Parent Leadership Institutes are now  planned/implemented in Jackson, Mississippi with Parents for Public Schools (sponsored in part by Hasbro Foundation); in Ft. Lauderdale, FL through the Urban League of Broward County (sponsored by Washington Mutual); in Charlotte, NC with the Charlotte Advocates for Education, and in Wilmington, DE with the Rodel Foundation.

In these locations we spent a year or more helping the local host develop a program similar to our Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership. This is a serious, aggressive advocacy program linked to standards-based reform and aimed at increasing student achievement (for more information regarding the Commonwealth Institute, go to www.cipl.org)

For all clients we help assess community/school needs, conduct workshops for their board and staff, help them decide whether to proceed (this is “their” program, so they must decide) design implementation plans based on their needs and resources, and then help them create and implement the parent leadership program. About 70% of the CIPL curriculum is transferable to other states/locales.  The remaining 30% we help the client design.  In addition, we provide all planning and organizational materials.

The host organization gains the capacity to offer a  program that can be offered to parents repeatedly. Following launch we can, if the host wishes, help evaluate the process, make adjustments, take next steps, and much more.