Parent Educators Network
Working with parents is a strong component of the work that the El Paso Collaborative carries out in the schools. Participants become part of the Parent Educators Network (PEN) and take part in seminars, trainings and workshops, plus an annual parent conference, all with the aim of increasing their ability to support their children’s education, as well as extending their learning to more parents at their schools.

Red de Educadores de Padres
Statement of Purpose
To develop the capacity of parents to understand, support and enact learning at high levels for their children and themselves through a variety of strategies focused on content and leadership. To transform the beliefs and attitudes of schools to ones that nurture, support and have high expectations of parents and their roles in schools.
Nuestro Propósito
Desarrollar la capacidad de los padres para comprender, apoyar y llevar a cabo lo que es el aprendizaje a altos niveles, igual para sus hijos que para ellos mismos, por medio de una variedad de estrategias enfocadas en el conocimiento y el liderazgo. Igualmente, nuestra meta es transformar las creencias y actitudes de las escuelas a aquellas que nutren, apoyan y tienen grandes esperanzas del papel que los padres desempeñan en la educación y lo que pueden lograr para sus hijos.

Parents hear Think College Now/Texas Scholars presentations
As the Think College Now/Texas Scholars presentations to 8th grade and 9th grade students by business and professional representatives went into full swing this past fall, schools asked that the information also be communicated to parents. Although the initiative focuses on late middle school and early high school students, PEN addressed parents from every grade level at schools’ request. The information included not only the content and procedure of what the 8th and 9th grade students’ were experiencing, but also critical data for parents on why all students need to be prepared so that they have the option to go to college when they graduate from high school. Also covered were the significant impact of high level mathematics and science teaching and learning at all grade levels, the important role that parents play in their students’ success, and the ways to support their children’s education. Many parents expressed their appreciation and interest at the end of sessions.

Parent Conference Keynote Speaker, Kay Tolliver, and The National Math Trail
When nationally recognized, outstanding, mathematics teacher, Kay Tolliver, spoke at the State Parent Engagement Conference in El Paso last November, she charmed and engaged hundreds of parents. Now “Ms. Tolliver” has a site on the internet for “educators, students and parents,” where they can discover and explore the mathematics that is all around them. Called The National Math Trial, the site is easily accessible and user-friendly. Below is the address and a short description directly from the site.

http://www.nationalmathtrail.org/

“The National Math Trail is an opportunity for K-12 teachers and students to discover and share the math that exists in their own environments. Students explore their communities and create one or more math problems that relate to what they find. Teachers submit the problems to the National Math Trail site, along with photos, drawings, sound recordings, videos--whatever can be adapted to the Internet. All submissions will be posted to the site as they are submitted. They are also be indexed according to grade level and math topic and will remain on the site for access by educators, students and parents.”

Ninth Grade Parent PREP Seminar at UTEP on January 23rd
High school parent liaisons and parent volunteers have been invited and are fast signing up for the seminar that is to take place on Friday, January 23, at UTEP. This seminar will focus on critical information that freshman parents need to help their students successfully prepare for going to college, specific strategies for supporting their children’s education, and ways to organize for communicating what they have learned to all other freshman parents at their school. Parent “teams” will be offered additional training, follow-up, and on-site support as they undertake their own activities. Work with parents is part of the Mathematics and Science Partnership program funded by the National Science Foundation. For more information, contact Pilar Herrera, Parental Engagement Coordinator, The El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence, at 747-7612, or e-mail pherrera@utep.edu.