Parent Educators Network
2002 - 2008

The Parent Educators Network was supported through the funding of grants by the National Science Foundation. Working with parents is identified as a strong component of the work that the El Paso Collaborative carries out in the region’s schools. The purpose of the Parent Educators Network is twofold:

• to develop the capacity of parents to understand, support and enact learning at high levels for their children and themselves through a variety of strategies focused on content and leadership; and,
• to transform the beliefs and attitudes of schools to ones that nurture, support and have high expectations of parents and their roles in schools.

Through the Parent Educators Network, participants took part in seminars, trainings and workshops, plus an annual regional parent conference, all with the aim of increasing their ability to support their children’s education, as well as extending their learning to more parents at their schools.

Working in conjunction with the Think College Now Texas Scholars Initiative, presentations were delivered to parents from every grade level at the schools’ request. The information included not only the content and procedure of what the 8th and 9th grade students’ were experiencing, but also critical data for parents on why all students need to be prepared so that they have the option to go to college when they graduate from high school. Also covered were the significant impact of high level mathematics and science teaching and learning at all grade levels, the important role that parents play in their students’ success, and the ways to support their children’s education. Many parents expressed their appreciation and interest at the end of sessions.