660 E. Mason Street, Suite 100
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Web site: http://www.parentspluswi.org
Hours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
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Director:
Ms. Yvette Dobbs
Phone: 414-755-8702
Fax: 414-755-8252
Evaluator: Eric Smith
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State PIRC Board:Cynthia DiCamelli, Wisconsin PTA Immediate Past President
Shannon Gordon, Milwaukee Public School ESEA Compliance Administrator
Dawn Groshek, Rosalie Manor Director of Development
Tamara Johnson, COA Youth & Family Services HIPPY Director
Ruth Anne Landsverk, WI Department of Public Instruction Partnership Coordinator
Audrey Laszewski, Performance Works Outcomes Project Coordinator
Tony Matranga, United States Bowling Congress Human Resources Generalist
Frederick Muth Jr., Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek Chairman Emeritus, Attorney
Bernardo Ortega, Executive Director, Spanish Center of Racine, Kenosha and Walworth Inc.
Pastor Lee Shaw, St. Gabriel Church
Dr. Eric Smith, UW-Colleges Grants Officer
Mary Anne Snyder, Children’s Trust Fund Executive Director
Ann Terrell, Milwaukee Public Schools Division of Early Childhood Coordinator
Through the Wisconsin State PIRC, Wisconsin parents will increase their involvement in their children’s education and assist them to achieve at a higher level academically. Parents will understand, through our Parents as Teachers programs, that they can ensure their children are ready for school. School officials will develop better policies and programs that encourage parental involvement and parents will gain an understanding of how to assist their children to succeed in school. Finally, through our coordinated state level activities, student learning and parental involvement will be improved.
Parental Engagement Model
Parents Plus is utilizing Joyce Epstein’s Model of School Family and Community Partnerships based on her many years of research at the National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University.
Early Childhood Model
Parents Plus employs the Parents as Teachers (PAT) Born to Learn curricula as the basis for our early childhood programming. With the help of our seven sites statewide, we offer the PAT program and supplemental parenting and other resources to ensure healthy families.
Major Activities
Project activities include four priority goals to:
- Coordinate and expand program collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (Including Title I and other No Child Left Behind Initiatives) and other key public and non-profit organizations that promote improved student learning and parental/family involvement in urban and rural areas throughout Wisconsin;
- Develop and strengthen the relationship and partnerships between schools and parents/families as a means to improve children’s academic achievement;
- Assist schools to design and implement effective parental involvement policies, programs, and activities that improve children’s academic achievement; and
- Further the developmental progress of Wisconsin’s children by establishing, expanding or operating the Parents as Teachers home visiting services.
Work Plan and Needs of Parents
All Parents Plus project activities are based on a foundation of currently identified needs of Wisconsin families, particularly those who are low-income, minority, and limited English proficient.
Alignment to Statewide Efforts
Parents Plus has focused considerable time and resources on breaking down the silos that prevent many family and school support organizations from communicating and working together. In the past 12 years, Parents Plus has developed important collaborative relationships with several state and local organizations, including the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (Family-School-Community Partnerships Office, Bright Beginnings, Title I Office), Milwaukee Public Schools, Wisconsin Children’s Trust Fund, University of Wisconsin-Extension Services, Cooperative Education Service Agencies statewide, and Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council. These collaborative efforts have greatly increased the outreach capacity to Wisconsin parents/families and schools far beyond what Parents Plus could have provided through its own limited resources.
Unique Characteristics
Parents Are Key - Parents Plus has successfully developed and coordinated an integrated model of the PAT and Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) programs called Parents Are Key.
VISTA Project – The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction sponsors 8-10 VISTA volunteers working out of Parents Plus to help in developing parental involvement strategies in Milwaukee Public Schools, the only district in Wisconsin identified for improvement in 2005-2006. |
