Parent Involvement Institute's Parent Focus Groups
Susan Weber, Special Assistant to the Commissioner, Administration on Children, Youth and Families

During the Head Start National Parent Involvement Institute in Washington, D.C. from August 9- 13, the group of parents nominated to represent their local Head Start programs participated in focus groups. On three consecutive afternoons, parents were asked the following questions:

They responded by sharing their insights and experiences about 1) how they entered Head Start, 2) what has happened to them while in Head Start, 3) what about Head Start has meant the most to them in their personal journeys, and 4) how parent participation in Head Start can be strengthened.

Most of these parents had participated in Head Start at least two to three years and, while all of them now feel they are more valued and esteemed, most did not start out feeling that way. They described themselves often as lonely, bored, isolated, feeling "low income," unvalued, worried, and stressed about all kinds of crises in their lives, wondering how they could pull it all together and get through the next day.

They described Head Start as a place where they began to free themselves from the negatives and work on the positives. Many also see any ongoing involvement with Head Start after their family is no longer in the program as one way of repayment for the opportunities they were offered.

While specific examples included the typically cited opportunities, including working in the classroom, serving on the Policy Council or other decision-making groups, meeting with other parents to discuss child-rearing issues, working towards a GED, CDA, or other training goals, or being a part of a home visit with a staff member, there are also five important general messages that came from the responses. A summary of these five follows:

  1. Interactions between staff and parents and among parents around the child are one of the best entry points to help a parent feel comfortable with Head Start. Every Head Start staff person, from the cook and bus driver to the Director and every involved parent, can make a difference.
  2. The small person-to-person interactions make the critical difference. Each Head Start staff person, and each already involved parent, has the power, through simple connections, to draw a parent in. Virtually every parent confirmed that his or her true involvement began with this type of experience.
  3. One of the best ways to get parents involved is to ask them to do something specific. Ask, and keep on asking. Expect every parent to be involved. It conveys affirmation and respect.
  4. Programs can never work too hard sharing information in many languages, or in a variety of settings and events, both formally and informally. This also means flexible scheduling, reaching out to both males and females as nurturers, and providing support such as transportation and child care.
  5. Each parent has a personal, individual, and cultural journey into and through the Head Start experience, so every program must have many, different, varied, culturally responsive ways to reach and involve parents. There is no one magic solution.

These are messages that every Head Start program must honor, highlight, discuss, and plan for. A motivated, prepared management team that provides leadership and direction to encourage all staff and parents to participate as partners in Head Start is essential.

Back to Top | Back to Table of Contents | Next Page