Empowering Parents as Partners in their Child’s Education

Parents are key to a child’s academic success— they are their first teacher, advocate, coach and more. If a parent is unable to navigate the school system or build strong relationships with teachers, the student isn’t able to benefit from an effective partnership between home and school. Empowering all parents, regardless of background or income level, to partner in their children’s education can improve academic achievement and spark community-wide change.

That’s why, since 2010, the Foundation has provided funding to grow the “Parents as Partners” program through Conexión Américas, which aims to foster a working relationship between Latino parents and schools, to improve children’s academic achievement.

Conexión Américas staff and a team of trained parent facilitators deliver workshops in Spanish and use a unique curriculum specific to parents’ needs for pre-k, elementary, and middle/high school.

Participants partner with this team of parent facilitators who have already gone through the program to learn topics like how to understand and navigate the US school system; parent-teacher communication and advocating for their child; and building a strong learning environment in the home. Parents also have the opportunity to talk with principals and teachers in a supportive environment.

This parent-to-parent approach aligns with Conexión Américas’ core value of building the skills of participants and assisting them in being the principal agents of community change.

Annually, over 300 parents participate in the program, representing more than 500 children at 15 to 17 schools.