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Engaging Latino families parents in their children's educations

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Engaging Latino families parents in their children's educations

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ENGAGING LATINO FAMILIES PARENTS IN THEIR CHILDREN’S
EDUCATIONS
by
Amalia Marquez
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
(EDUCATION)
August 2006
Copyright 2006 Amalia Marquez
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I gratefully acknowledge the data and logistical support provided by the The
Tomas Rivera Policy Institute that made this project possible. I would also like to
thank my Master’s advisor, Dr. Larry Picus for all his guidance, support and
encouragement, and those individuals who provided me with their advice and overall
support, Dr. Elsa Macias, Dr. Carol Wilson, and Dr. Kim West. Kevin T. Colaner,
thank you for providing me with the inspiration to complete this project! Finally, I
would like to extend a special note of thanks to my parents Eleuterio and Juana
Marquez, who have always provided me with their unconditional support in all of
my educational endeavors.
Sincerely,
Amalia Marquez
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iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ii
List of Tables v
Abstract vi
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
Background of the Problem 1
Statement of the Problem 2
Purpose of the Study 3
Research Questions 4
Importance of the Study 4
Methodology 5
Assumptions 5
Limitations 5
Delimitations 5
CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 7
Literature Review 7
Introduction 7
How Do We Define Parental Involvement 7
Parental Involvement and Why It's Important 9
Problem 11
What is Currently Being Done to Facilitate Parental Involvement 13
Implications 14
CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15
Research Questions 15
Research Design 16
Population and Sample 20
Instrumentation 21
Data Collection 21
Validity and Reliability 21
Data Analysis 22
CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS 23
Findings 23
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Summary
CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION
Discussion
Recommendations
References
Appendices
A. Interview Questions
B. Program Web-Sites
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V
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Epstein’ s Parent Involvement Framework 7
Table 2. University/College with Absolute Increase in Latino Enrollment (1995-
2000) 17
Table 3. Structural Overview o f the Selected Programs 23
Table 4. FLASH Partnerships 28
Table 5. Primary Expense Categories 29
Table 6. Program Staffing 31
Table 7. P1QE Partnerships 3 9
Table 8. Primary Expense Categories for P1QE 40
Table 9. M-D Partnerships 49
Table 10. Primary Expense Categories M-D 50
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ABSTRACT
Latino parent engagement in school and home-based activities was investigated. The
focus of this analysis is to explore the practices of three outreach programs that have
been successful in increasing the rates of school and home-based involvement
activities for low-income Latino parent populations. Specifically, the study will
explore: (1) programmatic elements of each program (2) effective practices in
increasing Latino parent participation (3) program effectiveness. This qualitative
study utilized in-depth interviews with program personnel as well as collect
programmatic information via the Internet. Data yielded from the interviews and
Internet search was analyzed to identify each of the program’s main components of
effective practices in increasing Latino parent participation. The main findings of
the study identify several effective strategies in engaging Latino parents in school
and home-based activities, and therefore pose important implications for educators
and parents.
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Urban education can be defined as the schooling of students in metropolitan
settings, along the K-12 educational pipeline. It is quite simple to define urban
education; however, the issues involved in urban education are not simple but highly
complex and affect students in schools every day. To illustrate, urban school districts
usually have few resources and a large population of students who are traditionally
underserved (e.g., students of color and economically disadvantaged students)
(Flaxman, E., Schwartz, W., Weiler, J. & Lahey, M., 1998). Furthermore, students in
urban schools tend to have lower academic performance, higher dropout rates, and
low rates of parental involvement in the educational development of their children.
Differences in Academic Achievement
The academic achievement gap between students of color and their White
counterparts has existed over the past thirty years. Lee (2002) examines longitudinal
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data and finds that White
students academically outperform Black and Hispanic students over a thirty-year
period. Furthermore, the achievement gap between students of color and White
students is more pronounced in urban school districts.
In terms of testing, according to the California Department of Education
(2004), not a single district that is predominantly Hispanic and low-income (i.e., over
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50% of students on free or reduced lunch) scored in the high-achieving rank (i.e., a
score above 800) on the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) state exam.
Dropout Rates
In addition to the academic achievement gap, on a national scale, African
American and Latino students have some of the highest drop out rates compared to
students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. For instance, African American
students dropout out of high school at a rate of 13.1 percent while Latino student’s
dropout of high school at a rate of 27.8 percent (Kaufman, Alt, & Chapman, 2000).
Statement of the Problem
Low academic achievement and high dropout rates among minority students
are large issues within urban school settings. However, one issue that is often
overlooked is the lack of parental involvement and awareness in minority students’
educational development. The importance of parent involvement in school settings
can not be overstated. A variety of studies have demonstrated the positive impact
that parental involvement has on student grades, test scores, and grade promotion
along the K-12 pipeline (Ho Sui-Chu & Willms, 1996; Miedel & Reynolds, 1999;
Keith, Keith, Quirk, Spertudo, Santillo & Killings, 1998). Specifically, there is
evidence that parental involvement has a greater influence on Latino students’ grade
point average (GPA) compared to other racial groups (Jeynes, 2003).
Although parent involvement is an important component of a child’s
education, compared to other racial groups, Latino parent’s participation in school
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activities is one of the lowest along with African-American parents (Wirt, Choy,
Gerald, Provasnick, Rooney, Watanabe, Tobin, Glander, 2001).
Given that parental involvement for Latino parents is quite low, the reasons
as to why this is the case are still not well understood. Some researchers have tried to
identify reasons why Latino parents do not participate in school activities as much as
other racial groups. For instance, a parents English proficiency level and
socioeconomic status have been correlated with low involvement in school activities
(Griffith, 1998). Furthermore, Tinkler (2002) argues that Latino parents do not
become more involved in school activities because of several perception,
environmental, and cultural barriers that exist between them and the school.
Purpose of the Study
In an effort to bridge the involvement gaps that exist between Latino parents
and schools, several organizations, such as non-profits and universities have created
targeted parent programs. With that said, the purpose of this study is to examine the
practices of three outreach programs that have been successful in increasing the rates
of school and home-based involvement activities for low-income Latino parent
populations. Specifically, one program in the study is based at a non-profit
organization and the other two are university-based programs.
The goal of the study is to investigate the strategies that these programs
utilize to facilitate immigrant Latino parent engagement at the elementary, middle
and high school levels. Examination of program practices can lead other districts
with similar parent populations to consider comparable practices in an effort to
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increase parental involvement. Specifically, the study will explore the following
areas:
(1) Programmatic elements of each program
(2) Effective practices in increasing Latino parent participation
(3) Program Effectiveness
Research Questions
Specifically, this study will address the following questions:
1. What are the program characteristics?
2. What strategies do parent outreach programs utilize to actively engage
parents in school and home-based activities?
3. Overall, are the programs effective in increasing the rates of parent
participation?
Importance of the Study
Although there is abundance of research that demonstrates how parental
involvement leads to better student outcomes, current research has not thoroughly
examined which strategies are effective in engaging Latino immigrant parents. Thus,
this study will add to the existing body of research of parental involvement as well as
examine current strategies used to engage Latino parents in the educational
development of their children.
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The findings to this study also have implications for districts and schools
with similar parent populations. To illustrate, schools district and schools can learn
from the programmatic characteristics and strategies to engage parents that will be
examined in this study and use them to meet the needs of their organization.
Methodology
The study will use a qualitative approach and utilize in-depth interviews with
program personnel as well as collect programmatic information via the Internet. Data
yielded from the interviews and Internet search will be analyzed to identify each of
the program’s main components of effective practices in increasing Latino parent
participation.
Assumptions, Limitations and Delimitations
For the purposes of this study, it is assumed that subjects will respond in a
truthful manner to the interview questions. Thus, the study is limited to the honest
responses of the subjects. In addition, the study is restricted by the possibility of
interviewee bias towards their program. Finally, the study is limited by the small
number of subjects interviewed and therefore the findings should not be generalized.
Delimitations
This study will confine itself to surveying program directors from three
parent programs that are selected because of their proven success in engaging parents
in school and home-based activities over the past ten years. Program directors are
chosen to be interviewed because of their presumed knowledge of program
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operations. The study will focus on programmatic elements and effective
involvement strategies as the unit of analysis.
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CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Introduction
Over the last several decades, educational research has emphasized the
importance of parental involvement on student outcomes along the K-12 pipeline.
Given the importance of parental involvement, there is a large gap that exists
between the involvement rates of parents from Latino ethnic and racial backgrounds
compared to parents from other racial and ethnic groups. For instance, research
indicates that Latino parents have some of the lowest rates of involvement compared
to White, Black and Asian parents (Wirt, Choy, Gerald, Provasnick, Rooney,
Watanabe, Tobin, & Glander, 2001).. Several barriers have been identified as key
elements that hinder parents from being involved in school-based activities or at
home with their children (Tinkler, 2002).
In order to address this issue of low parent participation, the discussion that
follows will review the relevant literature on the benefits of parental involvement on
student outcomes, as well as cover the various obstacles that parents face to
becoming involved in the educational development of their children and review of
some strategies used to engage parents at school and at home.
How Do We Define Parental Involvement?
Parental involvement can potentially entail different types of activities either
at the school site or at home. According to Epstein (2002), there are six types of
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involvement activities that schools can assist parents with. These include parenting,
communicating, volunteering, learning at home and decision making. Given the
nature and scope of the study, I will utilize Epstein’s operational classification of
what parent involvement entails to define parental involvement.
Table 1. Epstein’ s Involvement Framework
Types of Involvement Activities
Parenting Understanding child and adolescent growth,
and implementing support systems at home
that foster healthy child and adolescent
development.
Communicating Effectively communicating with parents
student progress and school programs.
Volunteering Involving parents in school-based activities
volunteer that support students.
Learning at Home Involve parents with home-based curriculum
activities with their children (e.g., reading with
child, helping with homework).
Decision Making Including parents in various school decisions
and governance activities (e.g., PTA,
committees).
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Parental Involvement and Why It’s Important
Parental involvement has shown to influence various student outcomes at the
elementary, middle, and high school levels to varying degrees. The student outcomes
most influenced by parental involvement in student achievement include reading,
math, grade point average and retention rates.
Early Childhood Parental involvement has been linked to positive student
outcomes, notably in the early childhood and elementary school years. For instance,
Miedel & Reynolds (1999), interviewed 704 parents of children participating in the
1986 Chicago Longitudinal Study (CLS), a federally funded study of early childhood
intervention programs in Chicago. Parents were interviewed and asked about their
rate of involvement in their children’s pre-school and kindergarten years a decade
earlier. The study finds that as the rate of parent participation in school activities
increase, students’ reading achievement and retention rates increase. Additionally,
these children are less likely to be placed in special education classes.
Given that this study is largely based on past accounts of involvement, it is
limited by the possibility of parents over reporting participation activities.
Nevertheless, the authors control for this limitation by also assessing teacher ratings
of parent involvement. By using regression analyses, parental involvement still has a
significant impact on student outcomes for the students that participated in the CLS
study.
Elementary School Years The influence of parental involvement on
elementary school children has also been found to have a positive impact on student
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outcomes. For instance, Faires, Nichols, and Rickelman (2000), examined the effects
of parents reading to their children, who were reading below grade level, over a five-
week period. The study found the reading levels increased for first-grade students
whose parents read to them over a five-week period. In a study showing similar
results, it was found that student reading and mathematic achievement increased
when their parents attended parent involvement classes and were more involved.
The study included a sample of 74 students from low socioeconomic backgrounds
that were in the second through eighth grade. According to the study’s findings,
parent involvement had more of an influence on the younger students in addition to
students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds (Shaver & Walls, 1998)
Middle Grades The positive impact of parental involvement is also evident in
the middle grades. Ho and Willms (1996) use a sample size of 24,599 eighth grade
students and their parents, from the National Education Longitudinal Study1 , to
examine the impact of varying levels of parental engagement on student
performance. The study’s results indicate that parental involvement at home has
more of an impact on student achievement compared to when a parent is involved in
school activities. Specifically, eighth-grade students’ reading and mathematics scores
improved when their parents took an active role in home-based activities such as
discussing academic and extracurricular activities and programs with their children.
Even though the study did not have data regarding school programs and policies that
1 NELS sample o f eighth grade students that were sampled and tracked to high school (Ho & Willms,
1996).
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could have influenced parental involvement, the positive influence of home-based
involvement are almost the same across all the schools in the sample size.
High School At the high school level, a longitudinal study including national
sample of 15, 703 tenth-grade students’ showed that their grade point average
positively increase when their parent(s) remain involved in their education (Keith,
Keith, Quirk, Sperduto, Santilllo, & Killings 1998). In a similar study, Simon (2001)
finds that twelfth grade students take more course credits in mathematics and
English, have better grades, attendance and behavior when their parents are actively
involved in their schooling.
Summary
Apparently there is an abundance of research that has been conducted on
parental involvement across the K-12 continuum that strongly suggests that if a
parent is actively involved in school and home activities, that his/her child will have
better student outcomes. Although the research is not definitive, it does have
important implications for schools and parents alike.
Problem
Given the implications for involvement, unfortunately, many Latino families
are usually hesitant to become involved in school activities (Inger, 1992). To
illustrate, when compared to other racial groups, Latino parents have some the
lowest rates of involvement (Wirt, Choy, Gerald, Provasnick, Rooney, Watanabe,
Tobin, & Glander, 2001). Although research shows that Latino parents have low
rates of involvement in school activities, it is does not indicate parents level of
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interest in his/her child’s educations’. On the contrary, various research studies have
identified various barriers that hinder Latino parents from becoming involved in
home and school-based activities. Tinkler (2002) states that this issue is more
prevalent in low-income, immigrant Latino families and outlines the barriers that
parents face. Tinkler provides a framework that identifies five barriers that
immigrant, Latino parents face.
• School Environment: when a school does not provide a welcoming climate,
parents tend to feel intimidated by staff, not appropriately informed regarding
their child’s schooling, and discouraged
• Culture and Language: for parents that only speak Spanish, communication
with school staff is difficult. Parents that only speak Spanish are faced with
an additional challenge in helping their children at home with homework that
may be written in English. In terms of a cultural barrier, Latino parents
usually value working cooperatively that often times conflicts with the
competitive nature of schools.
• Parent’ s Educational Level: oftentimes, low-income immigrant parents have
limited schooling, which hinders them from helping their child with their
schoolwork at home. Furthermore, these parents usually feel intimidated by
school personnel and therefore evade getting involved in school activities.
• Psychological Issues: parents who experience anxiety due to negative school
experiences at their child’s school, or during their own education in Mexico,
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may avoid getting involved in school activities. Recent immigrants might
also be hesitant in approaching their child’s school because of culture shock.
• Logistical Issues: in many immigrant families, parents work long hours, and
as a result, do not have the time to be actively involved in their children’s
educations at school or at home. Other logistical barriers include parents’
lack of transportation, childcare, and the scheduling of events.
What is currently being done to facilitate parent involvement?
Given the impact that parental involvement has on students’ academic
success, it remains imperative that Latino parents maintain high levels of
involvement in their children’s educational development. To achieve this goal,
strategies that increase the number of Latino parents who remain involved in school
activities have been addressed in several studies. Partnerships between schools and
parents must be developed as well as programs implemented that center on seven key
characteristics. (Lopez, 2001; Scribner, Young, & Pedroza, 1999). These are:
1. Placing priority on families (e.g., regarding these units as critical foundations
in the students’ educational process, thereby making families a number one
priority in schools)
2. Empowering parents to become and remain involved in their children’s
academic careers (e.g., view parents as key players in their children’s
education, place high expectations on parents, and strongly valuing parents’
opinions)
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3. Utilizing a community liaison to reach out to parents at elementary schools
4. Using incentives to increase attendance and participation in meetings,
activities and programs (e.g., food, gifts, door prizes)
5. Providing a welcoming environment to parents and families (e.g.,
encouraging democratic participation, being understanding towards parents,
students, and staff, and engaging parents and students in interactive activities)
6. Adopting educational services and programs that address migrant needs,
awareness, and self-improvement
7. Collaborating with outside agencies that mobilize resources that meet the
needs of migrant families (e.g., religious institutions, philanthropic
organizations, community colleges, and universities)
Implications
Although there is abundance of research that demonstrates how parental
involvement leads to better student outcomes, current research has not thoroughly
examined which strategies are effective in engaging Latino immigrant parents. Thus,
this study will add to the existing body of research of parental involvement as well as
examine current strategies used to engage Latino parents in the educational
development of their children.
The findings to this study also have implications for districts and schools
with similar parent populations. To illustrate, schools district and schools can learn
from the programmatic characteristics and strategies to engage parents that will be
examined in this study and use them to meet the needs of their organization.
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CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The low rates participation in school and home-based activities among Latino
parent populations is a large issue within urban school districts. To address this need,
several organizations have created programs aimed at involving Latino parents in the
educational development of their children. In an effort to better understand
programming detail and effective strategies in engaging parents, this study will
examine the practices of three outreach programs that have been successful in
increasing the rates of school and home-based involvement activities for low-income
Latino parent populations. Specifically, the study will explore:
(1) Programmatic elements of each program
(2) Effective practices in increasing Latino parent participation
(3) Program Effectiveness
Research Questions
In order to examine the three parent programs in greater details, the study will
address the following questions:
1. What are the program characteristics?
2. What strategies do parent outreach programs utilize to actively engage
parents in school and home-based activities?
3. Overall, are the programs effective in increasing the rates of parent
participation?
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Primary Research Design2
The primary goal was to locate outreach programs based at post-secondary
institutions that specifically target Latino parents, provide curriculum and provide
services specifically for them. Post-secondary institutions were targeted because of
their ability to provide start-up funds for said programs. Second, they often employ
expert staff in departments of education and student affairs that have the knowledge
to create and design outreach programs.
The first step was to first locate parent programs. To do so, first year
enrollment data was analyzed between 1995 and 2000 at public and private post
secondary institutions from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
(IPEDS) at the National Center of Education Statistics that met the following
criteria:
• Four-year university
• Located in the six most populous Latino states: California, Texas, New York,
Florida, New Mexico, and Arizona.
• Members of Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)3
2 The research design and data collection for this study is taken from a report by the Tomas Rivera
Policy Institute that resulted in a publication by Torres and Marquez (2005) entitled Reaching Higher
Ground: Parental Outreach Programs at the Postsecondary Level
3
The Hispanic Association o f Colleges and Universities (HACU) is a national educational association
that represents colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the United
States (including Puerto Rico), Latin America, and Spain.
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The scope of analysis was limited to colleges and universities in the six most
populous Latino states. The selection criteria was narrowed even more by only
including colleges and universities that were members of HACU, which is an
association of college and universities committed to Hispanic higher education
success in the United States. Although, membership requires a fee, and imposes
eligibility guidelines that require a certain percentage of students to be Hispanic
given the size of the institutions,4 the list of members is extensive and includes most
of the major academic institutions in the six selected states. These criteria were used
under the assumption that HACU, and heavily populated Latino states are likely to
be better informed about the issues facing Latinos and, thus, be more likely to design
and support programs to meet the academic needs of the Latino community.
The data analysis, which selected colleges with an absolute increase in Latino
enrollment at some point along the five school years between 1995 and 2000,
rendered a list of 81 colleges and universities. They are as follows:
4 For more information on HACU eligibility guidelines visit http://www.hacu.net
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Table 2. University/college with absolute increase in Latino enrollment (1995-2000)
Arizona
Arizona State University Northern Arizona University
California
Bakersfield College CSU Fresno CSU Chico
CSU, Northridge CSU Polytechnic Pomona CSU Sacramento
CSU San Bernardino CSU San Francisco CSU San Jose
CSU, San Luis Obispo CSU, Stanislaus Fullerton College
Hartnell College Imperial Valley College Mt. Saint Mary’s
Loyola Marymount Univ. UC Irvine UC Riverside
UC Santa Barbara UC San Diego UC Santa Cruz
Florida
Art Institute o f FtLauderdale Barry University Florida-Atlantic University
Florida International University Florida Tech College Miami-Dade Community College
St. Thomas University University of South Florida University of South Florida
New Mexico
Eastern New Mexico New Mexico Institute o f Mining and
Tech.
New Mexico State
University of New Mexico
New York
Berkeley College o f NY College o f Aeronautics College o f Mt. Saint Vincent
Fordham Columbia University CUNY City College
CUNY Hunter College CUNY Lehman College CUNY John Jay College
CUNY NY City Tech. College Fashion Institute of Technology Interboro Institute
Katharine Gibbs School, NYC Manhattanville College Mercy College Main
Monroe College-Main New York Career Institute Pace University, NY
Plaza Business Institute St.John’s University, NY SUNY at Stonybrook
SUNY College, Old Westbury Westchester Business Institute Wood Tobe-Cobum School
Texas
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Table 2, Continued
Brookhaven College Richland College St. Mary’s University
Tarrant County College Sul Ross State Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Texas A&M Kingsville Texas A&M International Texas Tech University
University of Houston, Downtown University of North Texas University o f St.Thomas
University of the Incarnate Word University o f Texas, Arlington University o f Texas, Dalla
University of Texas, El Paso University of Texas of the Permian
Basin
UT, San Antonio
From that initial list of 81, the list was limited even further by including only
colleges that had an academic rather than vocational focus. Consequently, 72 post
secondary institutions from the list above were contacted to determine which schools
had parental outreach programs. University websites were also researched for
mention of parental outreach programs and concurrently called and asked to speak to
either the directors of student affairs, outreach, and admissions.
Initial Informal Interviews
After researching university websites for programs, 32 programs at 23
different colleges were identified. Twenty programs were eliminated from the study
after the informal calls due to four main reasons:
1. Program curriculum was not focused on assisting parents to support and
prepare their children for higher education
2. Low levels of funding; loss of funding
3. Inconsistent staffing
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2 0
4. Did not have time to respond to phone calls
As a result of the informal interviews with program staff, eleven programs at
eight universities were selected. One program selected is a non-profit organization
but was chosen because they were working as a partner with one of the programs we
contacted at University of California, Irvine. Programs that were selected all had
these characteristics in common:
• Sustained focus on parent needs
• High levels of parent participation
• Goals centered on the college preparation of children
• Highly structured and well organized
• Stable funding source
Population and Sample
The population for this study is drawn from the eleven parent programs
initially selected. For this study, only three programs are selected for the sample.
Given the nature and scope of the study, these programs were selected for their
targeted efforts in working with Spanish-speaking, low-income parent populations.
As such, the three programs chosen for the study are:
• Families Learning in Schools (FLASH)
• Parent Institute of Quality Education (PIQE)
• Mother-Daughter Program
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Instrumentation
A semi-structured questionnaire5 was used to interview the program
directors. Specifically, questionnaire items covered the following program areas (See
Appendix A):
• Defining the program
• Program development
• Program specifics and statistics
• Institutional involvement
• Funding
• Evaluation
Data Collection
The data collection process included conducting one hour interviews with
program directors using the interview questionnaire. The majority of the data that
was used for analysis was drawn from the interviews. However, supplemental
information collected via each programs websites served as a supplementary source
(See Appendix B).
Validity and Reliability
The questionnaire used for this study is both valid and reliable. Given the
scope and range of questions, the questionnaire should accurately yield an
operational description of each program. However, it is assumed that subjects will
5 Torres, C., Marquez, A. (2005). Reaching Higher Ground: Parental Outreach Programs at the
Postsecondary Level. Los Angeles, CA: The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute.
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2 2
respond in a truthful manner to the interview questions. Thus, the study is limited to
the honest responses of the subjects. In addition, the study is restricted by the
possibility of interviewee bias towards their program. Finally, the study is limited by
the small number of subjects interviewed and therefore the findings should not be
generalized.
Data Analysis
The analysis conducted for this study will be qualitative in nature. Thus, I
will draft brief narratives for each program using data collected from the interviews
and website searches. Second, I will compare the services offered by each program
to the literature on effective strategies in engaging Latino parents. Finally, I will
search for themes across each program that provides insight to their effectiveness
and sustainability over time.
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CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS
Through the use of in-depth interviews I was able to identify the basic
elements of each program: mission/goals, content, cost/funding, personnel,
development, and recruiting. Each program summary provides a narrative that
primarily focuses on providing operational details regarding how the program was
developed, how it is funded and how it is marketed. The purpose of providing
operational detail is to provide district leaders and schools-site principals with
sufficient information, should they want to develop similar projects in their
respective communities.
In addition to providing programming detail, data from the interviews and
program document helped me to examine the strategies that programs utilized in
order to facilitate parental involvement. Finally, by collecting evaluative details from
directors, program effectiveness is summarized and analyzed.
Structural Overview o f Selected Programs The three programs that are
examined in the study all have the same overarching goal: to increase the number of
students into institutions of higher education by outreaching to students and parents.
However, analyses of the programs indicate that programs differ in terms of the
services facilitated to parents as well their duration. In an effort to better understand
programs for parents and they way they operate, the three program descriptions to
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follow in the next section provide in-depth information regarding their programming
elements, and strategies utilized to actively engage parents in school and home-based
activities.
Table 3. Structural Overview o f the Selected Programs
Program Type Content Audience Size Cost
PIQE Nine-Week Parent
involvement
classes
Follow-up
Program
Teacher
Workshop
K-12 parents
and teachers;
70-75%
Latino parents
Approximately
30K parent
program
graduates
across 16
California
counties
Approximately
4.5 million
annually
FLASH Five to Eight
months
ESL literacy
classes
Intergenerational
activities
Parents and
their children
(K-8); Over
98% o f the
families
served are of
Latino origin
Approximately
4-6 schools
Approximately
$150,000 per
year
Mother-
Daughter
Year-long Workshops,
Career Day,
Leadership
Conference, and
Summer Camp
Sixth grade
female
students and
their mothers
Approximately
450-500
mother-
daughter
teams
$100,000 per
year
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Findings by Research Question
Families Learning at School and Home (FLASH)
Question 1. What Are the Specific Program Characteristics?
FLASH is an outreach program geared towards culturally and linguistically
diverse parents from Miami-Dade County Schools, in South Florida. FLASH utilizes
an intergenerational approach, that is to say that parents and their children participate
in the program together, and is designed to provide instruction to parents in the areas
of English literacy through English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction and
parent involvement through its culturally-relevant curriculum. Through the
implementation of a specific curriculum, it is anticipated that the instruction will
assist families in gaining the socio-cultural knowledge required to seek better
educational opportunities for their children in the United States. Also, while parents
are in their classes, their children participate in instruction that supplements the
content learned in their classrooms.
Goals
• Increase the level of parent involvement in school-based and home activities
(i.e., helping their child with homework, attending PTA meetings,
volunteering, and attending parent conferences)
• Increase parents’ English language proficiency skills
• Increase parents’ knowledge base of the educational system in the United
States
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• Facilitate immigrant families successful assimilation into society
• Positively impact student achievement
Curriculum and Activities
The program activities consist of the School-Based Life Skills Curriculum,
the Family-Centered Learning Curriculum, and activities for both parents and
children.
School-Based Life Skills Curriculum This curriculum, offered to adults,
integrates the content areas of school involvement and life skills with ESL literacy
instruction. The ESL curriculum is divided into four levels of English competencies:
Pre-beginning, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced. Topics covered in the
literacy training include registering a child at school, understanding a report card,
joining the local PTA, and understanding student exams.
The lessons are hands-on, participatory, and depending on the topic, can be
delivered in a bilingual format. Parents are engaged in class activities through
cooperative learning and role-playing. Some of the lesson plans offered in the
curriculum are:
• Personal Identification and Communication
• Going to School
• Feeling Sick
• Going Shopping
• Transportation
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• Getting a job
Additional topics incorporated into the standard curriculum have been: financial
aid options for student’s, scholarship information and post-secondary
opportunities.
Family Centered Learning Curriculum The Family Centered Learning
Curriculum is utilized to provide instruction to the participating children and also
feature activities for their parents. Specifically, the curriculum encompasses specific
lessons for children in primary and intermediate grades that complement their usual
curriculum. The intergenerational activities unite parents/caregivers and their
children in specific activities focusing on the children’s specific curricular areas
involving math, reading, social studies, science and other topics covered in the
regular curriculum during the school day.
Activities for Parents and Children The activities for parents and children range
from a variety of areas and topics. Some of these activities include: reading a book
together, using the computer to research a topic, developing language experience
books based on specific activities that the family did together, (such as a visit to the
library or going to the zoo), playing specific games and doing activities that promote
literacy in children, helping their children with homework, conducting science
experiments that are fun and promote learning, writing a story together based on
children interviewing their families on a topic, and acting out stories.
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Program Development
Creation In 1980, The FLASH Program was created and developed by Dr.
Delia C. Garcia, associate professor at Florida International University’s School of
Education. FLASH was conceptualized in response to the need to promote greater
involvement of linguistically and culturally diverse families in the educational
development of their children. Dr. Garcia’s main goal was to create a program that
would provide parents with ESL/ literacy instruction in order to increase the
opportunity of families to acquire English skills as well as increase their levels of
school involvement in their children’s education, in South Florida. When developing
the program, Dr. Garcia also placed a significant emphasis on creating specific
activities for parents and their children to participate in together, as a source of
mutual support and a means to increase the effectiveness of the learning process.
FLASH was initially started through a federal grant from the U.S.
Department of Education (U.S.D.E.), Office of English Language Acquisition
(OELA). Initially, the program was entitled Children and Parents Interacting
(CAPI). Soon thereafter, the model was refined and further developed through
subsequent grants from the same agency. After presenting longitudinal evidence of
program effectiveness, U.S.D.E validated it as a model of family literacy and further
allocated funds under the Academic Excellence category of funding to disseminate
the model nationally. The program has now been in existence for over 20 years and
in time developed a complete package of curricular and assessment materials that
can be purchased and adopted by interested agencies and school districts.
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Program Partnerships
As it developed, FLASH established partnerships with numerous agencies
including the Miami Dade Public Library, local grocery stores, local churches, and
the Miami Dade Ballet to augment the delivery of services to the participating
families. Currently, FLASH has a number of program partners that contribute to the
project.
Table 4. FLASH Partnerships
Partner Contribution
Miami Dade County Public Schools
5 elementary schools
1 middle school6
Provide services to the families and handle all
program marketing and recmiting.
Miami ENLACE Constitutes one of the grants that presently fund the
FLASH program at selected schools in the district.
Florida International University Offers main operating facility for supervising and
coordinating staff and provides all resources related to
curriculum development, evaluation and professional
development services for staff at each participating
school
Florida’s Governor’s Family Literacy
Initiative
Funds the FLASH program at one participating
Miami Dade County school.
6 Number o f schools based on 2003-2004 program data.
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Funding
The FLASH program has been primarily funded by the U.S. Department of
Education, Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), the Florida Governor’s
Family Literacy Initiative grant, the Barbara Bush Family Literacy Foundation and
the Miami ENLACE initiative grant. These grants were secured through a
competitive discretionary process and have contributed approximately over $ 2
million dollars to the program. Recently, there has been a decrease in program
funding. As a result, FLASH seeks to establish
partnerships with local businesses and community
organizations in an effort to supplement their
funding sources.
Florida Governor’ s Family Literacy Initiative
Foundation Grant
This grant was secured for two years from
2002 through 2004. The approximate amount that
was allocated for the FLASH program was
$50,000 dollars for the first year of funding and $37,000 for the second year.
Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation
The total amount awarded to the FLASH program was approximately
$50,000 for a one-year period.
Table 5. Primary Expenses
Categories
Budget $50,000 - 100,000
(varies annually, depending on grant
secured and extent of schools being
served)
Major program expenses:
Instructional and coordinating
personnel, instructional materials,
incentives for participants (for
recruitment and retention), and
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ENLACE Miami
This grant initiative, aimed at enhancing the educational opportunities for
Latino families, is funded through the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. It allocated
$38,500 each year for the implementation of FLASH from 2001-2004. The general
grant was awarded to the College of Engineering at FIU. It is through the
collaboration that the College of Education has with the College of Engineering that
it is able to benefit from the Enlace Initiative.
Staffing
The amount of total staff depends on each school site, and the number of
schools being served at one time. The program can be delivered at a school with a
teacher or lead person acting as a coordinator in order to manage the recruitment of
participants and monitor the implementation of the project. In addition, it is
recommended that a teacher be selected for each level of ESL for the adults and one
teacher and additional paraprofessionals for the children. The teacher- to- student
ratio in a classroom can vary between 20 -30 adults per one teacher and 15-20
children with one certified teacher and additional paraprofessionals.
The part- time staff (one coordinator and teachers) conducts the instructional
activities with the adults and children, and calls the families on a regular basis. To
reduce the cost of the instructional and support personnel, it is recommended that the
program seek volunteers. In the past, college tutors from the America Reads Program
7 The program does not require all 22 members to carry out its operations.
*Staff is funded by multiple grants
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have been recruited as program volunteers as well as high school students. In
addition to the program teachers and coordinators at the schools sites, there is the
program director, Dr. Delia Garcia, who works for FLASH on a part-time basis as
the project Director.
Table 6. Program Staffing
Total Staff: Approximately 22*
Part-Time at FIU: 2
• One director
• One coordinator
Part-Time at School Sites: Approximately 20 (for
schools)
• Teachers
• Paraprofessionals
Bilingual: 99% of all teachers and
paraprofessionals
Marketing and Recruiting
In the past, FLASH personnel approached individual school principals to see
if they were interested in providing the program to its ESL families. If a principal
was interested, Dr. Garcia would write a grant proposal to try and secure funding for
the program start-up at the selected school.
Now, schools will approach Dr. Garcia to have the program implemented at
their site. All of the marketing and recruiting is handled at the schools that the
program is already established at. For instance, during orientation nights in the
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beginning of the academic year, the school teachers will inform parents and students
of the program. Schools also distribute flyers and handouts at information nights,
parent teacher conferences, and parent nights as well as use word-of-mouth, one
parent telling another, about the program as a marketing strategy.
Selection
The program is targeted mainly to English Language Learner parents that
have children in Miami-Dade County schools, in South Florida. The number of
participants served depends on the amount of funding for that year. For example, if
funding is limited for a given year, then FLASH may need to limit the total number
of parents that can participate in the program. At this point, it is up to the principal
at each individual school site to determine how they will narrow down the selection
criteria and select their parents. Above all, parents that are limited in their English
language proficiency are given priority to be in the program. If a parent is interested
in applying to FLASH, they readily have access to program information at their
child’s school site. Parents do not have to apply to be in the program since it is done
on a voluntary basis.
Question 2. What strategies does FLASH utilize to actively engage parents in school
and home-based activities?
FLASH uses a variety of targeted strategies to involve parents in the
educational process, including: a targeted ESL curriculum, life skills training,
convenient scheduling, and incentives.
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Targeted ESL Curriculum Parent classes run in cycles of 80-120 hours of
instruction over the course of five to eight months. While in the program, families
participate in the cycles of instruction, and activities with their children that are
geared towards the linguistic and academic needs of the family. So, for example,
curricular content is focused on ESL, school involvement, and cultural and parental
issues relevant to the participants. Furthermore, FLASHS’ instructional curriculum
places a strong emphasis on the family for mutual support for both children and
parents as a method to increase the effectiveness of the learning process. A topic in
the curriculum may span 1-4 classes, depending on the actual ESL lesson and the
time that it requires for participants to master the language and the content.
Convenient Scheduling Each class lasts about two to two and a half hours, is
held twice a week, and is often offered in the evenings to accommodate parents’
busy schedules.
Incentives FLASH develops strong incentives to ensure participant retention.
For instance, if parents attend three consecutive sessions, they will get tickets that
will buy them school supplies or books Y for their child. Also, parents who have good
attendance in the program will get such prizes as a free T-shirt or a $25.00 gift
certificate to their local grocery store. Program director, Dr. Garcia has found that
the use of incentives is a crucial strategy in retaining parent participants.
Question 3. Is FLASH effective in increasing the rates of parental involvement?
According to program evaluations, FLASH meets its goal of increasing
parental involvement. Specifically, evaluations are currently administered by Dr.
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Garcia to measure program effectiveness with assistance from an external program
evaluator. Surveys are given to families on a regular basis to see how they are
benefiting from the program. According to Dr. Garcia past evaluations have
demonstrated statistically significant increases in school involvement behaviors (e.g.,
assisting children with homework, attending PTA and advisory council meetings,
field trips, parent/teacher conferences, and volunteering).
Parents have also been evaluated for the past 15 years with the School-Based
Life Skills Inventory, a criterion-reference test developed by program staff that is
correlated to the curriculum. This test, is used to measure parents’ growth in ESL
levels on a pre-post basis. Past program research has not only consistently provided
evidence that the program is successful at increasing the acquisition of English skills
by the adults but has shown that parents’ and their knowledge of the educational
system in the United States increased as well. The importance of this evidence lies in
its consistency in providing the same results throughout the 24 year history of the
program. As of yet, evaluative program studies have not utilized a
control/experimental approach. Furthermore, students are not tracked to college.
Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIPE)
Question 1. What are the program characteristics?
The Parent Institute for a Quality Education (PIQE) is a 501-C3 non-profit
organization with nine regional offices throughout California, and most recently,
Dallas, Texas. The program is dedicated to providing parents from low-income,
ethnically diverse backgrounds with the necessary tools to play an active role in the
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educational development of their children. Parents learn how to become more
involved with their children’s education at the school site as well as their home,
through a nine-week, class schedule that focuses on issues relevant to the needs of
elementary, junior and high school students.
Bilingual facilitators are subcontracted by PIQE for a small stipend to teach
classes. Teachers can also participate in the PIQE program by attending a six-hour
workshop that teaches them the importance of effective parent involvement in the
classroom as well as in school activities. PIQE provides its services to schools that
want to increase their levels of parent participation in school activities and request
their program. The standard practice of PIQE is to conduct its program every other
year at a particular school given a principals’ invitation. Exceptions are made in
schools with large populations of students. For instance, the program has been
repeated twice in one school year or at minimum, once a year.
Goals
The program goals are to assist parents in taking a participatory role in
helping their children to:
• Create a home-learning environment
• Navigate the school system
• Collaborate with teachers, counselors and principals
• Encourage college attendance
• Support a child’s emotional and social development
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Program Details
PIQE is focused on creating a community in which parents and teachers
collaborate to transform each child’s educational environment, both at home and
school, so that all children can achieve their greatest academic potential. To achieve
their goal, PIQE has three-core program components; the Nine-Week Parent
Involvement Classes, the Teacher Workshop, and a Four-Month “Coaches” Follow-
Up program.
Curriculum and Activities
Nine-Week Parent Involvement Classes Parents that attend the classes learn
how to assist their children by constructing a home learning environment, navigate
the school system, collaborate with teachers, counselors, and principals, encourage
college attendance and support a child’s emotional and social development. PIQE
facilitates one meeting per week at the corresponding school site, which typically last
about 1.5 hours. The classes are offered in the morning and the evening to
accommodate parent schedules. The first gathering is a large group planning session
where parents voice their concerns as well as give their suggestions for topics they
would like to see covered in the course. For the remaining sessions, parents break out
into smaller groups of approximately 30 per class. During the 8th week, parents meet
with the principal of the school for a question and answer session while the final
meeting serves to congratulate the parents on their completion of the program by
awarding certificates during a graduation ceremony.
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Teacher Workshop Teachers attend a six-hour workshop on the importance of
parent involvement and strategies for developing meaningful parent participation. In
collaboration with the Stanford Research Institute (SRI), PIQE developed this
workshop to bridge the cultural gap between teachers and the diversity of California
students and their families. Through an initial pilot grant from the Stuart Foundation
and two subsequent years of funding from the Washington Mutual Foundation, the
teacher workshop has been implemented in more than 20 schools in Santa Clara,
Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange Counties. It has graduated more than 200
teachers.
Program Development
Creation Reverend Vahac Mardirosian and Dr. Alberto Ochoa, both members
of the Mexican American Advisory Committee to the Superintendent of the San
Diego Unified School District, founded PIQE in 1987. The program was developed
in response to the academic crisis confronting low-income and immigrant Latinos at
Sherman Elementary School, in San Diego and in the school system in general
throughout California. As a result of the nine weeks of discussions with parents,
Rev. Mardirosan and Dr. Ochoa were advised by that group of parents to begin the
process of listening to parents, educating them on the school system and empowering
them in every school in California and beyond.
Initially, Rev. Mardirosian acquired a small grant from the American Baptist
Church to begin PIQE. A few years later, Rev. Mardirosian secured a small funding
grant from World Vision and for the following ten years, World Vision assisted
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PIQE in fundraising for the program. PIQE held its first classes at Sherman
Elementary School and graduated more than 95 parents. It later expanded
throughout the San Diego Unified School District and to other districts in the county.
Also, Rev. Mardirosian and Dr. Ochoa’s determination to help parents get involved
in their children’s education, has led to securing funding from some of the nations
largest foundations. Increased funding enabled PIQE to expand its services to sixteen
counties in California and one in Texas and Phoenix, Arizona.
Partnerships PIQE partners and collaborates with California GEAR-UP as the
parent involvement component in more than 200 middle schools throughout the
state. PIQE also partners with approximately 150 school districts and 1,500 schools
throughout California and Dallas, Texas. In 1999, PIQE became a partner in the
“Family In School Initiative” with the City of San Jose, seven local school districts
and the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) that graduated 15,000 parents over the next
four years in the San Jose area.
Funding Today, PIQE receives approximately 1.5 million dollars annually in
donations from individuals, foundations and corporations. In order to secure funding
from contributors, PIQE personally meets with potential contributors and presents
their program proposal. PIQE is a research-based program and conducts both
internal and
independent evaluations regarding its impact and efficacy to try and secure funds.
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Table 7. PIQE Partnerships
Organization Contribution
Walton Family Foundation $2.2 million over a ten-year period
Marguerite Casey Foundation $600,000 over a three-year period
Washington Mutual Foundation $800,000 over a four-year period
Host Schools Schools pay for half o f the program cost from Title I funds,
Migrant Education, GEAR-UP, or other available school
funds. They also provide classroom space, daycare, and
light refreshments.
Other Funding Sources
National Council La Raza (NCLR)
Affiliate
National Exposure/Marketing; leads to information on
funding opportunities, political lobbying and general
support.
Individual Donation/Sponsorships PIQE invites the community to donate funds or sponsor a
parent for $60 per year or $5 per month.
GEAR-UP $5 million dollars over the past five years.
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Table 8. PIQE Budget 2004
Budget for 2004: Approximately 4.5 million
Biggest Expense Staff salaries, insurance, rent, stipends
to contract personnel and program
materials.
Other Expenses PIQE’s 2003 Independent Audit
found that its General and
Administrative (G&A) costs are only
12.5 % o f the program budget and the
majority o f the balance goes to direct
services.
Staffing PIQE has about 55 full-tim e permanent staff members and 500 facilitators,
recruiters and coordinators that are subcontracted for a sm all stipend. M ost o f the class
instructors/facilitators are bilingual, since the classes are offered in fourteen different
languages.
Marketing and Recruiting
M arketing In terms of marketing for fundraising purposes, PIQE has received
major local, state and national exposure through its affiliation with GEAR-UP and
the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). PIQE has been designated as NCLR’s
national model on parent involvement. As a result, PIQE was invited to present at
the National Education Association (NEA) Convention in 2003, the California PTA
Convention in 2004, several other national conferences on safety in the schools, the
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Education of English Learners, and the National GEAR-UP Conference in
Washington D.C. Regional Executive Directors also market the program by making
phone calls to local schools, mailing information and scheduling one-to-one
meetings with the school principals and other district administrators.
Recruitment PIQE provides its services to schools that want to increase their
levels of parent participation in school. The success of PIQE has been directly
attributed to having parents recruit other parents. The most effective recruitment and
marketing strategy for PIQE is by word of mouth, one parent telling another parent
how she and her children benefited from PIQE.
Selection The PIQE program is open to any parent (at no cost to them) that is
interested in learning more about how to get involved in the educational
development of their child and at schools that welcome PIQE’s services throughout
California and in Dallas, Texas.
Question 2. What strategies does PIQE utilize to actively engage parents in school
and home-based activities?
PIQE uses a variety of targeted strategies to involve parents in the
educational process, including: a targeted curriculum, consideration of logistical
issues, and parent follow-up.
Targeted Curriculum The first class meeting serves as a planning session,
where parents have the opportunity to voice their concerns as well as give their
suggestions for topics they would like to see covered in the course. It is the role of
the class facilitator to incorporate parent feedback to supplement the program’s
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standard curriculum. The program curriculum shows parents how to assist their
children by constructing a home learning environment, navigate the school system,
collaborate with teachers, counselors, and principals, encourage college attendance
and support a child’s emotional and social development.
Logistical Considerations The classes are offered in the morning and the
evening to accommodate parent schedules. PIQE facilitates one meeting per week at
the corresponding school site, which typically last about 1.5 hours. (PIQE) also
provides childcare for the children of participating parents while they are attending
classes.
Parent Follow-Up In an effort to sustain parent involvement after the basic
program, PIQE offers the Four-Month '‘Coaches ” Follow-On Program, in which
parents with potential leadership qualities at the respective school site are selected to
call parents who participated in the program on regular basis. Primarily, the calls are
used to reinforce the content learned in class by quizzing parents on their knowledge
of various areas in their children’s schooling, like their child’s grade on their last
report card, the nature of their child’s course load or the meaning of the school
transcript. Parent callers also inform their peers about upcoming school events as
well as encourage them to attend.
Question 3. Is PIQE effective in increasing the rates of parental involvement?
PIQE conducts internal, as well as independent evaluations on an annual
basis. Both evaluation methods have shown a positive impact that PIQE has on
students and parents. The internal evaluations consist of surveys given to parents, at
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the program’s onset; to see how much information they have regarding their child’s
schooling. The process is repeated nine weeks later, to see how much the parents
learned from the program. After completing the program, PIQE staff report that
approximately 90% of parents will be aware of college admissions requirements,
75% of parents initiate a parent-teacher conference, and 50% of the parent graduates
will visit the public library at least once a month. Anecdotal reports by parents who
have guided their children into college indicate that the above practices were
sustained long-term.
An external evaluation is conducted every two years by an independent
institution. Some independent evaluations have included studies conducted by the
Los Angeles Unified School District, The Stanford Research Institute (SRI), which
published their findings in the Harvard Family Research Project, and by the
University of California, Santa Barbara. One independent evaluation in Los Angeles
demonstrated that SAT 9 scores increased 14 points for students whose parents
participated in the PIQE program and participated in a college tour. There were also
increases in parent behaviors that support their children’s education; e.g., parent
contact with their child’s teacher and participation of home learning activities.
The Mother-Daughter Program (M-D)
Question 1. What Are the Specific Program Characteristics?
The Mother-Daughter Program (M-D), stationed out of the School of
Education at the University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP), is designed to help sixth-
grade girls maintain their interest in school and to raise their educational and career
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aspirations. This educational retention and leadership program uses a team approach
that makes mothers an integral part of the program. According to M-D staff and
personnel, it is the mothers’ expectations and participation that will have a long-term
impact on their daughters’ educational development. During the year-long program,
both mother and daughter learn about education and life opportunities from
University students, career women, and other community role models.
Goals
• Build self-esteem
• Encourage completion of high school
• Raise expectations of attending college
• Familiarize participants to higher education and obtaining professional
careers
• Enhance the quality of college preparation by providing adequate academic
and life skills training
• Increase parent dedication to higher education
Program Details The M-D program is focused on conveying to its students and
mothers the importance of goal setting as an essential element for success. As such,
the activities for the program are organized around four core goals as well as four
main areas of development; academic, personal, career and community life. The
activities for mother-daughter teams are held one Saturday of every month for a year
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while the girls are in the sixth grade. Sessions are held at UTEP University, the
participating schools, or in the local community.
UTEP Sponsored Activities
Campus Open House and Tour Students and their mothers receive a tour of
the University of Texas, El Paso campus. During their tour, they meet successful
Latina students and are introduced to campus life with presentations and actual
hands-on participation in college classes and laboratories.
Career Day On Career Day, the mothers and daughters meet many
professional Latinas in the community from various backgrounds. Professional
Latinas represented on Career Day have included attorneys, doctors, judges,
teachers, nurses and counselors. The local media is also widely represented, which
gives the mothers and daughters the opportunity to interact with local Latina leaders
such as anchorwomen and radio disc jockeys.
In addition to meeting Latina professionals during Career Day, the girls and
their mothers participate in creating “dream posters”, a team-building activity meant
to help them begin to work towards their daughters’ educational achievement and
success. For this activity, mothers make a picture collage of where they foresee their
daughters to be professionally in ten years. In the same fashion, sixth-grade girls also
create a picture collage of where they envision themselves to be in ten years.
Leadership Conference At the annual Leadership Conference, mother and
daughter teams present their community-service project, a task started at the
program’s onset that includes the participant’s development and execution of project
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4 7
that entails involvement in the community. Participants work with sponsoring
teachers, district coordinators and program staff members to classify, prepare, and
complete their projects.
Some past projects have included: volunteering at Senior homes, elementary
schools, organizing a school campaign to increase school attendance, landscaping for
their school, and participating in the “Race for the Cure” fund by raising money for
breast cancer research through walking and or running in the mini-marathon.
As a result of their assignment, program participants:
• Learn important leadership skills they could apply to their academic and
career goals
• Attain a sense of giving back to the community
• Get encouraged to become role models in their communities
Summer Camp and Awards Ceremony During a two-day event, the girls stay in
the UTEP dormitories overnight and attend elected university classes and activities
that are meant to provide them with information regarding college life. The girls’
mothers join their daughters on the second day of the event, where they attend
seminars and an awards ceremony to conclude the year’s activities.
Off-Campus Activities
During the time when no major events are scheduled at UTEP, off-campus
activities are planned by the participating school districts and take place at their
respective schools or various sites in the community. These activities are meant to
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4 8
introduce program participants to the numerous resources in their neighborhood.
Some of these activities have included visiting the Texas Technical Medical Center,
City Hall, El Paso’s historic missions, the public library, or the El Paso Museum of
Art.
After The Sixth-Grade Experience
UTEP offers an “Expansion Program” that is an extended version of the
Mother-Daughter Program. The Expansion Program runs from seventh to twelfth
grade and is not required after students complete the M-D Program during their
sixth-grade year. The Expansion program offers a variety of seminars, academic
counseling for ninth and tenth-grade girls, as well as college admissions counseling
for high school juniors and seniors. The mother-daughter alumni are also welcomed
to attend the Annual Leadership Conference and Career Day.
Program Development
Creation The Mother-Daughter Program was first started as a pilot project in
1986, when Dr. Tinajero, a UTEP faculty member, other UTEP staff, the Young
Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), and El Paso School District came together
to plan and implement a program that would address the severe academic
underachievement of young Latina women. When they convened, the institutional
partners were inspired by a pilot program conducted under the leadership of Dr.
Joanne O’Donnell at Arizona State University, and hence developed the Mother-
Daughter Program under this model. During its start-up, an Advisory Committee was
developed to manage the overall direction of the program. The Advisory Committee
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49
included UTEP’s vice president for academic affairs and her assistant, the assistant
dean of the College of Education, the YWCA’s executive director, and the associate
superintendents from the participating school districts. A subcommittee that included
members from the institutional partners was also organized to oversee the planning
of specific program events and activities.
Initially, the pilot program involved 50 sixth-grade girls and their mothers in
a variety of activities to familiarize them with university life. For the first two years
of operation, the program was completely run on a voluntary basis, with in-kind
contributions from UTEP, the participating school districts and the YWCA. It was
not until a few years later that the program was able to secure ample funding from
the Gannett and Meadows Foundations, which allowed the hiring of a full-time
program coordinator at UTEP, a part-time coordinator at the YWCA, and a part-time
secretary. Funding from these foundations allowed the program to develop both a
more efficient structure and curriculum materials.
The Mother-Daughter program, now in its 18th year of implementation, has
expanded to include approximately 450 to 500 mother-daughter teams recruited from
eight El Paso County school districts. The initial institutional partners continue to
support the program with new funding from the Women’s Education Equity Act, a
one-time Department of Education Title III grant, and monies from other
foundations. In addition, the program has been an inspiration for other institutions
nationwide to begin similar programs.
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5 0
Partnerships The M-D Program partners are UTEP, the YWCA, and El Paso
County School Districts. They each provide a variety of services and contributions
that facilitate the program’s success.
Table 9. M-D Partnerships
Organization C ontribution
University of Texas, El Paso Provides main headquarters at UTEP’s School of Education,
administration, program activities, workshops facilitated by
departmental faculty, and female volunteer student mentors.
Eight El Paso County Independent
School Districts:
El Paso Independent School
District
San Elizario Independent School
District
Gadsden Independent School
District
Clint Independent School District
Canutillo Independent School
District
Socorro Independent School
District
Fabens Independent School District
Ysleta Independent School District
Individual schools handle all marketing and recruiting,
monitor participants’ academic and social progress, plan and
execute many of the annual activities, provide transportation
for up to 400 girls and mothers to the monthly activities, and
offer stipends to district coordinators.
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51
Table 9, Continued
Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Instrumental in starting and developing the
program. Currently, offers social support for
seventh to twelfth grade girls who have participated
in the program.
Other Partners
Community Organizations
El Paso Rotary Club
American Association of University Women
(AAUW)
KCOS public television
Provides financial support for specific program
activities, scholarship programs for participant
mothers, and role models for Career Day.
Table 10. Primary Expense Categories M-D
Budget for 2004 : Approximately 100,000
Biggest Expense Summer camp and end-of the
year luncheon
Other Expenses Staff salaries, transportation, meals and
refreshments.
Due to Dr. Tinajero’s efforts in finding and securing funding, the
M-D Program has received funds from various foundations and corporations over the
past 16 years. Specifically, the program has received grants from the Gannett
Foundation (now Freedom Forum), the Meadows Foundation, Southwestern Bell,
and AT&T. Dr. Tinajero also received a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant to evaluate
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5 2
the program’s success and create materials to help other communities and
organizations design similar programs in 1993. The Kellogg Foundation also donated
scholarship money for program participants attending UTEP. Although the program
has received funding since 1988, long-term funding is never assured. As a result, Dr.
Tinajero is continuously seeking new funding sources.
Most recently, the program has been primarily funded through the Women’s
Education Equity Act, a one-time Department of Education Title III grant. Although
the grant just finished its funding period, the program still benefits from its ultimate
funds along with monies from other foundations and various businesses in the
community. In addition to foundation and corporate funding, the El Paso school
districts allocate money from their budget in order to share program expenses, which
include marketing, recruiting, use of facilities for events, transportation for program
participants, and providing district coordinators with stipends. Moreover, the initial
institutional partners that founded the program continue to support it with in-kind
contributions that include everything from office space to bus transportation.
Staffing The Mother-Daughter Program is composed of 3 full-time staff
members stationed at UTEP that include the program Director, Dr. Josefina Tinajero,
University Coordinator, Ms. Luz M. Rolon, and Administrative Secretary, Erika
Martinez. The remaining eight full-time staff employees include district coordinators
who work from their individual district offices.
The part-time staff consists of Campus Coordinators and student mentors.
The campus coordinators usually work on a volunteer basis; however, there are some
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53
districts that pay them a stipend (as an incentive). There are approximately 60
campus coordinators and 50-90 program volunteers.
Marketing and Recruitment
Marketing The individual participating intermediate schools handle all of the
marketing and recruiting for the program. During orientation nights in the beginning
of the academic year, the district program coordinator will inform students and their
mothers of the program. In addition to marketing the program at orientation nights,
the schools also distribute flyers and handouts at parent teacher conferences, and
parent information nights.
Recruitment The M-D Program is offered to sixth grade girls from El Paso
County schools that have the potential to academically succeed but who show
various risk factors that threaten their likelihood of attending an institution of higher
education. Specifically, the M-D Program recruits participants that are from a low-
income background or come from a family where no one has a pursued a higher
education. All of the program recruiting is conducted at the girl’s intermediate school
by the district coordinator.
th
Selection A student enters the program by a referral from their 5 grade
teacher, a decision made by her mother to be in the program, or by her own initiative
in approaching the Campus Coordinators. In order to verify grades, educational
background and family history, district coordinators access the students’ records at
their corresponding schools.
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5 4
Question 2. What strategies does the M-D program utilize to actively engage parents
in school and home-based activities?
The M-D program uses a variety of targeted strategies to involve parents in
the educational process, including: the use of mother-daughter teams, logistical
considerations and consistent programming.
Mother-Daughter Teams According to M-D staff and personnel, it is the
mothers’ expectations and participation that will have a long-term impact on their
daughters’ educational development. Therefore, this program uses a team approach
that makes mothers an integral part of the program.
Consistent Programming Activities Program staff recognize that programs
are more effective when they are held over time, and ads a result, activities for
participating mother-daughter teams are held over a one-year period.
Logistical considerations The Mother-Daughter program provides
transportation for mothers and their daughters to attend events and activities.
Furthermore, the program meetings are held on convenient days for participating
families, which are the Saturday of every month.
Question 3. Is the M-D program effective in increasing the rates of parental
involvement?
Evaluations for the program are conducted once per year at the end of each
funding period for each funding source. The evaluations are conducted by a private
evaluator who gives surveys, and conducts interviews with program staff.
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5 5
Specifically, the evaluations measure effective program practices, program growth,
effects on participants, and potential program success.
Evaluation results have shown positive results with the mothers and
daughters that participate in the program in terms of college enrollment and
continuing education for mothers. For instance, a 1993 study found that 30 of the 32
girls that first participated in the program, enrolled in college. Also, some of the
mothers that have gone through the program continued to pursue a high school
diploma, bachelor’s degree, or master’s degree.
The M-D Program also tracks their students to college, as part of the
evaluation process. Since the program is stationed out of the School of Education at
UTEP, the program uses its readily available student data (grades, addresses, phone
numbers, etc.), to see which of their participants pursued a college degree at UTEP.
Summary
The programs presented here are exemplary based on concerted efforts to
effectively communicate with parents rather than on achieved results. It appears that
the task of tracking parents and their students over time in order to measure parent
involvement, has kept many programs from collecting longitudinal data that would
be needed to prove their effectiveness. Nevertheless, the subsequent information on
the variety of approaches to engage parents as well as program operations, and
processes, will, I hope, serve to inspire district leaders and program directors to
create and fund similar ventures in their respective communities.
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57
CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION
The eleven programs selected were subject to extensive telephone interviews
and in some cases, site visits if they were local. Analysis of interview findings
indicated that despite differences in programming, there were many programmatic
and strategic similarities across programs.
The similarities are as follows:
• Staff and institutional commitment
• Cultural and environmental accommodations
• Partnerships
The in-depth analysis found that well-functioning programs exhibited these
programmatic elements. In fact, most programs had developed several of these
elements as they expanded and grew. The following discussion provides a more
detailed explanation of these common elements.
Commitment
Commitment refers to both the personal and institutional support exhibited
by employed staff and the host university in regards to the mission of the program.
A strong sense of commitment to the mission of the program appeared to be the
prime reason for the generation of creative and effective ideas for how to best engage
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5 8
Latino parents when confronted with communication difficulties. Commitment also
fueled the creative energy behind program improvements and expansion from staff at
every level of program operations.
Commitment at the director level meant that knowledgeable individuals with
extensive experience in either outreach programming or working with underserved
communities often led the development of these programs. The prior work or the
current work efforts of these leaders often came with a strong network of individuals
who were often very eager to contribute resources and assistance to the development
of outreach programs.
Institutional commitment primarily came in the form of fundraising, funding
security in scarce times, and the leveraging of funds across institutions. This type of
commitment was usually generated through the support of key individuals such as
university presidents, staff, local business leaders and local public officials. Their
commitment to the program not only facilitated the acquisition of funds, but also
provided program staff the freedom to be creative, dedicated and progressive. It
allowed program directors to think about how to best improve and expand their
programs, rather than focus on generating political support for operating their
program.
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59
Cultural and environmental considerations
Language can be a barrier for Latino parents that are first generation
immigrants and thus prefer to speak Spanish. Thus, all of the programs described
made extensive efforts to provide bilingual staff and presentations; some even
offered services in multiple languages.
Second, because of economic difficulties and family obligations many Latino
families do not have the resources to provide for child care or transportation.
Consequently, many programs found ways to accommodate the need for child care at
their event and also made efforts to facilitate transportation.
Partnerships
Developing partnerships with local educational agencies served to advance
program goals by providing access to resources in two important ways. First,
partnerships facilitate program operations by providing access to student and key
local school personnel. For example, partnering with a local school district or school
provided programs access to parent and student contact information. In order to
effectively target specific student and parent population, university personnel had to
have access to this contact information or at least work with someone at the
school/district site who did.
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6 0
Second, partnerships helped to leverage funding across various
organizations and provide access to greater institutional resources such as staff time,
meeting space and funding. For example, many programs utilized “in-kind” resource
donations from other university departments that came in the form of staff time.
Others, like the Padres Promotores, are able to use funding that is generally allocated
for the work of the larger Santa Ana Partnership to fund its work which essentially
benefits all the institutions involved.
Recommendations
Student academic success is dependent on various factors, including the role
that their parents play in their educational development. As such, it is necessary that
Latino parents increase their levels of engagement in their children’s educations.
Given the research on what the barriers that Latino parents face as well as what
strategies can be used to facilitate their engagement, educational leaders, such as
district superintendents and school site principals need to make more of a concerted
effort in forging partnerships with Latino parents in their communities. For instance,
districts and schools can take several steps in order to increase the rates of parental
engagement in school and home-based activities such as:
• Provide cultural and environmental accommodations for parents such as
providing information in Spanish, a parent liaison that meets with parents at
their home, and workshops for parents to help them better understand the
educational development of their child.
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61
• Build partnerships with local educational agents to effectively
support program, its participants and leverage funding To illustrate,
creating partnerships with community based organizations, businesses and
local universities can leverage additional funding and other resources (e.g.,
tutoring, mentoring, school supplies) to support the program and its
participants.
• Provide ongoing professional development for teachers. It is imperative
that teachers receive the necessary professional development and training to
show them effective strategies to reach out to parents.
• Conduct regular evaluations. Evaluations of employed practices need to be
evaluated on a regular basis to ensure that they are being effective and to
assess if strategies need to be implemented in a different way to meet the
needs of the parents.
Conclusion
Although more research is needed in assessing outreach programs and
their effectiveness on student outcomes, there are several programmatic and strategic
similarities across the profiled programs that appear to facilitate their success in
terms of their sustainability as well as increasing the rates of parental engagement in
school and home-based activities. With that said they can provide promising
practices to school districts and individual schools that plan to implement similar
programs or wish to utilize their strategies to increase engagement for their Latino
parent population
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62
REFERENCES
Desimone, L. (1999). Linking Parent Involvement With Student Achievement; Do
Race and Income Matter? Journal o f Educational Research, 93, 11-30.
Epstein, J.L., Sanders, M.G., Simon, B.S., Salinas, K.C., Jansom, N.R., Voorhis,
FLV. (2002). School, Family and Community Partnerships. Corwin Press
Faires, J., Nichols, W.D., & Rickelman, R.J. (2000). Reading Psychology,
21, 195-215.
Flaxman, E., Schwartz, W., Weiler, J. & Lahey, M. (1998). Trends and Issues in
Urban Education, 1998. Eric Clearinghouse on Urban Education.
(ERIC Document Reproduction Services No. ED425 247).
Griffith, J. (1998). The Relation of School Culture and Social Environments
To Parent Involvement in Elementary Schools.
The Elementary School Journal, 99, 53-80.
Inger, Morton. (1992). Increasing the School Involvement of Hispanic Parents. Eric
Clearinghouse on Urban Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction
Services No.ED350380).
Ho Sui-Chu, E., Willms, D. (1996). Effects of Parental Involvement on Eighth-Grade
Achievement. Sociology o f Education, 69, 126-141.
Jeynes, W.H. (2003). A META-ANALYSIS. The Effects of Parental Involvement on
Minority Children’s Academic Achievement. Education and Urban Society,
35, 202-218.
Kaufman, P., Alt, M.N., Chapman, C.D. (2000). Dropout Rates in the United States:
2000. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics.
Keith, T.Z., Keith, P.B., Quirk, K.J., Sperduto, J., Santillo, S., Killings, S. (1998).
Longitudinal Effects of Parental Involvement on High School Grades.
Similarities and Differences Across Gender and Ethnic Groups. Journal o f
School Psychology, 36, 335-363.
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Jeynes, W.H. (2003). A META-ANALYSIS: The Effects of Parental «
Involvement on Minority Children’s Academic Achievement. Education
and Urban Society, 35, 202-218.
Lopez, G. (2001). Redefining Parental Involvement: Lessons From High-Performing
Migrant-Impacted Schools. American Educational Research Journal, 38,
253-288.
Miedel, W., Reynolds, A.J. (1999). Parent Involvement In Early Intervention for
Disadvantaged Children. Does it Matter? Journal o f School Psychology, 37,
379-402.
Scribner, J.D., Young, M.D., & Pedroza, A. (1999). Building collaborative
relationships with parents. In P. Reyes, J.D. Scribner, and A. Paredes-
Scribner (Eds.), Lessons from High-Performing Hispanic Schools: Creating
Learning Communities (pp. 36-60). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Shaver, A.V., Walls, R.T. (1998). Effect of Title I Parent Involvement on Student
Reading and Mathematics Achievement. Journal o f Research and
Development in Education, 31, 90-97.
Simon, B.S. (2001). Family involvement in high school: Predictors and effects.
National Association o f Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Bulletin, 85,
8-19.
Tinkler, B. (2002) A Review o f Literature on Hispanic/Latino Parent
Involvement in K-12 Education. University of Denver, Assets for Colorado
Youth
Tomatzky, L., Cutler, R., Lee, J. (2002). What Latino Parents Need to Know and
Why They D on’ t Know It, Tomas Rivera Policy Institute.
Wirt, J., Choy, S., Gerald, D., Provasnick, S. Rooney, P., Watanabe, S., Tobin, R.,
Glander, M. (2001). The Condition o f Education 2001. U.S. Department of
Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
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Appendix A
Interview Questionnaire
Defining the Program
• What is the mission of the program?
• What are the program components?
• What are the program goals?
• How does it help parents understand the process that their children will
experience in college?
• What type of information do you provide to parents?
-Financial aid?
-College preparation?
-Campus life?
• In what capacities do Latino parents participate? (observers, presenters, role
models)
• What is the time frame for the program? (when and how often)
• Is childcare or transportation provided for program participants?
Program Development
• Who began the program? Why? How? When?
• How long does it take to plan this program?
• What was the initial mission of the program?
• How many years has it been running?
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6 5
• How was the program developed?
• How do you market/promote the program? How do parents find out about the
program?
• Is there Spanish advertising?
• How do you recruit participants?
• Is there a selection criteria in selecting participants?
• What is the service area? Target population?
• Do you provide any bilingual resources? (staff, printed materials?)
Program Specifics/Statistics
• How many staff members are involved in the program?
-How many staff members are full-time employees?
-How many staff members are part-time employees?
-How many staff members are bilingual?
• Do you have any program volunteers? If so, how many?
• How many parents participate in the program?
• Are there any culture-specific practices used to engage Latino parents?
Institutional Development
• What kind of partnerships do you use with parent program? (names)
• If so, how many?
• If so, how do they contribute? (money, gifts, volunteer?)
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Funding
66
• How is it funded? (Grant, institutional money) Name of grant/loan.
• How long is funding for?
• If I wanted to apply for this grant/loan, what would be the necessary steps I
would need to take?
• Do you receive any other funding/contributions for the program? If so, from
where and what are the steps in receiving those funds?
• What is your allocated budget?
• Major program expenses?
• Other expenses?
• Copy of budget? Itemized line budget? Total cost breakdown?
Evaluation
• Do you conduct program evaluation? Who is responsible for this component?
• How is the program evaluated?
• How often is the program evaluated?
• Who reads the evaluation results? What are the results used for?
• What effects (positive and negative) have you noticed on the students whose
parents are engaged in the programs?
• What kind of follow-up activities do you provide? How many?
• Do you track students to college? (If they do not evaluate, try to collect any
statistic you can)
• Is there anything that sets your program apart from others?
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Interview Wrap-Up
6 7
• Is there anyone else that we should talk to?
• This concludes the interview. Do you have anything to add?
• The information you provided will be very beneficial to our report. Thank
you for your time.
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68
Appendix B
Program Websites
The Mother Daughter Program
http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=20060
Parent Institute for Quality Education
http://www.piqe.org/
Families Learning at School and Home
http://education.fiu.edu/aa/project_breakdown.asp?project_id=91
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Creator Márquez, Amalia (author)

Core Title Engaging Latino families parents in their children's educations

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Master of Science

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Education, administration,education, bilingual and multicultural,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Picus, Lawrence O. (committee chair), Macias, Elsa (committee member), West, Kim (committee member), Wilson, Carol (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-54918

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