A new press release (spin) from Tweed, it all sounds good on paper, let's see how DOE implements it...
NYC Dept. of Ed. 20070919_parent_engagement
Chancellor Klein Announces Measures to Help Parents Engage in Their Children's Education
Department of Education Enhances Outreach to Parents, Responsiveness to Parent Concerns
Support for School Leadership Teams and Community Education Councils
Date: 09/19/2007 Last Modified: 9/19/2007 1:27:41 PM
Press ID: N-11, 2007-2008
Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein, Deputy Mayor Dennis M. Walcott, and Chief Family Engagement Officer Martine Guerrier today announced measures implemented by the Department of Education (DOE) this year to help public school parents become better informed about, and have greater influence over, their children’s education. The announcement took place at PS 11, an elementary school in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn that enjoys active parent and community support. The Chancellor, Deputy Mayor, and Chief Parent Engagement Officer were joined by Borough President Marty Markowitz, Principal Alonta Wrighton, and community and family advocates.
Building on earlier improvements, including creating 1,400 parent coordinator positions in schools, the DOE restructured its outreach to parents during the past six months to provide more responsive and far-reaching support. Examples of enhanced services for parents in the 2007-08 school year include:
In conjunction with new accountability measurements that provide parents with detailed information about schools and student performance, and along with better support for parent-led Community Education Councils, the new measures insure that every parent and guardian has access to the information they need and is promptly and effectively served if a problem arises.
“Parents and families play a crucial role in ensuring children’s success in school,” Chancellor Klein said. “They should always have resources and information that allow them to be deeply involved in their children’s education. We’ve made a lot of progress and now we’re building on that progress, creating a more far-reaching and responsive parent engagement structure. We are also giving parents an unprecedented amount of information about their children’s schools and performance in school so that they can make informed decisions that will help their children learn.”
“The investment of families in their children’s educational experience and in the life of schools is critical, and every child deserves a quality education,” Deputy Mayor Walcott said. “We are committed to reaching all families with important and comprehensive school information that will help them make the best decisions for their children’s education, and will continue providing strong support to parent leadership at the school and district levels.”
These initiatives are part of a comprehensive effort led by Martine Guerrier, the district’s first Chief Family Engagement officer, since her appointment by Mayor Bloomberg last February. Since that time, she has met personally with more than 1,500 parents and community organizations, conferred extensively with parent advocates and elected officials, convened a Mayoral Task force on Parent Engagement, and organized numerous community meetings at which parents could share their views and concerns. On the basis of ideas and recommendations generated through this engagement process, Ms. Guerrier recommended, and the Chancellor approved, a number of significant structural and policy changes.
Most notably, the DOE has now consolidated under her leadership all of the parent support and engagement functions that previously had been distributed throughout the organization, including: 1) training and oversight of the 1,300 parent coordinators serving New York City public schools; 2) coordination of engagement efforts with the 32 Community Education Councils; 3) management of the translation unit; 4) leadership of a major initiative to ensure that every school has a well functioning Senior Leadership Team, 5) coordination with other city agencies to improve responsiveness to parent inquiries; and 6) replacing the regional parent support structure with a Community School District based organization to ensure greater access and responsiveness to parent concerns.
The DOE has also implemented new measures to enhance parent leadership. Principals will be evaluated in part based on the effectiveness of their School Leadership Teams, half of which is comprised of parents. The Chancellor’s regulation governing School Leadership Teams is being revised to articulate more extensively the roles and authority of parent members.
At a district level, the Community Education Councils, nine of whose eleven members are parents, will be asked to serve a more consultative role regarding the siting of new charter schools. Council members will also be asked to consult with internal Department of Education workgroups on issues like student achievement, school budgeting, facilities, and English Language Learner and Special Education services.
“The voices of parent leaders in New York City public schools are vital and irreplaceable,” Chief Family Engagement Officer Guerrier said. “We cannot have great schools without the participation of parents who are deeply committed to the success of schools. We are fortunate to have many diverse and passionate parent-advocates in every part of the City.”
Families will also have access to a rich vein of school and student performance data through accountability measurements first announced by the Mayor last fall and implemented across the system beginning this school year. These will all be available publicly and include:
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Contact: David Cantor / Dina Paul Parks (212) 374-5141
