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PROGRAM PRACTICE:
Develop Parent Resource Centers in Strategic Areas
Developed through the ongoing efforts of state level Florida School Choice Resource Center (FSCRC), Florida’s School Choice Parent Resource Centers at the local level (to be distinguished from the state level umbrella organization FSCRC) are designed to offer parents a neutral location to receive information and support regarding their school choice options. Currently there are 11 resource centers in the state, with an additional five centers projected to open within the next three to four years.
The first parent resource center opened in 2004 on the Nova Southeastern University Fischler School of Education and Human Services (NSU-FSEHS) campus. After two years of working to draw parents to the university, staff realized they needed to partner with community and faith-based organizations with established ties to the target communities. FSCRC staff spoke to parents who were regulars at the center and searched for organizations that had existing relationships with both the communities and school districts. Among the organizations that emerged were Centro Campesino Farmworker Center Inc., working with migrant farmworkers, and Fresh Ministries, an interfaith-based nonprofit organization and Cuban National Council , a respected non-profit serving the Latino communities of Miami and Orlando.
For the most part, these partnerships have resulted in the community organizations providing a rent-free “choice” room that offers Florida school choice brochures, information from USDOE, literacy assistance and materials for parents and their children, and flyers on courses and other resources. In addition, the centers include a lending library with learning, as well as tutoring materials. Many centers have also been outfitted with computers that are linked to the FSCRC and Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) websites, the regional district website, and to a parent survey in Spanish, Haitian Creole, and English. In addition, part to full-time parent liaisons have been hired to staff all of the parent centers on a rotating basis.
FSCRC provides ongoing support to the resource centers through site visits to establish needs and targeted assistance such as workshops in reading or parent involvement. School choice training is often linked with more established workshops such as literacy, nutrition, and HIV-AIDS seminars that already draw parents to the center.
FSCRC monitors the use of the parent centers through parent sign-in books at each center and an agenda and list of participants for each program or service provided. As testament to the need for parent centers, between May 2006 and May 2008 the centers logged over 3,500 visitors for various events and programs. In addition, the average number of visitors per center has grown over a four-year period (2004-2008) from 118 visitors per center to 1,364 visitors per center.
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