3607 Martin Luther King Blvd. Denver, CO 80205 Web site: http://www.cpirc.org Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Director: Mrs. Tina House Phone: 303-355-5387 ext. 327 Fax: 303-321-2959 Evaluator: Robert Reichardt Evaluator affiliation: Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA), University of Colorado at Denver

State PIRC Board:

Trish Boland, Colorado Department of Education, Consolidated Federal Programs, Principal Consultant
Tomas Mejia, Colorado Department of Education, Title III and Migrant Education Senior Consultant
Teresa Williams, PTA President
Melissa Kelley, Colorado Parent and Child Foundation-Statewide PAT & HIPPY programs, Director
Jennifer Richardson, Families First Statewide Family Support Line, Director
Sue Edwards, Community Resource, Inc., Director
Gwen Welch, Jeffco Family Literacy, Program Coordinator
Nancy Hernandez, Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation, Program Manager
Gesche Lombard, Parent
Emma López, Parent
Elvia Lubin, Parent
Diana Romero-Campbell, Parent
Myra Paredes, Parent
Marisela North, Parent
Ann Howard, Parent
Christopher Hinojosa, Senior at West High School, Denver Public Schools
Michelle Cabrera, Junior at West High School, Denver Public Schools

Special Advisory Committees:

The CAB is responsible for helping to facilitate CPIRC’s work in the community; provide feedback on our materials, provide workshops and outreach efforts to ensure we are reaching targeted audiences in a culturally appropriate and relevant manner; field-test materials; identify unmet needs of the target population. Spanish-speaking members’ help staff edit and adapt all material translated into Spanish to ensure comprehension by diverse Latino populations.

Over the next five years, CPIRC will expand its focus on support to Title I schools and districts. CPIRC’s goals are:

Goal 1: To help schools and districts implement effective parent involvement policies and activities to improve children's academic achievement, including helping parents understand state and local report cards and options for public school choice and SES.

Goal 2: To develop and strengthen partnerships among parents (including parents of children from birth to five), teachers, administrators, and other staff in meeting the educational needs of children to improve home-school communications.

Goal 3: To develop and strengthen the relationship between parents and their children’s school to ensure that young children are ready for school and experience smooth kindergarten transitions.

Goal 4: To further the developmental progress of children in early childhood home visitation programs through parent education in supporting children’s learning at home and preparing them to enter school.

Goal 5: To coordinate activities funded under the program with other local, state and federal parent involvement initiatives including, parent planning, review and improving programs funded under Section 1118 by providing a comprehensive approach.

Parental Engagement Model
CPIRC’s conceptual model is based on Joyce Epstein’s 6 Types of Parent Involvement that is aligned with NCLB and involves school staff and parents in the process of planning, reviewing and improving parent involvement policies, plans and compacts. Our delivery model is 3 pronged: direct dissemination of information and training to educators and parents, parent education through our partners, and capacity building with districts and schools through Training of Trainers and intensive technical assistance.

Early Childhood Model
Both HIPPY and PAT home visitation parent education programs are statewide, and the Developmental Model of Kindergarten Transition is used for school readiness.

Major Activities
CPIRC’s major activities in early childhood and increasing parental involvement are parenting education in child development and school readiness; linking parents/preschoolers, ECE providers with kindergarten teachers to better inform parents and each other of school readiness; informing parents of ways to be involved with schools and support learning at home; school staff training to include parents in planning, review and improving programs to increase student achievement; and training of trainers and direct technical assistance to schools and districts to build capacity for meaningful parent involvement that aligns with NCLB.

How the Work Plan Meets the Needs of Parents
The needs of parents are met by providing parents and schools with a variety of options to be involved with their children and their children’s school. CPIRC builds capacity in districts and schools with tools to identify parental needs, and provides customized training and technical assistance to create effective partnerships for improved student achievement.

Alignment of Work to Statewide PIRC Efforts
The Colorado PIRC partnership mix represents urban, suburban and rural interests, a high concentration of educationally and economically disadvantaged families as well as English Language Learners, and reaches schools and districts in counties and municipalities statewide.

Unique Characteristics
In order to bring more coherence to a fragmented system, CPIRC partners with and collaborates with organizations that represent all facets of the educational landscape. CPIRC is unique in that it networks with these groups on a regular basis to ensure all efforts for parental involvement include groups and organizations statewide and target services statewide, creating a comprehensive and cohesive system for Colorado schools and districts.