Parent Engagement

The BHLC believes that family involvement is critical to achieving academic success. The more support a student receives, the better their chances are of developing a positive self-esteem and overcoming obstacles. BHLC activities aim to foster and strengthen relationships between schools and parents by building the capacity for meaningful involvement.

Our Parent programs work to facilitate authentic parent engagement by empowering parents to understand their roles and rights as they navigate through the educational system. Our parent workshops target the difficult transition periods students face as they enter kindergarten, middle school or high school, as well as critical education bench marks like ELL reclassification and A-G completion. Here is a list of our current parent engagement programs.

English Language Learner Reclassification

Targeting parents of English Language Learners at the elementary and middle schools, the BHLC equips parents with the leadership, advocacy and informational tools needed to help parents work with teachers to ensure students efficiently reclassify into mainstream education. This series of three workshops entails an introduction to the reclassification process, a presentation and discussion of the reclassification criteria, and information on how to support English language development at home. The ELL Reclassification program seeks to orient parents on the terms and concepts used to describe the reclassification process, familiarize them with the measures used in the process including portfolios, report cards and test scores, and finally, provide parents with strategies that can help their children build English language skills at home.

Transition to Middle School

“Transition to Middle School” (TMS) is a series of workshops that engage parents in understanding the challenges their children face as they enter a new phase of the educational pipeline. The lessons help them explore ways to support their children so that they focus on educational goals and experience academic and social success. Middle school is different from elementary school in many ways: they are organized differently; they have more teachers, more peers, more accountability and more potential for confusion and mistakes. This is also a time when students are experiencing a transition into adolescence with all its unique trials and tribulations. Parents can make the difference in how their children respond to these new experiences and are critical to ensuring a valuable educational experience as partners with schools.

Transition to High School

The “Transition to High School” (THS) is a series of workshops to assist parents in understanding how high school differs from middle school and how parents can more actively support their children in school and at home by providing effective and sustainable learning opportunities. In the process, parents are able to establish relationships with school staff as well as one another as they gain confidence and knowledge to better support their children academically, socially and emotionally during this sometimes challenging time of transition. The curriculum was developed by and designed to be taught by teachers, out of classroom staff and parent leaders. The THS program seeks to increase parent’s knowledge about the college going process, improve their understanding of the facts that influence student achievement, and encourage parents’ involvement in their child’s education.

Annual Parent Summit

Every year the Boyle Heights Learning Collaborative, in partnership with Inner City Struggle and Families and Schools, organizes a conference for parents in the East Los Angeles area. At this day-long conference hundreds of parents choose between a variety of workshops to attend including but not limited to ELL Reclassification, Transition to Middle School and Transition to High School. They also get to meet and speak with college representatives one on one to discuss options after high school and financial aid.