Bring the Parent Mentor Program to Your Community
We’re not open to new schools and school districts at this time. Please check back regularly, fill out the form below to let us know of your interest, or both.
Meantime, here’s some background information from the 2026-2027 school year for those interested in learning more:
Virtual Info Session slide deck and the recording (June 2025)
What is the Parent Mentor Program?
Parent mentors help address persistent equity gaps in their own children's schools by volunteering in classrooms for two hours/day for at least 200 hours. The parent mentors access weekly professional development on instructional practices, leadership, career opportunities, mentoring from a teacher, and stipends. Parent mentors support each other within their cohort to pursue their dreams and unite the school community for long-term change.
What will the grant pay for?
We seek community partners ready to collaborate with their public schools in Illinois to implement the Parent Mentor Program to accomplish these goals. We anticipate adding new partner organizations to lead the Parent Mentor Program in their communities, each starting with an average of 2 public schools. SWOP will provide a contract of a minimum of $52,000 per school. Partners and schools may choose cohorts of 6 or 8 Parent Mentors. Contracts are for one year only. Funding is through the Illinois State Board of Education.
How will the Parent Engagement Institute support us?
Our relationship is more than a grant. Based on over 25 years of running local Parent Mentor programs, Palenque LSNA and SWOP have developed the Parent Engagement Institute (PEI) to coach other community organizations and school districts that joined our network to replicate the Parent Mentor model. PEI provides an orientation, a yearlong calendar of professional development workshops for partner organizations, a peer support network, site-specific coaching, and the program documents needed to help ensure your program is successful and true to the original values.
Who is eligible?
Our priority will be partnering with community-based organizations rooted in school communities with 80 %+ low-income students and communities that do not currently have a parent mentor partner organization. Must be in Illinois.
