---

Chapter Eleven
DOCUMENTING PARENT INVOLVEMENT 

---

In order to assure that parents have participated in the Head Start program in conformance with the performance standards, the staff must document or furnish written evidence of parent. involvement. The parent involvement coordinator can assist in this task by collecting information, maintaining records, and writing reports about parent participation.

COLLECTING INFORMATION

The parent involvement coordinator should develop procedures for collecting information about parent involvement from staff members and parents on a regular basis, perhaps monthly. Types of information to be collected include:

Records of staff members' contacts with individual parents, such as conferences, home visits, conversations, and notes (See following chart for a sample checklist form).

Attendance sheets from orientation and parent meetings.

Volunteer and observer schedules and sign-in sheets.

Minutes of policy group meetings.

Newsletters and other written communications to parents.

Newspaper clippings about parent activities.

Other evidence of parent attendance and participation in activities.

MAINTAINING RECORDS OF PARENT PARTICIPATION

The coordinator should review and record the information regularly, collected from staff and parents and keep these records on file. In addition, the coordinator should file copies of the following documents:

• Policy council and policy committee bylaws indicating the following:
  1. Purpose and responsibilities
  2. Schedule for regular meetings
  3. Procedure for calling a special meeting
  4. Total number of members
  5. Number of parents who will represent each center or delegate agency
  6. Method for selecting community representatives
  7. Method for filling vacancies
  8. Term of office and maximum length of membership
  9. Number needed for a quorum
  10. Names and duties of standing committees, as well as procedures for naming their members.
  11. Procedure for amending bylaws
   
• Membership list of policy council and policy committee.
• Minutes of meetings of policy council, committees, center committee, and other groups involving parents; these should indicate names of those present, issues discussed, decisions made and action taken.
• Personnel policies; these should spell out how the policy council and committee are involved in hiring and firing.
• Parent involvement plan.
• Reports on parent involvement.

REPORTING PARENT INVOLVEMENT

The parent involvement coordinator is responsible for writing reports on parent participation in the program on a regular basis. These reports might include the following:

• Brief reports on parent activities as they occur; summarize activities and responses of parents and staff; attach any evaluation forms used.
• Reports on major events, such as six-week first aid, course: same procedure as above; ask parents and staff to contribute to report.
• Monthly summaries of participation including:
      1. number of parents who attended activities
      2. number of staff/parent contacts (see sample form on following page)
      3. number of parents who observed or volunteered
      4. number of parent activities held
      5. number of parent participation hours.
• Quarterly progress reports on the implementation of the parent involvement plan; measure performance against objectives; identify successes and problem areas (the latter may serve as justification for changing the plan, if necessary).
• Annual assessment of the parent involvement component.
• Reports on volunteer activities.

 

PARENT/STAFF CONTACTS Staff Member____________________________________ Month___________________________Total Contacts_________________
Name of Parent	Home visit	Scheduled Conference	Phone Call	Conversation	Note

Names of parents in each class should be typed in. Copies go to all staff members who deal with those parents. Staff members write the date of contact under each heading. Parent Involvement Coordinator summarizes total contacts on her master copy. A summary of staff-parent contacts should be put in each child's record.

Table of Contents | Chapter Twelve

Head Start National Library Collection | BMCC Home