For Families
Guides to School Systems and NCLB
Parent Leadership and Education Programs
College Access Resources
The College Foundation of North Carolina: This organization has brought together a large number of resources for parents and students to help plan and pay for college. They offer several documents in Spanish, including a guide for parents and a guide to financial aid.
College $ense: Developed by City University of New York GEAR UP Programin collaboration with the Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC), this site features videos of several students from New York City. Each video addresses a particular family situation and financial-aid roadblock. The videos are available in several languages, including Spanish, and are also available as transcripts only.
Destination: University: This 40-page guide is produced by the Hispanic Scholarship Foundation and is published in both English and Spanish. It offers useful information for applying for and financing a college education.
Federal Student Aid Website: This website is available entirely in Spanish. It offers many resources related to financial aid, including information about the FAFSA.
A Guide for Parents: Ten Steps to Prepare Your Child for College (Cómo Preparar a su Hijo para los Estudios Universitarios en 10 Pasos): This short piece offers practical advice to parents to help their children go on to college. The document covers important steps for families to take, beginning when their child enters preschool and continuing through high school. The document was developed by College is Possible and initiative of the American Council on Education (ACE).
Guide for Parents by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC): This guide addresses college preparation and can be ordered free from NACAC in either Spanish or English. It was specifically designed for middle-grades parents and covers topics such as what courses students should take in middle school and financial aid.
Hacia Adelante - Pathways to College - A Guide for Latino Families: This publication of the Intercultural Development Research Association informs parents and students on how to plan together for college. The guide provides basic information on college through a planning workbook, which includes steps for choosing high school courses, selecting a college or university, financial aid planning, and an action calendar. Available free in PDF in English and Spanish.
Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans Website and Secondary School Toolkit: This federal education website offers relevant news, as well as tools for students of all ages. The secondary school toolkit is designed for students, yet parents will find the information equally valuable. The kit includes information about the classes needed to get into college, the required tests, how to select the right school, and how to finance a college education. The entire web site is available in Spanish or English.
Latino College Dollars: Scholarships for Latino Students: Produced by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, this 2007-2008 directory lists scholarships and grants targeting Latino students. The scholarships are listed by sponsoring organization name, citizenship requirements, education level of applicant, application deadline, and minimum GPA. Visit the website to download the full directory or use their search feature to find a relevant scholarship. A word to parents is included in English and Spanish.
Postsecondary Education English-Spanish Glossary (Clicking here begins a PDF download): This extensive glossary of terms was created by a network of organizations who are dedicated to increasing access to post-secondary education for Latino students across the country. The network includes the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, National Association for College Admission Counseling, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, National Council for Community and Education Partnerships, National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs, TG, U.S. Department of Education, and U.S. General Services Administration.
Sallie May FundPaying for College Initiative Website: This website offers several resources in Spanish including tips for college admissions and financial aid, as well as a guide for parents. It also features a short film (English with Spanish subtitles) about the financial aid process. They also run a free workshop, offered in Spanish, that travels to different parts of the country called “On the Road: The Paying for College Tour.”
Trip to College: Developed by the Indiana Youth Institute, this site is designed to help parents prepare financially for college costs. The site untangles the complex maze of financial aid, scholarships, and student loans. It gives parents specific and easy-to-use information based on a child’s age and the family’s finances. In a companion website, students learn about going to college through a video game format. The site can be used at home with parents and during after-school youth programs.
Guides to School Systems and NCLB
Education in the United States: This parent primer was developed by ENLACE to help immigrant families become more familiar with the US school system, including testing, standards, NCLB, parent involvement, and college preparation. The guide is available in English and Spanish.
Ensuring the Academic Success of Our Children (clicking here begins a PDF download): Developed by the Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition, this guide provides information about the education system at the school, district, state and federal levels; parental rights and responsibilities; parent expectations; effective parent engagement in schools and how parents can support their children's learning at home. Available in English and Spanish.
Guide to Help Latino Parents Improve Their Children's Education: Published by the Education Trust, this guide offers a number of suggestions for how Latino parents can get involved and be a better advocate for the education of Latino children. It is available in English and Spanish.
Guide to Your Child's School: This guide for parents was produced by the Adult Learning Resource Center and funded by the Illinois State Board of Education and Department of Human Service. It is geared towards recent immigrants and is available in six languages including Spanish and English. The guide provides general information about the school system in the United States, as well as Illinois, including school structures, procedures, and the role of the family.
KSA Plus Communications/Connect for Kids Website and Parent Leadership Starter Kit: KSA Plus Communications has joined up with the advocacy group, Connect for Kids, to help parent leaders become more effective advocates and decision makers. The website features articles on parent involvement, a blog for parent leaders, and free documents such as “Eight Tips for Reading Your School’s Report Card”and “Twelve Things Parents Should Know and Expect.”The Parent Leadership Starter Kit pulls together many of the resources, both free and for purchase, offering advice about the use of data, report cards, and other No Child Left Behind tools.
No Child Left Behind: What’s in It for Parents? (clicking here begins a PDF download): The No Child Left Behind Act requires school districts that enroll low-income, underserved students to adopt formal policies to engage parents in school. With funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Parent Leadership Associates produced a 40-page, Spanish-language guide for parent leaders about opportunities provided by the law.
Parents’Guide to School Involvement: This short guide produced by the National Education Association (NEA) is designed to help parents and community members become more involved. It outlines the types of activities parents can undertake to become more actively involved, such as attending parent/teacher conferences or talking to a school counselor.
Toolkit for Hispanic Families/Guia de Recursos para las Familias Hispanas: This toolkit from the U.S. Department of Education shows parents what to expect from their children, their children's schools, and their children's teachers at all ages and grade levels. It addresses how parents can help their children through school, what resources are available, and what they, their family, and their communities can do to help their children learn. Available in English and Spanish.
Parent Leadership and Education Programs
ASPIRA Parents for Educational Excellence (APEX): This program/curriculum was designed by ASPIRA specifically for Latino parents. APEX workshops help parents build skills to become more actively involved by supporting, monitoring, and advocating for their children’s education.
Center for Parent Leadership at the Prichard Committee: The Center runs the Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership whichhas trained over 1200 parents in several states, building their leadership skills to be able to enact change in their local schools and support educators to make needed improvements. Their website offers publications for parents and more information about the institutes.
National Parent School Partnership Program: This program and accompanying curriculum is produced by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). The curriculum trains parents, school staff, and community organizations. The curriculum includes sessions on parents’rights and responsibilities, the structure of schools, parent/teacher conferences, leadership, and college preparation for students. The curriculum and a training manual are available for purchase.
Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE): This California-based training program was designed to help low-income, ethnically-diverse parents assist and advocate for their children. The PIQE curriculum for parents covers topics such as home/school connections, communication and discipline, the school structure, college and career election, and children and gangs.
Disclaimer: The PALMS Project, Lumina Foundation for Education and/or Education Development Center are not responsible for any information that may be found on other Web sites linked from the PALMS Project website. Visitors are encouraged to report any perceived problems with this Web site to palms@edc.org
