let-ter is less cold but equally impersonal, and itlacks relevance to tiv day-to-day concerns ofmost Hispanic parents.

tl

( DON'T send a letter like this one. j

No City School System

No City Elementary School

No City,f USA

Dear Parents:

You are invited to a workshop on Tuesday,May 2nd, at 8:30 a.m. to learn how to become abetter parent.

The workshop will teach you how to talk toyour children, and how to get involved in schoolactivities.

Please come to NoCity Elementary School,Tuesday, May 2nd. The workshop will be held in thethird floor Conference Room. Members of thePAC,PTA, and SSC will be invited.

It is important that you attend this work-shop.

Thank you.

The Principal

60

5'7

APPENDICES

SB

TOGETHERIS BETTER DON'T send a letter like this one.

XXXX SCHOOLNoCity Unified School District

NoCity, USA

Dear Parent:

XXXX School inv2tes you to participate in aproject for Latino parents and students. We will behaving meetings on summer school application proce-dures, and getting your children into high schoolthrough the XYZ Enrollment Request process. We willalso be inviting you and your children to visit theYYY colleges and universities.

The first meeting will be Saturday, April 30; wewill introduce the project and show a film on XXXX.For your convenience, there will be two sessions; youare welcome to attend either one.

Saturday, April 30XYZ School

Session 1: 10 a.m.

Session 2: 2 p.m.

We hope to see you there.

Kathleen RoosPrincipalXXXX School

61

Miguel SinnombreCoordinatorLatino Project

I

The remaining pages in Appendix 3 portrayexamples of effective letters and leaflets. Notethe warm, informal approach of most, and thewelcoming tone. Parents are accorded dignity,and are thanked for their participation. The pro-grams aim to meet parents' needs. Frequentlythe language is Spanish; often a leaflet will carryits message in English on one side and in Spanishon the other.

Note, in particular, the checklist on pages 60 (inSpanish) and 61 (in English). This checklist is forparents to take home for their own use. It is not anassignment, nor is it to be returned to school.These self-evaluation sheets are taken home bythe parents, who then may privately read andponder the questions. Thus new ideas are intro-duced without embarrassment.

6 2

59

APPENDICES

LISTA COMPROBANTEPARA PADRES

i,C6mo calificamos nosotros, como padres, en ayudar anuest:o(a) niAo(a) a leer mejor?

NOSOTROS

1. zleemos juntos?

2. iyisitamos juntos puntos interesantes?

3. Lestamos suscritos a una revista para nuestro(a)niAo(a)?

4 zle leemos a nuestro(a) hijo(a) cuando nos lopide asi?

5. zllevamos a nuestro(a) hijo(a) a la biblioteca oa la biblioteca ambulante?

6. zproveemos materiales de lectura en los quenuestro(a) niAo(a) este interesado(a)?

7. zconversamos sabre las noticias con nuestro(a)nifto(a) y compartimos las tiras comicas?

8 zproveemos diariamente periodos de quietud paralectura y discusiOn?

9. zescuchamos atentamente a nuestro(a) hijo(a)cuando 61 o ella lee en voz alta?

10. onimamos a nuestro(a) niAo(a) a comunicarse conamigos y familiares?

11. zayudamos a nuestro(a) niAo(a) a apreciarse aun-que cometa errores?

12. oroveemos a nuestro(a) niAo(a) con diccionariospara principiantes y enciclopedias para niftos?

13. aparticipamos en juegos que ayuden a nuestro(a)niAo(a) a mejorar su deletreo, vocabulario yhabilidad para concentrarse?

14. zle hacemos saber a nuestro(a) nifto(a) que asta-mos interesados en su lectura?

6 o

61

APPENDICESA CHECKLIST FOR PARENTS

How do we rate in helping our child to become a betterreader?

DO NS

1. read together?

2. go sight-seeing together?

3 subscribe to a magazine for our child?

4. read to our child when requested to do so?

5. take our child to the library or bookmobile?

6 provide reading matter that interests our child?

7. discuss news with our child and share the comics?

8. provide daily quiet times for reading and discus-sion?

9. listen attentively when our child reads aloud?

10. encourage our child to correspond with friendsand relatives?

11. help our child to like him/herself even thoughour child makes mistakes?

12. provide our child with a beginner's dictionaryand children's encyclopedia?

13. play games together that help improve ourspelling, vocabulary, and ability to concentrate?

14. let our child know we are interested in his/herreading?

6 4

[TOGETHE

aR

IS BETTER

ATENCION A TODAS LAS FAMILIAS HISPANASDE NUESTRA ESCUELA XYX!

Habrá una reunión muy importante el jueves, 9

de abril de 6:00 a 7:00 P.M. en el auditoriode la escuela. Habrá cuido de ninos.

Queremos verlos a todos. No dejen de venir.Hemos rec1bido algunos fondos para realizaractividades con ustedes y queremos decidircomo gastarlo. Si no vienen, corremos elriesgo de perder el dinero por falta de par-ticipacion. Nos beneficiaremos todos si co-laboramos.

NO SE OLVIDEN:

Jueves, 9 de abrilde 6:00 a 7:00 P.M.en el auditorio

Sally NoNameDirector of XYX School

Maria SinnombreCoordinadora

Proyecto de Padres Hispanos

65

63

APPENDICES

1 de abril de 19XX

Apreciada Sra.

A nombre del Concilio dePadres Bilingues del Distrito,

deseamos darles las más expresivasgracias por haber asistido a laConferencia de Padres Hispanos dela ciudad efectuada el sábado, enla Escuela Superior de XXX.

Son padres como ustedes losque hacen la diferencia ennuestras escuelas. Deseamos fe-licitarlos por su interes y con-tinua cooperacion y participacionen las actividades de nuestrodistrito y de la ciudad. Sabemosque contamos con ustedes.

Gracias de nuevo por todo.

Muy atentamente,

66

64

TOGETHERISBETTER

o

0000

o0

0 nR FARE INFORMATION CONTACT:

0000000000

* * * * * $ ** * * * **.* **

FREE PARENT

WORKSHOPOM MI MMMMM all MI MI MI MI

"HOW TO HELP MY CHILDDEVELOP STUDY SKILLS

AND WITH HOMEWORK"

DATE: JANUARY 271 1988

TIME: 7:00 8:30 P.M.

SESSION 1: K 5

SESSION 2: 6 12

6 7

0000

65

APPENDICES

ATENCION!Jueves, Mayo 21

Bilingual Elementary School

"Proyecto Para Padres Hispanos"

ASISTA PARTICIPE ENTERESE

Información básica sobrePROGRAMAS DE VERANO

Dónde? Cudndo? Cudrito? Quién participa?

Recuerde: Mayo 216:00-7:30 pmAuditorio de la Escuela

Mientras Usted asiste a la reunion, tendremos disponiblealumnos del Sexto Grado quienes cuidaran de sus hijos.

PADRES DE FAMILIA

68

Very Important Parent,Award

THIS HONOR IS BESTOWED UPON

in recognition of faithful and devoted service whiie participating in

Awarded at this day of 19

6 i lc

FP

67

APPENDICES

INEXPENSIVEHOME REPAIRS

"HOW TO"A HANDS ON "e4

WORKSHOP FORPARENTS

APRIL lel 19887-8:M P.M.

MIDDLESCHOOL

INSTR.FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT,

70

68

TOGETHERIS BETTER

BEING A PARENT ISN'T EASY!Build on those skills you already haws as a parent. Joina discussion group and become more confident in your ownstyle of parenting. Learn new skills to:

Communicate with your childrenCope with frustrationSet limits (discipline)

ATTEND A FREE PARENT WORKSHOP SERIES

WHERE:

WHEN : Once a week for six weeks, beginning:

REGISTRATION IS NECESSARY. CALL

OR RETURN FORM BELOW TO YOUR SCHOOL OFFICE.

NAME PHONE

ADDRESS ZIP CODE

I WILL ATTEND THE PARENT WORKSHOPS AT:

I. HAVE CHILDREN THAT NEED CHILDCARE WHILE I ATTEND THE WORKSHOPS.

THEIR AGES ARE:

71

69

APPENDICES

i SER UN PADRE NO ES FACIL!Listed esta haciendo el trabajo mas dificil e' importante del mundo.

Usted es un Padre/Madre!

Los invitamos a reunirce con otros padres/madres hispanos paracompartir con ustedes formas de hacer su labar mas facil.

Asiste Gratis a La Serie De Talleres Para Padres

Cuando:

Una vez a la semana por seis semana comenzando.

Donde:

NECESITAS MATRICULARTE. LLAMA A

o'devuelve la forma de abajo a la oficina de su Escuela.

NOMBRE TELEFONO

El .4.CCION ZONA POSTAL

ASISTIRE AL TALLER DE PADRES

TENGO NINOS QUE NECES1TAN CUIDADO M1ENTRAS ASISTO A LOS TALLERES.

SUS EDADES SON:

72

70

TOGETHERIS BETTER

APPENDIX 4Directory of Projects

Alhambra School DistrictDeaf and Hard of Hearing Program15 West Alhambra RoadAlhambra, Calif. 91801

Allapattah Junior High School1331 Northwest 46 StreetMiami, Florida 33142

Blackstone Elementary School380 Shawmut AvenueBoston, Mass. 02118

Center for Multicultural Outreach7401 Metcalf AvenueOverland Park, Kansas 66204

Community School District No. 4319 East 117 StreetNew York, N.Y. 10035

Cuban American National Council300 S.W. 12th AvenueMiami, Florida 33130-2038

Danbrook Elementary School320 Danbrook StreetAnaheim, Calif. 92804

Davis Bilingual Learning Center500 West St. Mary's RoadTucson, Ariz. 85001

Fresno Unified School DistrictTioga Middle School3232 East FairmountFresno, Calif. 93726

Guadalupe Center, Inc.2641 BelleviewKansas City, Mo. 64108

Hawes Elementary School909 RooseveltRedwood City, Calif. 94061

Inter-American Magnet School919 West Barry AvenueChicago, III. 60657

Jackson School/Elementary329 South Lindbergh AvenueYork, Peansylvania 17405

Jamaica Plain High School144 McBride StreetJamaica Plain, Mass. 02130

James F. Oyster Bilingual ElementarySchool

29th and Calvert Streets, NWWashington, D.C. 20008

L.C. Smith Elementary SchoolOne Bearkat Blvd.Raymonville, Texas 78580

Libby Elementary School423 West Redondo DriveOceanside, Calif. 92054

Lincoln Elementary School333 South DExeter, Calif. 93221

Lincoln School705 California StreetSalinas, Calif. 93901

Mary M. Hooker Elementaiy School200 Sherbrooke AvenueHartford, Conn. 06114

Neighborhood Youth Association/Broadway Elementary School3877 Grandview Blvd.Los Angeles, Calif. 90066

New Haven Public SchoolsNew Haven Board of Education200 Orange StreetNew Haven, Conn. 06510

Norwood Street Elementary School2020 Oak StreetLos Angeles, Calif. 90007

7o

Public School No. 321180 7th AvenueBrooklyn, N.Y. 11215

Pueblo School District No. 60315 West 11 StreetPueblo, Conn. 81002

Rafael Hernandez CommunityElementary School (235X)

1257 Ogden AvenueBronx, N.Y. 10452

Rochester-Monroe EPIC121 North Fitzhugh StreetRochester, N.Y. 14614

St. Augustine College/Frederick Funston Elementary School3255 West ArmitageChicago, Ill. 60647

Seguin Independent School DistrictP.O. Drawer 31Seguin, Texas 78156-0031

Silver Wing Elementary School/Montgomery Junior High School3730 Arey DriveSan Diego, Calif. 92154

Spanish-Spe aking Unity Council1900 Fruitvale AvenueOakland, Calif. 94601

Sylmar Elementary School13291 Phillippi AvenueSylmar, Calif. 91342

Turnbull Children's CenterHorrall School300 28th AvenueSan Mateo, Calif. 94402

Ventura Unified School DistrictSpecial Education/Pupil Personnel Department120 East Santa aara StreetVentura, Calif. 93001

Youth Development, Inc.17r Centro Familiar, SWAlbuquerque, N.M. 87105

Youth Service Project, Inc.3942 W..st North AvenueChicago, Ill. 60647

Zavala Elementary School2500 GalvestonMcAllen, Texas 78501

7 4

nAPPENDICES

THE HISPANIC POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT is a

non-profit organizationa 501(C)(3)which en-courages the analysis of public and private poli-

cies and policy proposals affecting Hispanics in theUnited States.

HPDP in particular focuses on the problems ofHispanic youth: education and employment. HPDP

supports high-level policy commissions composedof Hispanics and non-Hispanics; conferences,

seminars, and debates around central educationand employment issues; both lay and professionalanalysis and evaluation of specific policy options;

and policy-analysis competitions open to Hispanicand non-Hispanic scholars as well as Hispanic

organizations.

HPDP seeks to bring its findings to the attention ofkey groups and leaders throughout the United

States, and publishes reports, bulletins, and booksbased on research and data analysis.

Together Is Better

Authors: Siobhon Nicolou, Carmen Lydia Ramos

Editom Stino Santiestevan, Carol OppenheimerTechnical Advisor: Rafael Voldivieso

Design and Layout. Carol Oppenheimer

The Hispanic Policy Development Project thanks

Mildred Ruyboli Garcia for her help with Spanish-language

portions of the book and for her critical reading of the manu-

script. HPDP thanks the many reviewers of Together Is Better

for their comments and advice.

75