2. Congratulations!
You have just made the first in a series of steps to increase parent involvement in education in your community!
We commend your commitment and dedication to South Carolina’s Children.
You understand that how well we educate our children is critical to our long-term success as a state.
This toolkit has been designed to assist you in your efforts. Along with the toolkit, you also have access to an Advisor through the New Carolina Advisory Network to guide you and offer advice and resources to help you as you help us build a New Carolina!

3. We Can All Make a Difference
Education starts early, and it starts at home.
Therefore, we must all recognize the challenges our children face and provide the necessary tools to help them succeed.
Every citizen in this state plays a vital role in encouraging and facilitating a higher level of parent involvement in education.
We must work together to improve lives of our children, the future of our state depends on it.
We can all make a difference rising as one.
To watch the New Carolina Rising As One video, go to:

4. Parent Involvement: What is it?
Parent involvement is more than just parent-teacher conferences, PTO meetings and sporting events.
It’s about how we prepare our children for life both inside and outside the classroom. It doesn’t begin in Kindergarten and end with high school. Parent Involvement is about lifelong learning.
The things we do everyday with our children have some impact on their futures.
FOOD for THOUGHT:
“Scientists know that the first five years of life are very important for building a baby's brain. In fact, everything you do and say can help to ‘wire’ your child's brain - for thinking, feeling, moving and learning.”
From: Building Your Baby's Brain - A Parent's Guide to the First Five Years, by Diane Trister Dodge and Cate Heroman (

5. Parent Involvement: What You Need to Know
Now that you know what parent involvement in education is, there are some basic principles you should know before getting started so that you can speak to others in an informed manner.
One way to begin is by reading the New Carolina Increasing Parent Involvement in Education: A Resource Guide for South Carolina Communities.
Another way is to locate an Advisor in or around your county from our Advisory Network and talk to them, ask questions.
education/ Advisory.xls

6. Before Making the Commitment
Preparing to do the work necessary to improve parent involvement in your community is a very time consuming task. It takes a lot of time and energy.
There is a lot of legwork that will need to be done and because it is such a major under-taking, it can be very tiring.
Before getting started, it is critical that you assess your own level of commitment so that motivation stays high and the work you put forth will not be in vain, but rather will provide lasting results in your community.

7. Self Assessment #1: How Committed am I?
Ask yourself the following questions. Write down your answers. They may come in handy later when you ask, “why am I doing this again?”
On a scale of 1-10, how important is this issue to me? ( being extremely important)
What are my top three (3) reasons for starting a parent involvement initiative in my community?
How involved do I want to be in establishing this initiative?
Do I have what it takes to see this through from beginning to end regardless of the challenges I am sure to face?

8. Still Committed?
Now that you have asked yourself the tough questions, are you still committed?
Wonderful!
Now that you are committed to this, it’s time to:
Get yourself organized
Get in touch with your Advisor from the Advisory Network
Get started!

9. Getting Organized
As we mentioned before, Parent Involvement Initiatives are very time consuming. Initially, you may have to carry the bulk of the responsibility until you can form a steering committee of community leaders to assist you.
That’s why it is important to get yourself and your personal support network organized!
YOUR TURN
Our friend Amy Love at New Carolina loves lists. She says “they help keep me organized.”
Make your own list. What are your daily responsibilities? Write down everything from walking the dog to taking out the trash. Whatever you do on a regular basis, add it to your list.

10. Self Assessment #2: What Resources Do I Have?
Now that you have made your list of personal responsibilities, it is time to look at your available resources.
Next to each item, write down either who can assist you or what you can do in advance.
For example, if you have “cook dinner” as a responsibility, yet you know you may have dinnertime meetings, is it possible you can prepare the meals over the weekend and freeze them? Or do you have a friend or relative you trust to pick up your children from ballet class?

11. Informed, Committed, Organized: Now What?
Now it’s time to find out who you know!
Chances are most people in your community care about our children. And more than likely there are already efforts to improve parent involvement under way.
Your desire is to coordinate these efforts so that everyone is working in a collaborative manner. Those folks who are already in the trenches should be your allies in this, not your enemies. So find out who you know and who they may know, and who is doing what.

12. Who Do I Know?
List everyone you can think of, even your hairdresser. They might know others who can help you.

13. Start the Conversation
Get out and about start talking to people about your interest.
Ask them if they know of anything that is going on with parent involvement in your community. Tell folks what you want to do and ask who you need to talk to.
Communicate with your Advisor regularly, keep yourself in the know about what New Carolina and other organizations across the state are doing to support these kinds of initiatives.

15. Rising As One
The worst thing you can do is sabotage your efforts before you even get started. You must be diplomatic and strategic, making sure you get as many people to collaborate with you as possible.
Working Together Works

16. School Ready
Find out who is the parent involvement coordinator for your school, district, etc.
Set up a meeting with this person. More than likely, they are wearing more than one hat, and parent involvement coordinator is just one of many.
Listen to what their struggles are.
Offer your help.
Ask how you can make that part of their job easier and bring the community to the table.

17. Community Ready
Find out what community organizations are in your community that offer services to families, outreach, programs, etc.
Put together a community-wide resource guide with addresses and contact information of those organizations that assist with parent involvement.
Find out how you can help promote and further their efforts.
Forge partnerships and collaborations amongst the organizations.

19. Getting the Community Ready
A parent involvement initiative will thrive only if a community is ready and has certain structures and institutions already in place, or if citizens like you can identify the needs of your community and work toward fulfilling those needs.

20. Identify the Needs
One way to identify strengths and gaps is to complete a community check list. Below are links to a few. Choose one or pull from many and create your own. Others are out there as well.
Do what will work for your community!

21. Strengths
Make a bulleted list of community strengths and resources This information is based upon what you found after completing your checklist.
This list may include organizations, programs, people, businesses, institutions of learning and other resources.
The list should be only one page in length so that it is a quick read for the community.

22. Needs and Gaps
Make a bulleted list of the resources needed in your community to make a parent involvement initiative successful.
Identify potential programs, services, etc. that may meet these needs.
Again, keep this list on one page so that community leaders and members will remain focused.

24. The Steering Committee
Now that you have identified the leaders in the community who will be your comrades in this thing we call parent involvement, it is time to get them organized.
We would advise that your committee consist of no more than five (5) members. These will be the people responsible for the details of preparing for the larger parent involvement discussions and activities.
Each member should understand the duties and expectations as a member of this committee, and have a thorough understanding of their commitment to this effort. You may want to share Parts One and Two of this toolkit with them so they can get ready to work!

25. Steering Committee: Roles & Responsibilities
Financing Officer:
Responsible for seeking sponsorships and donations
Will keep track of all monies spent on this project and settle all accounts
Will organize fundraisers
Promotions Officer:
Responsible for generating all flyers and mailings
Submits information on meetings, events, and fundraisers to local media and community calendars
Responds to all requests for interviews and statements

26. Steering Committee: Roles & Responsibilities
Logistics Officer:
Responsible for securing locations for meetings and events
Will organize set-up clean-up efforts of leased or borrowed space
Will organize catering efforts as needed
Community Liaison:
Responsible for going to various community events to promote the parent involvement initiative
Speaks at different events about what is being done to improve parent involvement
Responds to all requests from the community for information

27. Steering Committee: Keeping the Momentum
Your steering committee should meet regularly and set goals and objectives to be completed by the next meeting.
After each meeting complete a checklist of things that each member is responsible for completing with a box for them to check once it has been completed. Send these electronically by .
The Committee should also begin drafting a community pledge of commitment in anticipation of the first parent involvement meeting.
Make sure to call your members to keep them engaged, listen to their frustrations, offer your assistance or refer them to a member of the Advisory Network. Just don’t lose them, these people are key and you need them on your side!

29. Time to Talk
You are now prepared, and the first parent involvement meeting has been planned and promoted with the help of your steering committee.
Now what?
Now you need to figure out what you are going to discuss when you get there, and establish the rules of order so that your meeting goes smoothly and people continue to be actively engaged.

30. Create an Agenda
Every meeting flows much more smoothly when there is an agenda to guide the flow of the meeting. It doesn’t need to be that detailed. Here are some links to websites to assist you. Your Advisor from the Advisory Network may also have some suggestions.

31. Rules of Order
To set the tone and give everyone fair and ample time to be heard, you must establish your rules of order before the meeting and have them available in writing for all who attend the meeting. Here are some links to assist you in formulating those rules.

33. Step One: The Guests Greet your guests as they enter the facility.
Make them feel welcome.
Remind them this is a meeting about the future of them, their youth and their community.
Have everyone sign in and leave their contact information.

34. Step Two: The Event Follow your agenda. Stay focused and on track.
Give people the opportunity to be heard, but stick to the time limit so that everyone who wants to share is able.
Assign one of your steering committee members to the task of time keeper.

35. Step Three: Securing Community Commitment
Give each person attending a copy of the parent involvement pledge created by the steering committee.
Collect the pledges from those who wish to remain actively involved.

36. Step Four: Adjourn
Adjourn your meeting for the night by informing the group of your next steps.
Carefully outline what your plans are and how long before you will make contact with those persons who have pledged their commitment and are interested in serving as a member of your community-wide Parent Involvement Network.

38. Step One Compile a database of those who attended.
Separate those who have offered a pledge of commitment from those who attended but did not pledge or were unsure of their commitment.

39. Step Two Draft letters to send to the two groups.
- One thanking those who attended but are not committed for attending and let them know you will keep them abreast of your efforts.
- For those who did commit, send a letter of thanks and inform them that they are now a part of your Parent Involvement Network.
In their packet include contact information for all steering committee members and a copy of their original pledge.
You may want to draft a membership card of sorts in order to remind folks that they are a part of something important.

40. Step Three
Hold a meeting of the steering committee to plan the next meeting of the Parent Involvement Network.
Divide up the list of members and call each one personally to thank them and invite them out to the next meeting.
Follow up by sending out personal invitations.

41. Step Four
Find out who in your Network or steering committee has exceptional computer skills and is able to build a website for your Network to communicate.

42. Step Five Hold Parent Involvement Network Meetings regularly.
Begin planning and implementing strategies that as a Network you feel will work in your community.
Use the resources provided to get you started.
Maintain contact with your New Carolina Advisory Network Member to assist you and offer advice.

43. Step Six Keep New Carolina abreast of what’s going on.
Let us know how we can assist and support you in your efforts.