Family Leadership Institute (FLI): Houston ISD 2004-2005 to 2009-2010 Robin Kuebler
Program Overview This program was created to promote family leadership skills for parents and caregivers of an atrisk population in HISD. Immigrant and migrant Hispanic parents and caregivers were offered 10 workshops conducted in Spanish that promoted parental engagement and parental involvement in their child s education. Ten modules, taught in a group setting in separate sessions, usually one per month during school year.
Executive Summary The Family Leadership Institute (FLI) is an educational curriculum aimed at parents and caregivers, with the goal of providing them with family leadership skills in order to support academic achievement and life success for their children. The program was offered in the district from 2004-2005 school year through 2009-2010. It was composed of ten modules, taught in a group setting in separate sessions, usually on per month throughout the school year. The curriculum and program materials were obtained from Education Achievement Services, Inc., of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Executive Summary Cont. The FLI was originally designed to serve immigrant and migrant Hispanic families. Its two main areas of emphasis were, first, to provide participating parents and caregivers with the skills and inspiration needed to enhance their own personal success and to allow them to serve as role models, for their children. Second, the program placed strong emphasis on parental engagement, and attempted to increase parents involvement in their children s education.
Workshops Home: Where Leadership Begins- participants identify their own leadership styles and preferences Self-Identity: Past, Present, and Future- self-identity, self-esteem and its effects on the family Living in Two Worlds: Cultural and Generational Perspectives- cultural pride and traditions highlighted, parents learn about pressures children face (drugs, peer pressure, teen pregnancy, etc) Storytelling and Journaling: Valuing Literacy Through Family History- placing value on reading and its effect on children s acquisition of reading skills Education: The Key Role to a Better Future- essential role of education in economic, social, and intellectual well-being of their children
Workshops cont. College Field Trip: What Does Success Look Like- participants visit a local college in order to understand that a college education for their child is an attainable goal Improving Family and School Relationships: Partnerships for Successstrategies for building relationships with teachers, staff, and administrators; parents as advocates Facing Challenges at Home: Coping Strategies for Success- identify barriers to personal and family success; setting goals Creating a Family Action Plan: Roadmaps to Success- parents develop vision, mission, goals and objectives; action plan for their children s success Celebrating Family Academic Excellence: Success as a Way of Life- families make presentations to educational administrators; share successes and their children s academic progress
Program Goals Increase engagement of families in their children s education. Provide purpose, tools, and direction to parents and their children to achieve academic success and success in life. Produce a cadre of knowledgeable and committed parents and caregivers who actively support school and community efforts to benefit their children and encourage other families to do the same.
Evaluation Goals Did parents who participated in the FLI have changes in their attitudes, beliefs, or skills in leadership skills? Did parents FLI participation have an effect on the academic performance of attitudes of their children?
Methods Formative: Parents: Preprogram interview the parents and ask what their needs, wants and goals are for the FLI. Interview questions: What do you hope to gain from your participation in the FLI? What topics would you like to have addressed in workshops provided by the FLI?
Methods Process: Parents: Give short survey in Spanish to parents at the end of each workshop to conclude if workshop was beneficial. Information presented today will help me with my leadership skills. Scale: Strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree
Methods Summative: Parents: Post program interview with parents. Interview Questions: Where your needs, wants and goals met from your participation in the FLI? What other workshops would have been beneficial to build your Leadership Skills?
Methods Formative: Trainers: Survey trainers and ask if they feel the FLI is a beneficial program. Find out if they buy into the program. Survey Question: Do you feel FLI will be beneficial to the parents and caregivers participating in the program? Strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree
Methods Process: Trainers: Interview trainers after each workshop. Interview Questions: What do you feel was the most valuable information presented during this workshop? Why do you feel this workshop was/was not valuable for the participants?
Methods Summative: Trainers: Post Program survey: Do you feel the FLI was beneficial to the participants? Strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree What topics do you feel should be excluded or included in a future FLI? Short answer
Training Workshop presenters should be trained in the area of expertise they are presenting on or should be a professional in the subject they are conducting the workshop on. Curriculum and materials obtained from Education Achievement Services, Inc. should be presented and taught to workshop trainers during a summer workshop.
Implementation Train workshop trainers during summer in service. Identify students of immigrant or migrant parents through demographic information gathered through student registration information. Referral to program by school administration and staff. Hold information meeting for parents, send home information, make home visits to invite parents to the program, call parents, have community meetings.
Implementation Hold workshops during the evenings or weekends, provide childcare and provide food, ie., snacks, drinks or light lunch. Send meeting reminders to parents via, phone call, flyer, or email. Include information about child care and food provided.
Activities College field trips Motivational speakers Practice positive self-talk to promote self-esteem School Psychologist to discuss peer pressures students face Counselor to train parents on storytelling and journaling
Data Analysis Pre-test and Post test students to look at academic progress Analysis pre and post test benchmark exams to look for a correlation between implementation of FLI and academic achievement Gather data on students whose parents were participants in FLI and college attendance Gather data from summative surveys and interviews to gain understanding if the program is helping the participants and their children.