I finally had a chance to read this 34-page document. It's great to see parental engagement being addressed in such an in-depth way.
While it might seem common-sense obvious that parental engagement efforts are crucial - they aren't always done well or at all.
This toolkit is wonderful but it's not perfect.
It asks a lot of important questions which help an organization think about what it does or doesn't do already. It offers a lot of resources for further research as well as some real-life examples and stories.
There are suggestions about why and how to increase and improve parental involvement.
There is information about ACEs science and toxic stress - although not quite enough.
It addresses social equity issues as well, like race and class. It talks about practical things such as having hours or operation suitable for working parents or in locations convenient for parents.
It talks about the importance of a welcoming environment which goes beyond a welcome mat and an upbeat hello. For example, the importance of having a diverse staff as well as a culture that is comfortable and accessible to all, in general, but also specifically for those the organization is intended for.
The one huge problem I have is that the voices of parents are not included enough and efforts to involve parents, for the most part, are not embedded in an organization's main purpose.
The section on parent ambassadors troubled me most. These are parents who improve a program's effectiveness by providing feedback on the program itself and/or by participating with programs to help reach other parents.
To me, this seems like it's absolutely essential rather than optional. However, these roles are presumably filled by volunteers or parents who might get a stipend.
No. No. No.
Parental involvement can't be prioritized if it's not planned for and paid for from the start. To expect or hope parents will donate or give time to provide feedback to an organization, which will improve the way it runs, is insulting unless the entire staff is also doing work on a voluntary basis.
If parents have the expertise of experience that others lack, this expertise should be valued as a resource and compensated as such. In addition, expecting parents who might be busy, broke, stressed and dealing with present day problems as well as the long-term impact of ACEs doesn't seem practical or even all that kind. The input of parents should be cultivated and rewarded.
But that's not the only problem. To rely on parent volunteers, means you re likely drawing from parents already involved with the program or organization. That's not going to be a group representative of parents or of the most important parents - parents who are not engaging.
To reach parents who aren't engaging requires effort. This specific group of parents must be invited and rewarded for sharing the reasons they have been resistant. This information is hugely beneficial to the organization.
Can you imagine if Toyota only listened to feedback from happy customers and not the customers who had problems, issues and went on to buy other cars? Information is needed from happy and well as unhappy consumers and while service organizations are not for-profits they are usually aimed at being in the service of people.
The people they fail to serve or aren't reaching or connecting with are at least as important as those being served. Maybe more so.
Anyhow, that's my perspective as a parent.
Another related issue is that this guide doesn't include enough wisdom from parents about what does and does not improve parental engagement. What parents feel hinders most or helps most might be useful to others.
That seems a missed opportunity on this important topic.This, to me, would be a starting point.
Of course, I'm a parent and so I'm sharing from this vantage point but also as someone who has (and does) work with and for non-profits.
I'd love to know what other individuals and organizations think of resource and if you know of any others. Here's the link where you can download the document and learn more.
If you have ideas or suggestions on improving parental engagement, as a parent or a non-profit (or both), please share them in the comments or as your own blog post which you can post here any time!
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