Deb Black, Indianapolis Public Schools’ parent involvement coordinator, has decades of experience in education, so she knows a thing or two about what works.
“I’m an educator for almost 40 years now, and I know the key element has to be parents in partnership with schools,” Black said.
It’s why she’s an enthusiastic supporter of Stand University for Parents (Stand UP), a program of Stand for Children Indiana that aims to get parents and community members more involved in their children’s education and on track to college or career readiness.
The Stand UP program launched in January of 2014, and 240 parents have become Stand UP graduates since.
Ashley Thomas, a graduate of the first Stand UP class, is now a facilitator with the program, helping other parents through the process. She said once parents learn about the program and start coming to the classes, it’s a big hit, but getting the word out can be tough. This year, the program has expanded from being offered at four schools to being available in six locations, including some community centers.
“I’m really excited about the community center move, because we want to serve the entire community. One of the things we’ve run into when we’re in one particular school is that other parents are like, ‘Can I come there? Is that OK?’” she said. “The schools have always been open to that, but we just want to be able to serve the entire community. And what better way to do that than through a community center? They’re already serving numerous families.”
Programs are underway at Community Alliance of the Far Eastside Inc., John H. Boner Community Center, James Russell Lowell School 51, George Buck School 94 and Washington Irving School 14. The program will begin in early May at the Martin Luther King Community Center.
Attendees can expect to learn anything from how to encourage reading at home and have an effective parent-teacher conference, to building strong partnerships with school leaders and navigating the legislative processes that affect their kids’ schools.
“When we have a baby, we get What to Expect When You’re Expecting, but after that, when it comes to navigating the education system, we don’t get a manual. Stand UP is really like that manual,” Thomas said.
Earl Scott (pictured), a recent graduate of the Stand UP program, said he was surprised to learn how many people have a direct impact on his children’s school.
“(The facilitator) asked the question like, ‘How many people directly affect your child’s life before they go to school in the morning?’ I thought, the people who have a direct effect on their lives is me when they wake up in the morning, then the bus driver, then their teacher,” Scott said. “There are more than 20 people who have an effect on my children’s lives before they even walk out the door in the morning. I didn’t know how deep it was. That’s one thing I took from Stand that stuck with me.”
Scott, a single father with three children in his care, said he’s implemented some of what he learned in Stand UP, and he has seen results.
“I have a designated spot for them, and I decorated that spot, for their homework. Before, they would just come to the kitchen table,” he said. “But now, they have a designated spot, and their grades are improving; it’s effective.”
Scott said since participating in the Stand UP program, he is communicating better with school administrators.
“That’s something I’d never done in their school at all. I always communicated with my children’s teachers, but the difference is I’m communicating now with the principal of the school and making things happen with him,” he said. “It’s improved the experience, because now in the school they know me, they know my children. So they have my children on point, so to speak.”
Thomas said when she started the program, she didn’t think she had much to learn, but she quickly learned she’d been mistaken. As a facilitator, she now gets to see other parents experience the same epiphany.
“I always see an evolution of the caterpillar to the butterfly, and I include myself in that. I had no clue, really. Before I showed up to my first class, I said, ‘I know these things; I’m not worried about this.’ It’s so funny how silent I stayed through the first five weeks of the class, because there was so much I did not know,” she said. “I’ve watched parents evolve from point A to point B to being rock star parents simply because they’ve been able to say, ‘These are my shortcomings, but I’m not going to use that as a barrier, because I want better for my child.’”
To sign up for free Stand UP classes (including free food and child watch), contact INinfo@stand.org or call (317) 759-2640.
