DOE Parent Coordinators and Parent Support Offices

By New York City Department of Education Staff

Parent Coordinators are new staff members of the New York City Department of Education (DOE) working on-site in schools. Parent Coordinators are responsible for encouraging and promoting active involvement by parents in their children’s education. They also strive to make all of our schools more welcoming to parents. In addition to principals and teachers, the Parent Coordinator is an important point of contact for parents at their children’s schools. Parent Coordinators are trained to help parents find answers to their questions and concerns.

In creating this position, the DOE realized that most problems involving students and their families must be solved at the school level. Unlike parent volunteers working in a school, the Parent Coordinator is a staff professional who can work with his/her colleagues to solve problems. The goal is to make it easier for parents to resolve issues at the school level or find information and services they need to help their children.

Another task for Parent Coordinators is to support existing parent organizations, such as the Parent Association and the School Leadership Team. While some Parent Coordinators are former Parent Association officers, Parent Coordinators are not an extension of the Parent Association. Their job is to work with parent groups to find ways to attract and serve a broader range of parents in each school.

Parent Coordinators reach out to community and faith-based organizations to seek their assistance on a broad range of issues, such as health care, after-school activities, and mentoring.

The Parent Coordinators are part of a large parent-support staff now working not only in schools, but also in the 13 Parent Support Offices located in Learning Support Centers and in District-based offices across the city. They will have a slightly different schedule than other school staff, with hours during school time as well as nights and weekends. Parent Coordinators also have their own direct line, which eliminates going through busy school phone lines.

Parent support staff members receive ongoing training to ensure that public schools respond to the needs and concerns of all parents.

All parents should take the time to introduce themselves to the Parent Coordinator in their school. Be sure to get the Parent Coordinator’s direct phone number. As the school year unfolds, Parent Coordinators will offer many opportunities for parent to learn more about supporting their children’s education. The ultimate goal of the Parent Coordinators is to create the strongest possible base of parent services for all families. They do this by working closely with both the parents and staff in each school.

Excerpt from: http://schools.nyc.gov/Parents/Get+Involved/default.htm