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Our state’s public schools provide an amazing service to families and communities every day, but they are also facing a number of challenges, like teacher shortages, outdated facilities, and potential federal budget cuts. To solve problems like these, we must commit to lifting up the voices of parents and community members.
At Parents for Public Schools (PPS), that’s been our mission for more than 30 years. PPS is a national non-profit organization with chapters and partners from coast to coast, and this year we’ve worked in four counties in North Carolina: Pitt, Alamance, Caswell, and Rockingham.
Through our flagship program, our Parent Engagement Program (PEP), parents and community members learn how public schools operate, how to improve collaboration between schools and families, and how to be strong advocates. PEP participants meet several times during the school year, and at each meeting, an expert facilitator leads the group through workshops focused on topics like special education or school board governance. They also have opportunities to engage with their local public schools, whether that’s joining a principal on a school tour or meeting with a district’s finance director to learn about the budget.
Our Pitt County chapter, led by executive director Joshua Breazeale, recently celebrated its sixth PEP graduation, and our partner in Alamance County, Impact Alamance, just celebrated its fourth! Since its founding in 2013, our Pitt County chapter has trained over 150 parents and community members, including three current school board members. Impact Alamance launched their first PEP cohort back in 2021 as part of their Alamance Achieves initiative.
This year was particularly special because we launched our first Spanish-language PEP cohort in Pitt County. Hazel Gonzalez-Gonzalez is a PEP graduate and was one of the Spanish-language facilitators. She told us, “Being part of PEP was a powerful experience. It was a great opportunity to learn more about the public education system and how we, as parents, can make positive impacts in the lives of our children and our communities. Being able to facilitate the modules in Spanish breaks one of the barriers that Spanish-speaking families may have. PEP has an extraordinary impact in the community!”
Dr. Steve Lassiter, superintendent of Pitt County Schools, attended our PEP kick-off in September and our graduation in May. He told us, “PEP continues to be a powerful tool for strengthening family-school partnerships in Pitt County, and I’m especially excited about the launch of our first-ever Spanish-language cohort. This expansion reflects our commitment to ensuring that every family — regardless of language — feels seen, heard, and empowered to support their child’s success.”
But our PEP participants’ work doesn’t end at graduation! They also commit to completing a project where they apply what they’ve learned in the program, choosing a school-, district-, or state-level barrier that they want to tackle. This year’s graduates are working on a number of great projects, including:
- Renovating the courtyard at a local elementary school so that it’s more accessible for students with special needs
- Developing a program to address student mental health issues, including handwritten notes from parents and friendship bracelets from fellow students
- Educating fellow parents about the state’s calendar law and how to advocate for more flexibility
- Assisting Spanish-speaking families with the online kindergarten registration process
In addition to our full PEP programs in Pitt and Alamance counties, this year we also launched a new “Public Schools 101” workshop series in Caswell and Rockingham counties. Through these workshops, parents and community members got to learn the basics of public school governance and funding, including the different roles the federal, state, and local governments each play.
Participants really valued these workshops! One told us, “I loved all of it! Breaking down the federal, state, and local pieces was so helpful,” and another said, “In just an hour and a half, I have a better understanding of public education than I’ve ever had in my life!”
In Caswell County, we worked in partnership with the Education Collaborative and the Danville Regional Foundation. In Rockingham County, we worked in partnership with Rockingham County Education Foundation, Reidsville Area Foundation, NC 100, and Rockingham County Schools.
Dr. John “Shawn” Stover, superintendent of Rockingham County Schools, joined the workshops we offered in Rockingham County. He told us, “For public schools to continue to thrive, it is essential both parents and the community understand all that goes into educating students. Parents for Public Schools does an outstanding job making complex issues, like school finance and special education, accessible to parents and the community. Those who have gone through Parents for Public Schools training not only become strong supporters of public education, they become forceful advocates, able to generate support and build understanding of the value public schools bring to our community, state, and nation.”
As we close the books on this school year, we are incredibly grateful to every parent and community member who spent time with us. We will continue to educate folks across North Carolina and the country, and we hope you will do your part as well because as we always say at Parents for Public Schools: When parents and schools work together, everyone wins!
