Parents Involved in Education

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

The Parents Involved in education program is a collaborative effort between Boulder County Community Services, Public Health, community agencies, and the St. Vrain Valley School district. The purpose of this program is to increase Latino parent involvement in their children’s education and provide Latino parents with the tools to support the social, emotional, and physical health of their children. Parents Involved in Education (PIE) offers a school-year calendar of parent learning sessions, covering important topics to families, schools, and communities. Examples include gang prevention, communication, and healthy lifestyle choices. Presenters are collaborative members or community experts. To decrease barriers to participation, the collaborative offers dinner, childcare, and bilingual presentations. PIE helps to address the achievement gap among the Latino youth and families in Boulder county’s St. Vrain Valley School district. By facilitating and reducing barriers to parent engagement opportunities in the community, the program is helping parents to be active in their children’s’ academic success and also prevent and reduce many risk behaviors. Students with involved parents tend to have fewer behavioral problems, better academic performance, and are more likely to complete secondary school than students whose parents are not involved.