First he called on educators. Then he enlisted community members. Now Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is looking to parents as the next key to keep struggling students plugged into school and on track for graduation.
VIP鈥攕hort for Very Important Parent鈥攔ecruiters would be hired to serve as a resource for other parents in the 551 elementary, middle, and high schools across the state with the worst attendance rates, under a proposal the governor has made to the legislature.
The program 鈥渨ill help parents take a vested interest in their child鈥檚 education and remain involved throughout their child鈥檚 academic career,鈥� Gov. Perdue, a second-term Republican, said earlier this month when he announced the initiative.
A VIP recruiter, according to materials from the governor鈥檚 office, would be a 鈥渄esignated contact鈥� at the school, offering suggestions on how parents could better work with teachers to improve student achievement, informing new families about parent responsibilities, and pointing parents to outside resources that might help them.
Misplaced Spending?
According to the plan, each of the eligible schools would receive a $25,000 grant for the program, with the expectation that all or most of it would go for salary. If schools wanted to supplement the program by adding fringe benefits or increasing salary, they would have to use local money.
But some observers have questions about the role the VIP recruiters would play and whether the $14.25 million the governor wants to spend on the program in fiscal 2009 would be the best use of state money.
鈥� Paid 鈥済raduation coaches鈥� in high schools and middle schools to work with students who are falling behind.
鈥� Volunteer 鈥渃ommunity coaches鈥� drawn from the business community to back up the graduation coaches and help put them in touch with resources.
鈥� Withdrawal of driver鈥檚 licenses from students who have at least 10 unexcused absences from school or who have dropped out.
鈥� Proposed VIP, or Very Important Parent, recruiters who would work with parents and school staff members on student achievement and other issues.
SOURCE: 澳门跑狗论坛
鈥淚s it somewhere between a guidance counselor and a social worker?鈥� said Karen Hallacy, the legislative chair for the Georgia PTA.
Ms. Hallacy said the program could become another burden on school districts that are already financially strapped. She suggested that instead of turning the grants over to local districts, the state department of education could hire parents who would work across district and county lines.
Still, she said she sees potential in the position if the VIP recruiters help other parents 鈥渇igure out all the ropes of the system.鈥� Joyce Epstein, a sociology professor and family-involvement expert at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said she knows of interest among schools and education groups throughout Georgia in building stronger partnerships with parents.
鈥淭his means more than just inviting鈥攐r recruiting鈥攑arents to get involved,鈥� she said. The state might be better able to increase parent participation in schools with high truancy rates, she added, if officials focused instead on instituting parent-involvement leaders and 鈥渢eams鈥� that were connected to school councils or school improvement committees.
Graduation Coaches
The proposed new position is the latest step Gov. Perdue has taken to raise Georgia鈥檚 graduation rate.
Beginning with the 2006-07 school year, to work specifically on monitoring students who might be falling behind and on designing plans to help them catch up and graduate on time. (鈥淕raduation Coaches Pursue One Goal,鈥� Nov. 15, 2006.)
This school year, the program expanded to middle schools, after the governor said he recognized that students often begin to withdraw from educational pursuits long before high school. In all, roughly $46 million is being spent on the graduation-coach program for 2007-08.
Also this school year, after issuing a challenge to the state鈥檚 business community, Mr. Perdue launched a 鈥渃ommunity coach鈥� program, which creates a volunteer corps of business people to work with the graduation coaches and mobilize resources in the community. (鈥淕eorgia鈥檚 Graduation-Coach Team to Grow,鈥� Oct. 17, 2007.)
The community-coach initiative was conceived, in part, to relieve the graduation coaches from having to track down tutoring, internships, and other opportunities in the community that might help students meet their goals.
Jay Smink, the executive director of the National Dropout Prevention Center, based at Clemson University in South Carolina, said the proposed VIP recruiters might help the graduation coaches in another way.
鈥淵ou cannot have the graduation coach knocking on doors. They lose their power and influence,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut regardless, it鈥檚 critical that someone is knocking on the doors.鈥�
Having a paid employee instead of a volunteer working in that role, however, takes the position to another dimension, he added.
鈥淲hat they become is a truant officer who just happens to be a parent,鈥� Mr. Smink said.
Jobs for Parents
Hiring parents鈥攐ften to serve as liaisons or coordinators of volunteer activities鈥攊s not a new approach for schools and districts that are trying to bridge a gap between the home and the classroom.
In 2003, the New York City school district hired a parent coordinator for each school in the city.
At the beginning of the program, parents wondered whether the coordinators would be just another layer of bureaucracy or would prove to be a helpful resource for parents with questions.
Five years later, the position 鈥渋s a solid part of the school operation鈥� said Maribe Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the 1.1 million-student district. She added that because of the district鈥檚 racially and ethnically diverse population, the parent coordinator 鈥渋s crucial.鈥�
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg highlighted the program as one of his accomplishments when he gave his State of the City address Jan. 17.
鈥淭he families of New York expect a lot from their schools鈥攁nd they have every right to,鈥� the mayor said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the people we have to answer to. That鈥檚 why one of our first steps was putting parent coordinators in every school.鈥�
In the 694,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District, parents have long worked as directors of parent centers at schools, where families can find resources to help their children at home and information on other services in the community.
And the 174,000-student Philadelphia school district has hired parents for the past five years to work specifically on going to the homes of students who are not in school. The hope is that parents working in such a role might be better able than a traditional law-enforcement officer to gain insight into the reasons a student is skipping classes.
In Georgia, if the program is approved by the legislature, the VIP recruiters will work with partners who are already considered effective, the graduation and community coaches, said Marshall Guest, a spokesman for Gov. Perdue鈥檚 office.
鈥淎dding a parent into that mix,鈥� he said, 鈥渃an only help.鈥�
