Talking Points for PPP

The Key To Outstanding Parenting Involvement

February 01, 2009

From parents in PPP schools:

“I learned what to do to help my kids be ready to learn.”

“Teachers, counselor, principal, and parents are all friends now: we share what we learn with the school. Children have a different perspective because they know that parents and teachers know each other, value education and value them.”

From teachers and administrators in PPP schools:

“Now we see parents at school and see parents and teachers working together.”

“PPP strengthened everything—parents and teachers got to know each other for the first time. There have been opportunities to establish relationships that resulted in changing the school climate.”

For years, state and national government officials have complained that our students are not learning what they should. They have emphasized school-based learning factors while tending to ignore non-school factors. Experienced classroom teachers know that what goes on beyond the school hours will either help or hinder student performance. According to researchers, home variables and school factors that result in school success are similar and should be strongly encouraged. (Bryck, Lee, and Holland, 1993)

The responsibility for educating our children is a joint effort between home and school. Implementing Practical Parenting Partnerships (PPP) answers this challenge.

Practical Parenting Partnerships (PPP) provides training, ongoing support, and resources for school staff and families. Use of PPP has many results; a few examples follow:

Parent participation increased after learning, through PPP training and support, new ways to communicate (2007 PPP Annual Report data)

Making home visits, after PPP training, resulted in positive changes in teacher attitudes and practices and better prepared students. (Meyer and Mann, Early Childhood Education Journal,Vol. 34, No.1, August 2006)

Specific parent involvement practices, encouraged through PPP, combined with teacher behavior and quality classroom instruction that can offset the negative effects of poverty on the MAP achievement scores (RTA, Inc., Overland Park, KS 2002 study)Participation in child’s learning increased when parents first established trusting relationships with school staff and other parents through PPP activities (RTA, Inc., Overland Park, KS 1996 study of PPP)

Schools changed to meet parent needs, such as using flexible times for activities, scheduling cooperative activities among several program partners, or tying family activity nights to school curriculum and/or achievement testing (2005 PPP annual report data)

PPP Talking Points

Practical Parenting Partnerships:

Was created in 1992 by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Danforth Foundation as the K-12 follow-up to Parents As Teachers
Provides training and support for schools on family involvement in education
Has trained staff from 250 of Missouri’s 324 school districts
Works with staff at all grade levels, pre-kindergarten through high school
Offers an annual conference, regional meetings, electronic newsletter, and printed resources which are available to all schools
Provides additional support and technical assistance to low performing school
Provides support to school districts in creating and annually reviewing their parent involvement policies as required by SB 480
Is a primary prevention program
Collaborates with others including state coalitions on child abuse prevention, coordinated school health, healthy social and emotional development, strengthening families and healthy marriage
Applies the premises of family support, the strengths model and lifespan development and family systems theory to their work.
Has as its mission statement: To enrich children’s lifelong development by strengthening families and their relationships with the school and community through networking, sharing information and participating in cooperative activities
Believes that all parents want to be good parents and that all schools want students to succeed