Parent & Community :: Collaborative Learning Centers Project

Parents and Community

One of the goals of the CLC project was to help parents find ways to support their children's learning. Partner schools found unique ways to work with parents and community members in specific projects.

At Hay, a hands-on math curriculum, Math Their Way, which had been implemented by classroom teachers, was presented to parents from Hay, Mozart and McCosh. As a result of the parent workshop, individual parents volunteered to work side by side with teachers to reinforce the Math Their Way methods with small groups of children.

In addition, a small intergenerational group of women was organized through CLC and continues to meet to explore issues of culture and gender.

Hay and Howe parent leaders participated in sessions on how to support children's reading at home as well as school community leadership workshops which were provided by Family Study Institute through CLC.

At Mozart, parent mentors who were already working within classrooms engaged in an extended conversation about their diverse cultures, and what they wanted to preserve and pass on to their children.

In addition to their narratives and sharing of family artifacts, the parent leaders organized and delivered an assembly celebrating their heritages from South and Central America for all the children of Mozart. In addition, more than 20 parent mentors continue to provide direct classroom support to children and teachers.

McCosh developed a full program of home visits, afterschool programs, parent educational and support opportunities on a weekly basis through the EvenStart program. Parents are able to interact directly with their children on classroom content as well as take advantage of adult focused support activities.

Project Site Links
| Partners | Professional Development | Parent & Community Involvement | Integration & Use of Technology | Site Map |
Partner Links
| Hay Elementary School | Howe Elementary School | McCosh Elementary School | Mozart Elementary School |
| Price Elementary School | Wells Community Academy High School |
| Northeastern Illinois University Team | Roosevelt University Team |

	Parents and Community One of the goals of the CLC project was to help parents find ways to support their children's learning. Partner schools found unique ways to work with parents and community members in specific projects.
At Hay, a hands-on math curriculum, Math Their Way, which had been implemented by classroom teachers, was presented to parents from Hay, Mozart and McCosh. As a result of the parent workshop, individual parents volunteered to work side by side with teachers to reinforce the Math Their Way methods with small groups of children.
	In addition, a small intergenerational group of women was organized through CLC and continues to meet to explore issues of culture and gender. Hay and Howe parent leaders participated in sessions on how to support children's reading at home as well as school community leadership workshops which were provided by Family Study Institute through CLC.
At Mozart, parent mentors who were already working within classrooms engaged in an extended conversation about their diverse cultures, and what they wanted to preserve and pass on to their children.
	In addition to their narratives and sharing of family artifacts, the parent leaders organized and delivered an assembly celebrating their heritages from South and Central America for all the children of Mozart. In addition, more than 20 parent mentors continue to provide direct classroom support to children and teachers.
McCosh developed a full program of home visits, afterschool programs, parent educational and support opportunities on a weekly basis through the EvenStart program. Parents are able to interact directly with their children on classroom content as well as take advantage of adult focused support activities.