 |
Parent Citizen Leaders
Asset Building in Schools
The parents participated in Imagine Chicago's
Parent Citizen Leaders program, which taught them how to
design and implement a project that would benefit their children's
school and the community.
The parent training program was adapted for use in schools from the
Citizen Leaders training
developed by Imagine Chicago in 1996.
Parents gave the program high marks for teaching them how to translate
their ideas into action and said it enabled them to become directly
engaged in their child’s school and the community. Factors shared
by the most successful programs included a very strong team commitment
with work being shared equitably, and a supportive school administration.
The Projects:
Of the ten projects below, it appears that at least seven and perhaps eight projects
will be sustained in 2001 and beyond.
Promotores de Salud – "Health Promoters"
Held
at Alfred
Nobel Elementary School, 4127 W. Hirsch
- The
project "Health Promoters" was a series of twelve workshops on
different health topics, which included: human sexuality, human
development, sexual abuse, depression and stress, cancer, feminine
hygiene, diabetes, self-esteem, substance abuse, sexually transmitted
diseases, and nutrition.
- The
workshops were held every Thursday in the parent resource room at Nobel
school.Average attendance was 18 people. Parents
contacted and invited speakers from diverse health organizations in the
community, who provided the workshops at no cost.
- A
graduation ceremony was held on June 13th at which time eleven
parents graduated. In order to graduate parents must have attended at
least 9 of the 12 workshops.
The program
was extremely successful with parents reporting not only that they learned
valuable information directly applicable to their own family’s health but
also they became aware of the many resources in their neighborhood that can be
readily accessed. The program had several positive impacts on the team members.
A team member said, "It helped me learn how to make decisions, and
increased my self-confidence through public speaking, something I had never
done before."
Pre-teen Walking Camp
Held at Alfred Nobel Elementary School and Chicago Park District
- This
project was designed for girls ages 10-13 of whom ten participated.
The goal was to involve the girls in something constructive during
their free time in order to keep them out of trouble, to give them a
chance to see the city, and to teach them that there is a broader world
outside their community.
- Walking
also taught them the importance of health and fitness. Another goal was to encourage the girls to act in an appropriate
way when they were out in public. They
also learned how to use the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority), traveling by bus to their destinations.
- The
first visit was to Navy Pier to which none of the girls had been before.
Students discussed behavior expectations and also went for a walk
along the lakefront. Each
student was required to keep a journal to write what she learned on each
trip. The girls subsequently made another trip to Navy Pier. The final trip was to the Lincoln Park Zoo, another previously
unvisited destination for all of the girls.
The team leader reported that the project had several positive outcomes not
the least of which was being able to gain the trust of the girls and their
mothers (most of the girls are being raised by a single mother who have little
time to spend on excursions). The
girls’ behavior on trips was excellent and they appreciated the fact that
there was someone who was interested in them and wanted to see them succeed.
Essence of Hope
Held
at Kelly
High School, 4136 S. California
- The
project consisted of one silk-screening workshop where parents learned how
to transfer an original two-color figure drawing onto a T-shirt. The workshop was incorporated into a regularly scheduled IASA
(Illinois Association of School Administrators) parent meeting.
- The
project reached an estimated 100 people in the school and community.
The
team leader reported that the Citizen Leaders program made a difference to her in
the way she organizes a project. She
reported that she now writes down her plan and realizes that in the group you
are a team player who mentors others to become leaders.
Community Taking Action
Involved students attending:
Englewood Technical Preparatory Academy, 6201 S. Stewart Ave
John Hope Community Academy, 5515 S. Lowe Ave
Robeson High School, 6835 S. Normal Boulevard
William Jones Metropolitan High School, 606 S. State Street
- The
project was designed to locate and administer community service
opportunities for students so that they could fulfill the 40-hour
community service-learning requirement for high school graduation.
- Students worked on a different project each month, generally
involving senior citizens. Students
met with the team leader on a weekly basis at Salem House Visitation Church to turn
in their time sheets, discuss issues and select the next service work.
- Students
participated in community clean-ups, an emergency food drive, worked with
the City of Chicago mobile doctor medical service, a CEDA energy service
project and social visiting to seniors in two senior citizen buildings.
- So
far eleven students have participated in the project, with one student
from William Jones completing the 40 hours.
- The
team leader estimates that her project will reach 50 people in the school and
community.
This
project is a good example of how a program can be run with virtually no dollar
cost but a lot of human capital.The
leader is an ardent community worker, has many contacts in the Englewood
community and has managed to put together a significant network of service
opportunities for the students ranging from City of Chicago service providers
to private organizations servicing seniors in the Englewood area. The leader reported
that since the students can only do the work at evening
hours or on the weekend it is somewhat of a challenge to get young teenagers
involved.
The
leader reported that the students’ work has resulted in improved
intergenerational relationships within the community as well as students
learning how to use public transportation in order to get to their work sites.
The leader is confident that she will continue to work with the students after
they have completed the 40 hours community service-learning requirement and
she is accepting new students for 2001.
Taste of Corliss
Held at Corliss
High School, 821 E. 103rd Street
- A
Taste of Corliss was conceived as a way to showcase Corliss
to the Roseland community as a safe and positive place for learning.
- The
project was conducted in two phases.The
first phase was an open house where parents attended classes and lunched
with the students. The second
phase was held during report card pick up. Team members prepared refreshments for students and Corliss
parents. Storyboards
displayed Corliss High School's participation in the Urban Imagination
Network and gave information about the parent programs. Books donated through Imagine Chicago supporters were
available for parents and students to choose. Alarm clocks were raffled as an encouragement for
students to be on time for school.
- The
project reached many people in the school and community.
Corliss parents rated the project as a great success. Very good teamwork and support from
parents, teachers and the school
administration were decided positive factors. Parents learned how their children acted with peers at school and they
learned how to work together as a group.
While there are no funds as yet to repeat this project, team members say that they
definitely want to do it in 2001 and will secure the necessary funds.
Town Hall Meetings
Held at Mildred J. Lavizzo Elementary School, 138 West 109th Street
- The
idea to have a town hall meeting was in response to concerns voiced by the
parents and community concerning Lavizzo School and its students. Parents were concerned about safety issues, drugs in the school and
the standard of education. The
goal of the town hall meeting was to connect parents and the Roseland
community to Lavizzo School and to keep the lines of communication open.
- The
first meeting, held in February, featured a number of speakers who focused
on education issues and building successful community partnerships. Flyers were distributed throughout the neighborhood to
ensure that the community had adequate notice of the meeting. Attendance numbered about twenty, including ten speakers.
- The
team leader plans to have another town hall meeting when school resumes in the New
Year. Lavizzo school parents
requested that the meeting focus on how to ensure a good education for
their children.
While
attendance was not high at the first meeting, despite the efforts of her
cohesive team to get the word out, the leader is encouraged by the positive comments
of the parents who attended.She believes that the meetings will foster further parent, teacher and community
participation in supporting Lavizzo School.
Libby's Crafters Club
Held at Arthur
A. Libby Elementary School, 5300 S. Loomis
- Libby's
Crafter’s Club was established to improve parent involvement at Libby
Elementary School. Parents, staff, and community members come together in the parent room
to share and learn crafting skills, including sewing, crocheting, and how to
recycle household trash into attractive useable items.
-
The class commenced
in March 2000 and meets once a month from 9-12 noon.
To date twenty parents, staff and community members regularly attend. The parents have
created picture frames from craft sticks, picture frames from scraps of felt,
straw hat refrigerator magnets, heart shaped papier
mâche jewelry boxes, paper cup herb gardens, and T-shirt paintings. Some of the items were donated to other staff and parents.
-
The team leaders cost
went over the $500 seed grant to $1,575 but she solicited and received
donations to cover the extra costs for materials. She received an anonymous donation of six sewing machines.
The leader is going to continue the club and will seek funding from a
Chicago Public School parental involvement mini grant, the Chicago Board of Education Grant
Department, as well as other donors and in kind donations.
The team leader
reported that the project has created much more interaction between staff,
parents and community members and that parents are getting involved who have
never participated in school activities. More parents are now interested in their children’s academic
achievement and communication between home and school increased. Parent tutors taught children how to
do some of the projects.
Good teamwork is a factor in the program's success. Although the leader presents the
workshops and designs the flyers and
notices, other team members post and distribute flyers and assist as needed. The leader said that she
learned good leadership skills and how to speak in
front of a large group without being nervous and recently gave a workshop to
seventy people at an IASA Regional Conference. She
cites her participation in the Parent Citizen Leaders program as
giving her the tools that enabled her to take an idea and make it a reality.
Green Leaf Art Club and Crafts
Held at Wendell
Green Elementary School, 1150 W. 96th Street
The
leader is a parent of a special education child and is continually trying to
find ways to help her son learn and raise his self-esteem. She noticed that although her son does not read well he is
musical and that when he is coloring or drawing he didn’t have competitive
or grade pressures. The
project was thus born out of her desire to help her son and other special
education children achieve their full potential.
- The
project, the first of its kind at Wendell Green Elementary, consists of
three classes in arts and crafts for special education students in grades
2 though 8. Grades 2 and 3
work together, as do 4 and 5, and 6 through 8. The classes are held once a
week.
- The
leader noted that in the process of any kind of creative activity the
children seem to be very relaxed and happy, and are proud of whatever they
create. She noted, "You can communicate to anyone through art expression. Everyone
has something different to express."
- The
project has strong support and participation from the school administration that
includes the principal, the counselor, three teachers and parent
volunteers. The leader noted
that the teachers are very dedicated and are willing to do anything that will help the
children reach their potential.
- The
arts and crafts classes reach about seventy-eight people in the school and
community.
- The
cost went over $500 to $560, which was covered through donations.
- Material
and information from the Urban Imagination
Network
monthly parent reading workshops with the students is shared with the
students. For example, in April 2000 she shared with them the activity on
plant science…the parts of a plant, how plants reproduce, how to dissect
a plant, etc and it was very well received.
The
leader noted that she learned the basics of how to write a successful
proposal, how to work closely with a group of people to make something work,
and how to follow steps in order to put something in place to make a
difference to people.
Her participation in the Parent Citizen Leaders
made a difference to her. She
said that she, “found out that there are dedicated people that really want
to help empower others to change theirs and others circumstances. "I had never had a chance to help people improve their schools
in any way but as a parent volunteer. Now I know that there are ways to get
people and resources together. This
has been very rewarding to me because I love to help others."
The leader plans to continue the workshops and is seeking in-kind contributions of
supplies. She is also getting
support from parents and the school to get funds through a bake sale.
Suder School Supply Store
Held at
Suder Elementary School, 2022 W. Washington Boulevard
- The
project team consisted of seven parents and the parent coordinator. They
received training in banking/accounting practices, ordering procedures,
pricing, scheduling, marketing, selling, and business management
techniques from area businesses.
-
The
supply store is open on Mondays and Thursdays from
8:15 - 8:45 a.m.
-
The
project reaches 450 people in the school and community.
The
Suder School Parent Group established a school store in order to:
-
Increase
the academic achievement levels of the students by providing school
supplies so they will be prepared to start the
school day.
- Increase
parental involvement by providing this opportunity for parents to assist
the students while teaching business skills to
the parents.
The parent coordinator reported that the Parent Citizen Leaders program taught her team how to
prepare a proposal connected to school and community involvement, how to
document and share progress, and how to take the most advantage of available
resources. The parent coordinator also noted that her participation in the program has helped
her to develop organizational and communication skills, and has strengthened
leadership participation in community projects.
The project will be sustained into the year 2001 through reinvestment of monies
generated from the store. Parents
will train other parents so that the store will be ongoing.
Garden Beautification
Held at Laura
Ward Elementary School, 410 N. Monticello Ave.
The
leader is an avid gardener and proposed a gardening project to beautify the
area around Laura Ward Elementary School and the neighborhood. The proposal was designed to help people take pride in the beauty of
their neighborhood and learn how to take care of their gardens. The garden
will be planted in the Spring of 2001.
-
Project
team meetings are held at the Garfield Park Conservatory, located about
two blocks from Laura Ward School.
-
The leader entered into an agreement with the Garfield Park Conservatory to work on a three-year
beautification partnership with Laura Ward School.
-
The
Garfield Park Conservatory will lend support or technical advice in the
areas of design, plant selection and programming, horticulture education
for children and adults and assist with community organizing plans.
Back to Top
|
|
