Continuing Professional Development
The information and activities presented in this guide are just the first steps in building the capacity of all Head Start staff to strengthen parent participation by making opportunities for involvement more accessible and inviting. To support staff in transferring training into practice, here are some suggested next steps you may wish to consider:
Coursework at Community Education Programs
You can encourage staff members to add to their skills and knowledge base with formal learning that takes place outside the Head Start program. While few institutions of higher education offer courses specifically on "parent involvement," there are related areas of study that staff might find helpful, including:
- Child and family development
- Working with family systems
- Strategies for working with adult learners
- Stress in family systems
- Basic level counseling courses
As you look to advise staff, you will find a natural link between the skills emphasized in many of the coaching activities (i.e., writing, interviewing, critical thinking) and the skills that are developed through Adult Basic Education, GED or entry level college course work. Collaborate with the adult and continuing education providers in your community to integrate Head Start training activities into their curriculum. The result will be a focused and applied training that enables staff to acquire credentials while building their capabilities at work. This will also give outside educational institutions a chance to benefit from Head Start training.
Skill-Building through Other Agency Programs
Seminars and conferences sponsored by agencies outside of Head Start-such as agencies involved in family preservation, welfare, business or mental health -also provide opportunities for staff to continue training in areas related to parent involvement. Such groups may provide training in such areas as:
- Basic communication skills, especially interviewing and listening techniques
- Conflict resolution
- Managing stress to avoid burnout
Working Collaboratively With Other Agencies
Since parent involvement has always been a cornerstone of Head Start staff and parents have a lot of expertise to offer other programs. In turn, other programs and agencies working with families (often the same families) have their own expertise to offer Head Start. Encourage staff to forge connections with other community agencies, and help them to search out and discover such opportunities. Provide staff time to sit on other agency boards, make presentations to their staff or offer to participate on joint planning committees.
In addition, invite key personnel from outside agencies and community leaders to participate in Head Start functions or to provide staff training. By building cooperative and collaborative relationships between your staff and other leaders in the community, you will be providing natural "cross-training" opportunities that can only increase the wealth of knowledge and expertise within your organization.
Peer Support Groups
Once staff members
have had their interest and energy ignited by the exercises in this training
guide, they may welcome the idea of forming a group that meets informally, on
a regular basis, to talk over key issues in parent involvement. In particular,
staff working directly - and intensely - with families may need
this kind of ongoing support to prevent burn out.
Establish peer
support groups with an experienced supervisor or facilitator so staff have an
opportunity to continue gaining other perspectives as they adapt and modify
their efforts to engage parents. The members of the support group should be
the ones to decide, as a group, their rules of operation, agenda, schedule of
meetings and level of formality. (In fact, these particulars may evolve over
time rather than be "decided.") Groups can use their time together to discuss
general parent involvement issues or to deal with the immediate concerns and
issues facing members.