Our Work
The Challenge
Family engagement in our schools is broken.
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For too long, parents, teachers, and school administrators have failed to collaborate effectively toward the shared goal of student success. This lack of unity has obstructed progress in addressing systemic barriers to learning, especially in under-resourced schools, limiting schooling options for students. Barriers such as strained parent-teacher relationships, disempowered community voices, and overworked educators can be eliminated through collaboration.
Strained Relationships
Educators and parents lack positive working relationships and remain disconnected when it comes to collaboratively supporting student needs
Disempowered Voices
Families and educators often lack the practical knowledge to effectively organize their communities and advocate for institutional change, hindering parent engagement in schools. This disconnect can leave parents feeling disempowered and unsure about how to get involved in their child’s education.
Overworked Leaders
Already overworked school leaders lack the bandwidth to facilitate collaboration between key stakeholders - families, educators, and community partners.
Our Charge
“Parents are partners with educators, administrators, and school district boards of trustees in their children’s education. Parents shall be encouraged to actively participate in creating and implementing educational programs for their children.”
Our Method
The Parent Teacher Collaborative uplifts student success through:
Building Bridges
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Facilitating healing conversations to foster understanding between parents and educators
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Providing training for collaboration skills to replace division with a common purpose, emphasizing the importance of family involvement in education
Amplifying Voices
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Equipping families, teachers, and communities with advocacy capacity to create change, focusing on the difference between engagement vs involvement
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Offering workshops on effective organizing to make stakeholders' voices heard, providing parent engagement ideas and activities
Removing Barriers
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Providing childcare, meals, and incentives eliminate participation barriers, and making it easier for parents to get involved and collaborate in their child’s education
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Networking and leadership development empower sustained community action, promoting parent engagement in schools
The Possibilities
The Parent Teacher Collaborative believes that with understanding and skill-building, we can equip these communities to transform their childrens’ schools through effective parent and family engagement strategies. When families, educators, and students come together around their shared interests with empathy and purpose, they become an unstoppable force for equity and justice.
By breaking down barriers to engagement and amplifying the collective voice of those closest to students, we can address systemic inequities. Families and schools united by common purpose have the power to shape responsive policies that allow all students to reach their full potential.
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As an organization dedicated to empowering families, TPTC focuses on the key aspects of engagement vs involvement, emphasizing the important roles parents and caregivers play in driving positive change in schools.
Educational Engagement Programming & Services
Our Offerings
Educational Engagement Cohorts
TPTC offers in-person and virtual training cohorts that teach parents, families, educators, and community members strategies to best organize and advocate around the needs of children in local schools. Cohort participants receive stipends, childcare, and additional resources throughout the program. Training topics include:
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School & District Governance
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Effective School and Community
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Communication
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Parent/Educator Roles & Responsibilities
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Local Community Research
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Advocacy & Organizing
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Site-Based Decision Making
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Securing Resources for School Needs