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Alliance for College-Ready
Public Schools
523 West 6th Street Suite 1234
Los Angeles, CA 90014
Phone: 213.943.4930
Fax: 213.943.4931
email: info@laalliance.org
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Parent Partners
Parents stream into Richard Merkin Middle Academy, greeting each other warmly and chatting about the books that they have brought with them. It’s the beginning of the new Family Literacy Training Workshop, giving new meaning to the concept of parent power.
The host of the Merkin Literacy training is Manuela Guzman, a parent herself and driving force on the campus to draw parents into active involvement with their children’s education. She is the parent liaison at Merkin, joining a cadre of women on most Alliance campuses whose jobs are to make parent engagement important to students and meaningful for the parents themselves. “Research proves that students are more successful when their parents participate actively in their education – both at home and at school,” says Mary Louise Silva, the Alliance’s Director of Parent-Community Engagement. “Our parent liaisons make that happen.”
All Alliance parents sign a compact, pledging 40 hours of volunteer time on campus each year. Half of that time goes to support the school directly such as helping a teacher. The other half involves attending parent workshops or going on field trips, etc. Alliance parent liaisons aim to coordinate and encourage such involvement.
Parent liaisons like Marta Pizter at Math & Science School (MASS) are making a difference. More than half the MASS parents have already worked 40 hours or more, and the school year has a semester to go. At CRAHS #4, liaison Marlene Lucero recruited 80 parents to a Blueprint Parent Training. HP’s Genevieve Garcia was a teacher in Mexico and brings a special understanding about involving parents in school activities. At Gertz-Ressler, Debra Bowen is working to open a Parent Center on campus.
“The parent liaisons are doing a terrific job of engaging our parent communities, says Alliance CEO Judy Burton. “Their support and direction of parent activities have added a new strength to the opportunities our schools provide for students.”
