Charleston, WV—Giving parents a strong voice in education—that's the goal of the federally funded Parental Information and Resource Centers, or PIRCs. West Virginia Parent Connections at Edvantia is one of these PIRCs, and it just received notice that funding will be provided to continue its services for a fourth year.
Notification of the $595,559 award came from Dr. Anna Hinton of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation and Improvement. To the PIRC directors whose funding was continued, she wrote, "We have officially completed the review process for your annual performance reports and . . . you have demonstrated substantial progress; and, overwhelmingly described the important and valuable work you're doing around parental involvement."
West Virginia Parent Connections works with a network of regional resource partners and skilled consultants to help parents and educators work together to improve education for the state's children. Every year West Virginia Parent Connections serves thousands of parents and educators across West Virginia. Program director Anita Deck describes the program's work as "very satisfying. I have traveled a lot of miles in West Virginia and met a lot of parents, teachers, principals, and district educators—every one of whom really does want the best education for our children. It’s very good to know that we have funding to deliver services for another year."
Because the state is large and the program staff is small, West Virginia Parent Connections relies on a variety of methods to provide information and resources. The program's Web site (wvpc.edvantia.org) offers a range of free materials, research-based information, and activities that families and teachers can use. Links to federal agencies and national organizations put a wealth of other information at visitors' fingertips. In addition to maintaining the Web site, the program provides training and planning services directly to school districts that the state has identified as needing extra help to meet the federal parent involvement requirements.
Deck and her staff provide workshops on a variety of topics for parents and teachers. Major focus areas include provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act and its parent involvement policies, including supplemental education services and school choice. These are also explained in easy-to-understand language on the Web site and in printed materials for parents. Also available are information on Title I schools and the state accountability system, plus materials that support math and reading literacy.
For parents of preschool children, Parent Connections supports Parents as Teachers, a proven early childhood education program. Although Parents as Teachers services are delivered by other organizations, Parent Connections provides training to parent educators and provides materials for them to use in homes with young children.
In 2008, Deck worked with the West Virginia Department of Education and the Governor's office to proclaim October 2008 as Parent Involvement in Education Month. Special events during the month included an art contest. This year, Deck hopes many schools and families will take advantage of new literacy workshops and materials that were recently completed. Information about the literacy resource kit is available online—visit the West Virginia Parent Connections Web site.
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About Edvantia: Edvantia is a nonprofit corporation, founded in 1966, that partners with education agencies, foundations, publishers, and service providers to apply expertise in research, evaluation, professional development, and technical assistance to help schools and students succeed. Specialty areas include district and school improvement, teacher quality, systems development and alignment, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), 21st century skills, and college access. Learn more at the Edvantia Web site or contact Dr. Tony Marchesi (see above).
About the federal PIRC program: West Virginia Parent Connections at Edvantia is one of the Parental Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs) funded by 5-year grants from the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of the PIRCs is to help schools and school districts implement parent involvement activities that lead to improved student achievement and stronger partnerships between families and educators.
