What is the Parent Partnerships program? 

This program is designed specifically for a single school site where school staff is committed to enriching and expanding the partnership between school and home.  This program uses a 25 item on-line survey completed by school staff and parents that will provide your school with a wide range of data on current and future parent partnership activities.  This data is ideal for use in setting current and future priorities on parent involvement as well as providing your school and district with a rich source of information for use in grant proposals, required reports on the status of parent involvement (Title I, REACh, etc), and communicating with parents and the community about parent involvement goals and priorities. 

This survey, and the subsequent report provided to your school, is designed around the six types of parent involvement as defined by Dr. Joyce Epstein and the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University.  The Epstein model is the recognized standard nationally for defining parent involvement and is the model used by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. 

Parents Plus is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing school-parent partnerships.  Parents Plus designed this program as a way for a school site to quickly and inexpensively get started in expanding and enriching its school-parent partnerships.  It is our wish that every school that is committed to strengthening parent involvement will consider using Parent Partnerships.  To learn more about this program or arrange for an on-site visit or presentation, please contact Yvette Dobbs via email or phone at 414-755-8702.

What will our school staff and parents learn from this survey? 

The data collected from your survey will provide a rich variety of data on present and future parent partnerships at your school:

• How do school staff members and parents rate the current level of parent partnership activities at your school? 
• What do school staff members and parents feel are the most important parent partnerships to pursue in the future?
• How well do staff members and parents agree on current activities and future priorities? 
• How well-balanced is your current program and future priorities according to the six types of parent involvement framework developed by Dr. Joyce Epstein?  
• How do various sub-groups compare on survey responses (by grade level, by job classification, by low income parent, by ethnic/cultural group)?

Why consider using the Parent Partnerships program? 

• It is the quickest, most convenient, and least costly program to help a local school analyze and prioritize its parent involvement activities. 
• The on-line format promotes maximum participation by school staff and parents and is available in both English and Spanish. 
• Parents Plus will provide your school with a complete report and planning document that summarizes the survey results, including comparative data, planning templates for use in a workshop setting, and additional resources for use in future programming.
• Additional resources are available to help with your school’s planning effort.  Parents Plus, along with other partner organizations, is available to assist your school site in its planning effort (such as planning worksheets; facilitating workshops; networking; or connecting with national resources).