1	The Parent as an Advocate: Training the Trainer Karen Yarn Baltimore County PTA Council General Meeting and Fall Workshop October 24, 2002
2	Objective This is a train-the-trainer workshop. The purpose of the workshop is to teach PTA officers and committee members how to embrace and instruct parents in the art of advocacy so that the parents can fully support their children in their pursuit of academic excellence. Using The Parent as Advocate handbook and various other materials, local PTA boards should arrange to conduct parent training sessions, preferably at the beginning of the school year. Doing so gives the parent an opportunity to start the school year off right.
3	Workshop Logistics In order to effectively impart advocacy skills to a large number of parents, the workshops should: Take no more than 1 and ½ hours Be held at least 2 times a year Provide refreshments and childcare ( responsible students needing community service hours can supervise a group of children watching a movie and/or a “game night” ) Consist of PTA board officers and committee members, parents, the principal and/or the assistant principal, a few teachers, and the school counselor. It is imperative that the latter be on hand to answer questions about school policy and procedure.
4	Include the Following Hand-outs The PTA Mission statement A list of PTA officers and chairpersons with their telephone numbers The Parent as Advocate Handbook Copies of the Parent/Guardian Rights, Expectations and Responsibilities brochure published by Baltimore County Public Schools and distributed by the Office of Equity Assurance (410-887-2446) A list of Board of Education administrators, i.e., superintendent, deputy superintendent, area executive director, etc., with their telephone numbers, fax numbers The Checklist for Helping Your Child With Homework A Homework Schedule
5	Include the Following Hand-outs(cont) Copies of Procedural Safeguards Parental Rights booklets for parents of special education students published by the Maryland State Department of Education and available in every school. The Resource Center For Families and Schools (410-887-5443) is a good place to obtain assistance in understanding parent’s rights. A pack of 3x5 index cards and pens, everyone gets one card and one pen The Parent-Teacher Conference Form
6	Getting Started Welcome and thank the parents/guardians for coming out and participating in what will be a very useful and empowering workshop on becoming an effective advocate for their child. Introduce and thank the school staff persons for taking time from their busy schedules to be there to answer any questions related to school policy and procedures. Parents, children and schools, working in partnership, can ensure the success of each and every student. Inform them that by the end of the workshop they will have acquired some of the skills that needed in order to effectively communicate and address the needs of their child in the school setting.
7	Getting Started (cont) Give out the handouts, materials, and name tags which everyone will fill out with their complete names, and in the case of the parents, their child’s name. Take 2-3 minutes to do a warm-up activity that everyone participates in. This activity should involve some movement in order to “wake up” the participants since they’ve had refreshments. A second activity will give everyone an opportunity to become familiar with one another. A stretching exercise and, an activity involving passing an object from person to person, at which point, the person holding the object tells two or three things about themselves, i.e., their name, hobbies, job, # of children in their household, etc., are a few suggestions. The building up of “trust and good will” will be necessary later on in the workshop when volunteers will be asked to participate a in a role-play.
8	Getting Started (cont) Ask the parents to take 5 minutes and write on one side of the 3x5 index card, about a problem that their child is or was having in school. Ask them not to use any names in the description. Let them know that a few scenarios will be randomly chosen for a role play activity later on in the work shop. Collect the index cards. Hand out and ask participants to look at the handouts. Have a PTA officer read the PTA Mission Statement out loud. Ask everyone to take a look at the Parent As Advocate handbook. They will be using it as a guide during this part of the workshop.
9	Getting Started (cont) Go through the handbook, giving them a few minutes to read each section and invite them to ask questions at any time during the workshop. Teachers, the principal/assistant principal, and the school counselor are on hand to answer questions. Other parents should be encouraged to respond to questions as well. Often a parent has encountered the same situation and can contribute significantly to the situation. Ask the participants if they need a bathroom break or would they like to continue on.
10	The Role Playing Shuffle the index cards and randomly pick one for the role-play. Read the card and ask for volunteers to re-enact the situation (you will probably need 3 or 4 free standing chairs for this activity). Give the actors a minute or so to read the card and then position themselves on the “stage”. The actors will have 5 minutes to act out the situation. Invite the audience to comment by asking questions such as: Could the situation been prevented or approached another way? Did the audience relate to how the actors/parents were feeling?
11	The Role Playing (cont.) Invite the audience to comment by asking questions such as: Did anyone in the audience experience the same or a similar situation? What kinds communication techniques can be used in a situation like this? Allow the actors/parents to talk about how they were feeling while they were going through the process. Time permitting, do as many different role-plays as possible. The more you do, the greater the possibility of covering a variety of situations and getting a larger number of concerns heard and questions answered. Ask the school staff to comment on the communication techniques that were used during the skit; which would be more effective and, school procedures that apply.
12	Wrapping Things Up Thank the actors/parents for volunteering and encourage everyone to clap for them. Thank the school staff, the PTA coordinators who arranged for and facilitated the workshop, and the students who, by volunteering to participate in a community service project, childcare, made it possible for the parents to participate in the workshop. Lastly, remind parents that “ They are their child’s first teacher” and, “The more involved they are in their child’s academic career, the greater their child’s potential for success”.