Engaging Parents: A PIRC Best Practice Guide

On Wednesday, at the 2007 National Parental Information and Resource Center (PIRC) Conference in Baltimore, MD, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released Engaging Parents in Education, a best practice guide that profiles five PIRCs that are representative of how they and their partnering organizations can increase parental involvement in education.

The guide emphasizes the critical role that parents play under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and recognizes that getting the right resources and information to parents is a difficult task. That is why, according to the report, Congress created PIRCs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The first 28 PIRCs were funded by ED in 1995 and the role of the PIRCs has grown since then, helping state educational agencies and others implement NCLB’s parental involvement mandates. The most recent PIRC award cycle funds one PIRC per state with the requirement that the grantee serve parents and educators across the state. These grants also have considerable focus on parental understanding of NCLB, hence the issuance of this best practices manual.

To learn more about this issue please visit: http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2007/08/08012007.html

Resources:
“Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education Announces New Guide for Engaging Parents in Education,” U.S. Department of Education, Press Releases, August 1, 2007.
Author: DAD