Strategies that Work
Daunted by institutions they don’t understand and grappling with the constraints of limited incomes, thousands of Latino parents feel a nagging, daily helplessness to make a significant difference in the life chances of their children. The programs selected for the PALMS Parent Outreach Study sought to address what we might call a “resigned desperation” by making a path for parents to act on behalf of their sons and daughters.
Program personnel often found that at first many parents did not believe that they indeed could play an important role in the process of furthering their children’s education. “Parents want to see their kids do well, but they aren’t sure how to help. They are intimidated by the school system,” said one program director. This uncertainty and intimidation often results in a wider gulf between parents and institutions. In contrast, parents who have an understanding of how to access school- and university-based services, become indispensable allies to their children and to program staff. As another program leader put it, “Involved parents feel more connected [and more able] to get the kind of help that they need for their kids.”
During our interviews, we set out to discover how programs foster this kind of involvement and connectedness among parents. We asked questions such as, “What do you do to draw parents in? How do you keep them engaged and active?” We documented several strategies that both address parents’ need for information about the educational system and facilitate parents’ relationships with school personnel. We saw, in fact, that these two areas are consistently at play with one another, reinforcing the other for better or worse. That is, when parents have information about the school system, they are more likely to seek out the help of school personnel as problems arise. The converse is also true.
When describing how knowledge about the school system impacts parent behavior, the director of a GEAR UP program gave the following example: “We offered a workshop on how to read report cards. When report cards came out, the parents that [attended] called us to say, ‘My child got two D’s. What can I do now?’ They might not know exactly where to go, but they know that they can come to us. Whereas the parents that we never got [to attend the workshop], don’t make those calls, or they don’t come in.”
While the strategies presented here were designed to give parents a greater role in preparing their children for college, it could be argued that, on a deeper level, the strategies actually aim to transform parents’ perceptions of their own efficacy. One program leader remarked that before becoming involved in her city’s program, parents “didn’t know they had a voice, and that they can go to a counselor” and request more opportunities for their child. Another leader spoke of journeying with parents “to places where they normally would not go” and seeing them become comfortable in approaching community leaders—even state legislators. We hope the material offered in this section will promote a continuing transformation of Latino families across the country.
