Family (Parent) and Community Involvement

MISSION:

The F&CI Network will provide resources/training opportunities to promote more effective Family and Community in campus/districts throughout the Region.  Services will include:  networking meetings to share BEST PRACTICES, conference updates, distribution of information/materials, lending library, various training for parent educators to prepare them to present workshops in their communities.  Program development will be based on the identified needs of the F&CIN membership.  Initiatives are supported through Gifted/Talented, Learn & Serve America, Migrant, Safe & Drug Free Schools & Communities, Special Education, Title I School Support, and others as identified.

ESC-2 CONTACTS:

HISTORY:

The Family & Community Involvement Network (F&CIN) is a natural extension of ESC 2 program/funding sources (i.e. Title I, Migrant, Safe and Drug Free Schools, Special Education, Equity, G/T etc. that contain a parental involvement component in order to improve student achievement.  It began in the fall of 1996, when ESC 2 staff identified parental involvement as one of five focus areas to be addressed center wide.  We formed an internal committee of consultants across program areas who were interested in meeting with stakeholders throughout the region to identify needs and develop a plan of action.  It was our intent to pull together those PI trainings/activities/resources that were already available and promote their implementation, coordinate our efforts and possibly reduce duplication, determine what was needed to strengthen our services, improve communication with those responsible for enhancing parental involvement at the district and/or campus level, and in general use our funds mores wisely.

The initial meeting for the F& CIN was held at the ESC 2 on February 10, 1997.  District and campus parent liaisons (facilitators, educators, contacts, etc.) were provided a survey and invited to attend this meeting, as well as become a member (no fee membership) of F&CIN. Our goals are to have active representation from every district and campus and to promote and recognize six types of (parent) family involvement based on Joyce Epstein's work at Johns Hopkins University. 

That first spring, twelve (12) districts joined with a membership of twenty-two (22) parent liaisons.  By the following fall, there was a membership of sixty-two (62) parent liaisons from forty-eight (48) campuses and twenty (20) districts.  Currently we have a membership of one hundred forty-four (144) from thirty-three (33) districts.  An additional goal is to prepare the membership to run their Network an share their accomplishments in trainings and conferences within the region, the state, and nation.

We hold three to four Family & Community Involvement Network meetings each year with an agenda that exposes liaisons to available resources/trainings from programs/sources beyond what they know and allows them an opportunity to share "best practices" and gather suggestions for possible solutions to concerns they have about their campus/district family involvement efforts.  Some of the topics that we have explored are: types of family involvement, parent centers (held on-site in the Kingsville ISD Parent Center and the Robstown ISD Parent Center), training volunteers, school parent compacts, Child Find, identifying and reporting child abuse, overview of parent facilitator trainings available (T.O.T.s from no less than six programs), showcase agencies and resources to assist with family needs, Family Learning Events, and exploration of Internet Resources for Parents.  Members have presented and/or facilitated many sessions. In addition to these Network meetings, program consultants have continued with workshops specific to families and children with special needs that their funding source addresses.

We are providing nine newsletters monthly with a license to reprint for staff parents, and community to all schools within Region 2, using funds from Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities, Special Education, Title I, and Migrant.  They are "The Educator's Notebook on Family Involvement" and "Parents Make A Difference" which is distributed in English and Spanish at four different levels-School Readiness, Elementary, Middle School, and High School. We are also distributing to the membership at meetings or mailing out periodically, quality materials from sources like the USDE, National PTA, TEA, other organizations and agencies.  We have printed a catalogue of videos and print materials (targeted to families) and housed at the ESC 2, that parent liaisons and others may check out.

We have parent educators (funded through SDFSC) that can go on-site to provide trainings as requested by SDFSC Shared Services Arrangement Member Districts or with a charge to non member districts.  We support with planning time. presenters, participation and dollars a number of conferences targeted to enhance parent involvement in our schools and build parenting skills.  They include:  a mini conference for Network members, designed specifically to build the skills of parent facilitators; ESC 2 Migrant Parent Involvement Conference (annual for many years), Texas Parent Coordinating Council (TPCC) Conference, the Statewide Parent Involvement Conference provided by TEA which was brought to Corpus Christi in October '99 due to the insistence and support of the Network and others such as ACET, TAPE, and the Governor's Volunteer Leadership Conference.