The Grand Alliance

NEA members team up with parents to get preschoolers off to a good start and to put dads front and center in their kids' education.

Photo by Lori Eschweiler

by Mary Anne Hess

Katy Smith's work is part of a multi-million dollar statewide effort, while Terry Waldron wages a one-man campaign on a shoestring budget, but both are fighting what many believe to be the crucial battle of American education: getting more parents involved in their children's education.

According to a recent NEA survey, members overwhelmingly think the key to improving education is to increase parents' sense of responsibility and involvement. Judging by their passion for their work, it's clear that Waldron and Smith agree.

Smith, a member of the Winona Education Association, focuses on the crucial years before parents deliver their children to the kindergarten teacher. Waldron works with fathers, who all too often stay out of their kids' education.

Smith works with parents in the Minnesota Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) program, launched in 1974 and now reaching into all of Minnesota's 343 school districts, enrolling 45 percent of families with preschoolers.

Originally a social worker, Smith linked up with ECFE back in 1985 when she was looking for a place to meet other new mothers in Winona. She liked it so much that she became a licensed parent educator herself.

Now part of a four-person ECFE team in Winona Area Public Schools, Smith connects with parents of young children from newborn through preschool in weekly classes dealing with everything from story time to discussions on violent video games. Fees are about $20 per quarter or based on a parent's ability to pay.

Each ECFE session starts with a parent/child activity. It's often a time for Smith to model what doesn't always come naturally--how to read to children and even how to get down on the floor and play. "It doesn't matter how affluent you are," she says. "So many parents are making it up as they go along." With little time for reflection, it's a struggle for some to get from one naptime to the next, she adds.

After the initial activity, preschoolers spend an hour at play with an early-childhood educator while parents, often with babies in arms, snag time to talk about child behavior problems, safety, multiple intelligences, and other pertinent topics.

Smith also runs gym nights for working parents and their children, classes for immigrant families, and a special group for parents who identify themselves as "at risk" for abusive behavior because of their own childhood traumas. Yet these aren't the only parents who may need help. Sleep deprivation can cloud anyone's judgment, she says.

For parents new to the United States, ECFE sponsors the ESL Family School, a bridge between cultures. "Small children are a wonderful way to get big people into a building," says Smith. Topics range from immunizations to parent-teacher conferences. There are also English-language classes.

Located in a former school building, Winona's ECFE program gives toddlers a painless introduction to school, helping them see it as a safe, good place to be. Youngsters line up, share, and play in the gym. By kindergarten, they're veterans.

When parents start out with negative feelings stemming from their own educations, Smith says ECFE can turn them around: "They become comfortable walking into a school."

Smith also takes ECFE on the road to rural sites and to local businesses, where she leads lunchtime discussions for employees. And she's always looking for new ways to reach still more parents. Some, she says, may steer clear of ECFE's "feel-good," group interaction approach and prefer something more analytical. So she's started an "Ask a Parent Educator" section on the ECFE Web site: www.rschooltoday.com/se3bin/clientgenie.cgi.

Building long-term relationships is what ECFE is all about. On average, families participate from four to seven years, but Smith knows one large family that spent almost 20 years in the program. But, no matter how long they stay, "we have a hard time when the kids leave for kindergarten," Smith laughs.

Male Models
Terry Waldron proves that one person can make a difference. A high school art teacher in rural Sparta, Illinois, Waldron was inspired to enter the fray in the summer of 2000 at a federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools Conference. Armed with a new understanding of the importance of fathers in their kids' lives, he launched the Sparta Fatherhood Initiative, four Saturday mornings a year when dads and kids enjoy food and fun together and the adults then get time alone to tackle parenting and education issues. "Donuts with Dad" was his first attempt. It drew 86 participants. A year later, "Fishin' with Father" attracted 155 who cast their lines in a downpour.

Before setting up his program, Waldron heard ominous reports from his elementary school colleagues about a decline in parent involvement. In Sparta, 40 percent of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch and the closing of the coal mines has forced many to work at McDonald's and Wal-Mart. Finding the time and energy to help their children with school is hard for these parents, especially since, Waldron notes, "Many parents who remain in the area weren't that successful in school themselves."

"Traditional gender roles are always an issue," he says. "The fathers tend to think moms take kids to school, go to PTA and parent conferences. I say to them, 'You can do that! Don't assume it's the mom's job.'" He also emphasizes reading. "I tell them to let their kids see them pick up a magazine."

Surrogate dads--grandfathers, uncles, or even community volunteers--sometimes accompany kids to the program.

And Waldron sees progress: More men are coming to parent conferences and helping out with reading and math in the elementary school.

Waldron has received small grants to keep the program going, and he also charges $1 to $3 for the sessions. Other Sparta educators, other community volunteers, and local businesses have joined the effort.

Waldron doesn't exclude mothers and he's even done a "Muffins with Mom" program. But his main goal is for kids to see male role models. "The kids know me as 'The Dad Guy,'" says Waldron, with more than a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

Fore more on these programs, contact Betty Cooke, ECFE education specialist at betty.cooke@state.mn.us and Terry Waldron at artman@egyptian.net.