francis marion university - school of education

fmu center of excellence

goals and activities: goal 3 - activity 2

activity 2: determination of how to best reach and help parents in the community

the center of excellence will determine how to best reach and help parents in the community. [please note. the word “parents” is used for ease of reading. it is understood that children may have legal guardians rather than parents involved in their lives. thus, “parents” should be read as “parents/guardians.”] this activity will involve reviewing current research and by surveying and interviewing parents in the three communities. this focus should be on the best way of getting information to parents and providing for the needs of parents in fostering the academic, emotional, and social development of their children.

this activity began during year 1 when dr. janis mcwayne, coordinator of health services, conducted research to determine available resources for families living in poverty. these resources have been compiled into a health resources manual that is available to all schools in each partner district that schedule free training sessions for its use.

dr. janis mcwayne, coordinator of health services, will conduct community outreach activities early in year 2 to target community-specific persons that will be trained to survey their local areas to identify the unique problems and needs experienced by families living in poverty. the information gained from this research will be used to develop a parent-friendly version of the health resources manual written from a “problem – resource” perspective that may be easily and successfully used by families in need to identify resources and support services. the center’s collaborative work with the national network of partnership schools will also be important to the success of this activity.

national network of partnership schools

health resources manual