10520 US Highway 231 Wetumpka, AL 36092 Web site: http://www.alabamaparentcenter.com Hours: 8:00am - 5:00pm, Monday - Friday

Director: Ms. Sherri Wilson Phone: 334-567-2252 Evaluator: Ron Mirr

State PIRC Board:

Judy Bohannon, Alabama Department of Education, Parent Involvement Coordinator
Joanne Shum, Alabama HIPPY Director
Laurie McCaulley, Alabama PTA Director
Gloria Canty, MPS Parent Involvement Coordinator
Patrick Fitzpatrick, MPS Counselor
Frederick Tisdale, STEP Foundation

The Alabama Parent Education Center, in partnership with the Alabama Department of Education, the Alabama PTA, HIPPY Alabama and other state and local agencies, will operate the Parent Information and Resource Center of Alabama (PIRCA).

We have designed the following goals to help parents achieve our anticipated outcomes:

• Goal 1 Assist parents in low performing schools with understanding the Alabama Accountability System, state and local school report cards and opportunities for public school choice and supplemental educational services;
• Goal 2 Create a network of trained Parent Leaders throughout Alabama who implement local parent involvement activities;
• Goal 3 Build state and local capacity for effective parent involvement by providing technical assistance in the implementation of effective parental involvement policies and creating shared responsibility among parents and educators for student achievement; and
• Goal 4 Provide early childhood services to families and provide support for local early childhood programs in both urban and rural areas.

Parental Engagement Model
Additionally, 510 trained Parent Leaders from 170 low performing schools and school districts across the state will design and implement a Parent Engagement Project based on school assessment data to improve student achievement at their school through effective parent involvement.

Early Childhood Model
This project will support early childhood activities by providing funding to the Alabama HIPPY for distribution to HIPPY sites across the state. As a result, 50 Parent Educators will receive training and 800 families will receive HIPPY services and 20 families will receive Parents as Teachers services.

Major Activities
As a result of our activities, we anticipate that approximately 19,410 parents will participate in a variety of training activities and an annual average of 363,086 parents and teachers will receive information about accountability, school choice and supplemental services through newsletters, tip sheets, and electronic mail.

How the Work Plan Meets the Needs of Parents
This project will serve economically or educationally disadvantaged parents through multiple training opportunities and widespread information dissemination.