All Your Parents | Part 6: Develop Leaders and Mentors

With generous support from The Annenberg Foundation, NCFL developed All Your Parents = AYP, a parent involvement professional development framework. After a lengthy review of the current literature and successful parent involvement program models, and in consultation with parents and experts in the field, NCFL determined six important areas for successful engagement of parents to support children’s academic achievement.

Both teachers and parents can, and should be, leaders and mentors in a parent involvement partnership. As leadership and mentorship are built within the school or district, sustainability is magnified, schools meet their goals, and children succeed. Parents and teachers feel success as well.

Key Ideas

• Parents become involved at varying points along a continuum, building skills along the way.
• As involvement skills strengthen, parents become confident leaders and mentors.
• Involving parents in decision making, providing them with a voice, and including them on school committees and councils promotes leadership.
• Parents can and should be involved in the planning, review, evaluation, and improvement of school programs.
• As parents become leaders and mentors, they build capacity within the school to support ongoing parent involvement efforts.
• Mentorship involves peer support for teachers and staff to impact parent involvement; peer support for parents inspires new leaders and mentors.

Thoughts for Teachers

• Build your own skills as a parent involvement leader and mentor with other teachers.
• Do you provide ongoing support for parents as leaders or mentors?
• How do you identify and work with parents who show leadership skills?
• How often are parents involved in decision making in the classroom, school, or on advisory councils?
• Do you support parents as they work to achieve their leadership goals?
• Do you seek out parents’ ideas and opinions, and welcome their questions about school?

Ideas for Parents

• What skills have you gained to share with other parents?
• Mentor other parents to help them support their children’s learning.
• Form parent networks and join parent organizations.
• Assume leadership responsibilities when comfortable.
• Advocate for parent involvement.
• Model for your child the importance of being a leader.

For more information, visit the other All Your Parent guides: