Molding Minority Leaders for Parent Involvement Today

Community leaders from across country meet to address needs of minority families

CHICAGO (October 18, 2007)— It’s no coincidence that a recent study released last week by the Center on Education Policy suggested that when students are compared by income levels, as well as a range of other family characteristics, parent involvement matters even more than the type of school a child attends or the child’s socioeconomic status.

That’s why PTA is gathering hundreds of parents, community leaders, and national education experts from across the country in Dallas this weekend (October 19–21) to address real issues affecting minority families, provide leadership skills to minority leaders, and lay the groundwork to involve more minority parents in their children’s education.

“The reality is that communities are changing. Every year, schools are asked to do more with less, and there is still a significant achievement gap,” said Warlene Gary, PTA National Chief Executive Officer. “These issues are real. Minority families are underserved, underrepresented, and unnecessarily falling behind the rest of society.”

This weekend’s discussions will help break the cycle and lead families in a new way. They are part of PTA’s Emerging Minority Leaders Conference. The three-day conference will teach parents effective leadership skills to apply in school and community environments, and offer techniques on how to bring homes, schools, and communities closer together to make the greatest impact for children. The conference will kick off with a summit where community leaders representing nine core cities will share with PTA officials their ideas on how to serve the nation’s families that need them most—families of color, living in underserved and underrepresented communities.

“PTA is walking the talk to ensure that all families are benefiting from parent involvement and PTA. Meeting with experts from across the country will help us reach underserved families and help us ensure that PTAs nationwide are representative of our country’s population, at every level of the organization—local, district and state,” said Gary.

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

> Warlene Gary, PTA National CEO—Gary leads PTA in strengthening diverse leadership and reaching minority families.

> Wendy D. Puriefoy, President of Public Education Network—Puriefoy implements and advocates strengthening public engagement to increase academic achievement among poor and disadvantaged children.

> Bill Milliken, Founder and Vice Chairman of Communities In Schools—Communities In Schools is in 3,000 schools in 29 states and provides access to services for 2 million students and their families each year. The organization’s grassroots, personalized approach embodies Milliken’s long-held philosophy that “Programs don’t change children—relationships do.”

Visit the PTA website, www.pta.org, for more information on how all parents can tap into a network of PTAs to get more involved in their children’s education.