Interested in Ask for More Arts? Parent Leadership Institute?

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Every year, PPSJ, in partnership with the Outstanding Educator Awards Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson, recognizes JPS educators who exemplify extraordinary skills and commitment to engaging all students in high quality learning, using innovative teaching and learning strategies, and engaging parents as partners in educating children. Each Outstanding Educator receives a monetary award from the Outstanding Educator Awards Fund of the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson to be used in any way the individual likes.  Four Outstanding educators will be honored at the September 7, 2011 PPSJ Lunch Bunch. PPS of Jackson and CFGJ will honor Mary Cook, 4^th grade at McLeod Elementary; La’Keshia Opara-Nadi, 1^st grade at Pecan Park Elementary; Diane Setzer, Kindergarten at Davis Magnet Elementary; & Barbara Stevens, 12^th grade English at Watkins Elementary.

Join us for Lunch Bunch at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, September, 7! Reserve your $5 lunch by calling 601.969.6015.

In July, Parents for Public Schools of Jackson signed a $130,000 agreement with the Delta Health Alliance to provide parent leadership training for two elementary schools in Indianola, Mississippi.  The program is designed to connect parents to schools by using the arts as a vehicle for building relationships, creating individualized school improvement plans, and developing school leadership site teams that include parents.

The Delta Health Alliance was created by the federal government to expand health, education, community, and faith based services to support the Indianola community. When the Delta Health Alliance wanted to develop effective parent programs in local schools, PPSJ was the first place they called.

Ask any educator about one of the key factors in student achievement and they will tell you that it is parents and families. For years, in well-resourced schools and communities, parents have been the catalysts for insisting on high quality and responsive schools. Research proves that when parents and communities are more involved in children’s learning – regardless of income and education levels or ethnic background – student achievement rises and dropout rates fall. It is no different in communities such as the Indianola Pubic School system.

This program was developed after PPSJ staff met with fifteen administrators, principals, teachers, and parents to discuss the challenges of parent engagement in the IPS district. In contrast to most school districts, PPSJ found challenges were particularly great at the elementary level.  Parent involvement was low and a variety of barriers exists – from parents lacking skills as to how to engage with schools and feeling unwelcome to educators not knowing how to engage families and feeling a lack of support.

Despite these short term challenges, there are three very hopeful dynamics on which to build. One, while every principal, parent, and administrator expressed a lack of knowledge about how to create change and build trust, every single person expressed a strong desire to address this problem. Two, the district has strong and capable leadership with a proven track record for school improvement in the upper grades. And, three, the Delta Health Alliance and other funders can provide the capacity for sustained training and support. Funds will be used for a Program Organizer, PPSJ staff support, and artist fees as well as program expenses for printing, supplies, equipment, facilities, and travel.

Look for updates in future newsletters on this initiative that directly supports, deepens, and expands PPSJ’s work.

Vera Johnson, a 2007 Parent Leadership Institute graduate, joined the staff at PPSJ as Parent Organizer responsible for working with parents and community partners in Indianola to implement the Delta Health Alliance initiative.  With two children in Jackson Public Schools and eighteen years of experience working with Mississippi Girl Scouts, Vera brings a strong commitment to public education and the growth and development of young people to this work.

“Some very smart and big-hearted people set out to give parents like me the knowledge and understanding not only to help my children, but also to impact the lives of other families in unimaginable ways.”

- Eldridge Ellis, PLI Class of 2004

Seven years ago when Eldridge Ellis’ daughters were at Smith Elementary School, he wanted help to make sure his children got the best that public schools could offer.  He found himself lost when trying to understand a lot of what they were bringing home from school, especially information about accountability, testing, and curriculum benchmarks.  He signed up for the PPSJ Leadership Institute.  As he learned more, he noticed that children were not meeting the high mark in writing so he initiated a writing lab in the school.   He became involved with  the JPS Watchdog Dads program and serves as a leader in that district wide program.  His daughters are now in high school and he is still using his PLI skills to make sure they are getting  the best education possible.

Ellis’ story is just one example of how the Parent Leadership Institute (PLI) transforms parent engagement in schools. The PLI teaches parents to be advocates for excellence in education – with their children and their schools. This is what we know: effective schools and students are not created by bureaucrats or federal programs. They are created from the ground up by parents who insist on high performance from schools, from themselves, and from their kids. When parents insist on excellent principals, teachers, and school boards, anything is possible. When  moms or dads or other family members, regardless of their income or education level, are given tools for monitoring their child’s success, for measuring school performance, and for understanding test scores, students, teachers, and principals all reach higher. This is the way it has always been with schools across the ages and across the country.

The Institute gives parents the tools they need. It teaches, encourages, and engages parents in local schools because parents who feel connected to their schools are parents who are connected to their children and to daily homework.

Because of the Institute, parents have worked together to secure books for kids, establish reading clinics, and increase participation in the JPS reading fair. One parent increased the number of students taking Advanced Placement Courses by 300 percent. Other parents worked to make sure “no child would be left behind” by creating a support group for parents of children with disabilities, providing summer reading books to families who did not have them, and providing tutoring for students who were on the verge of dropping out of school.

This fall, for the seventh consecutive year, PPSJ convened thirty parents to learn about learning styles, leadership skills, and what quality teaching and learning looks like. They learn how to understand test data, how to make large organizations responsive, and how to access resources. They learn how to work together and create change.

Parents don’t just attend the Institute, they design and implement an action plan that will have a direct impact on student performance, is sustainable and involves other parents. These parents begin teaching other parents in their local schools. And charged up parents who were empowered when their children were in elementary schools are now parents who are impacting high schools.