School Community Leadership

Turning the Page organizes a Leadership Group at each of its partner schools. Leadership Groups are made up of energetic and proactive teachers and parents who represent many parts of the school community.

Each school's Leadership Group meets once a month with Turning the Page.

At monthly meetings, Leadership Group members:

Receive training on leadership and working together;
Develop strategies to increase family involvement and bring more resources to their school community;
Work with Turning the Page to implement programs and distribute information to the whole school community; and
Make sure that programs and resources fit with the school community's goals and priorities.

Turning the Page also provides parents with leadership seminars twice each year to help them become more active in their schools and communities.

Parent Leadership Program

Dr. Baylor (on left), principal of MLK Elementary School, attended the first PCLP meeting to support parents from her school.

The Parent Leadership Certification Program brings together active parents from each of Turning the Page’s partner schools in order to foster their leadership skills. Parent Leaders meet throughout the year both in large groups and by school. Four trainings were held across 2006 and 2007. The trainings focused on skills that parents can use to become stronger leaders within their school community, as well as offering strategies for organizing parent/teacher run organizations.

While many Parent Leadership Certification Program activities focus on school events, Turning the Page hopes that parents’ successes in playing leadership roles within their schools will be just the first step they take to becoming more active leaders within their communities. Therefore, in addition to being a forum for increasing parent leadership and involvement in the schools, the Parent Leadership Certification Program trains parents in general leadership skills such as recruitment, goal setting and meeting facilitation. We will be continuing the certification program during the 2006-2007 school year by offering additional trainings and offering support to the parent leaders throughout the school year.

Most of the parents who attended the trainings participate in other Turning the Page activities, such as Community Nights and museum trips. We also target recruitment towards parents that are recommended by principal and staff; and by other leadership positions they may hold, such as positions on their PTA boards. No matter what their prior involvement has been in school and community organizations, we believe that all of the parents who attend have already shown themselves to be leaders; by committing themselves to school programs and organizations, they lead by example.

Learn more about Turning the Page's other initiatives and programs:

» Families Learning Together
» School and Classroom Resources