WHO WE ARE

A partnership between Palenque LSNA and the Southwest Organizing Project, the Parent Engagement Institute (PEI) builds the capacity of community organizations, parent leaders, and schools to replicate the Parent Mentor Program model and build transformative parent leadership in schools and communities across Illinois and beyond.

We are:

• A network of community organizations building the Parent Mentor model in our own neighborhood schools

• A training and coaching institute, on both organizing and instructional practices, for organizers and parent leaders 

• An organizing campaign seeking to make the Parent Mentor model the new normal, changing the narrative and changing practices on parent leadership

• A steward and redistributor of funding for community organizations to do this work.

OUR MISSION

The Parent Engagement Institute builds organizational capacity by challenging partner organizations to make the Parent Mentor Program a vehicle for leadership and organizing. We sustain program validity by providing a structure, supported by guidance and love, so that expectations are clear, and we sustain the essence of the program by modeling the values of the Parent Mentor Program throughout our work. We cultivate a powerful network of Parent Mentor staff and leaders while at the same time providing individualized coaching to partner organizations, recognizing that every school, organization, and community is unique. We set the strategy to expand the Parent Mentor model across the nation and guide parent mentor leaders to lead that campaign.

OUR Vision

Our vision is for all individuals–especially Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Immigrant parents and young people–to determine the future of our own lives, families, schools, and communities, for community care, justice, and liberation.

The goals of Parent Engagement Institute and the Parent Mentor Program: 

1. Powerful Parents & Families - Parents grow personally and professionally, and are leaders that shape the changes we need in our schools and communities. 

2. Powerful Students & Classrooms  - Parents collaborate with teachers to co-create caring, encouraging, loving, and sustainable spaces for students and the entire school community to engage, learn, and grow.

3. Powerful Community-Centered Schools - Parents’ leadership is centered within schools, organizations, and communities, and talent pipelines are created to fill school gaps and build economic liberation for families.

4. Powerful Communities - Parents organize with community organizations to build a parent-led movement that creates the resources, policies, and systems that we need. In the process, parents and families experience intergenerational healing and transformation.

WE BELIEVE

• That all families and individuals should be treated with dignity and respect.

• It is worth it to “transform ourselves to transform the world.” (Adrienne Maree Brown)

• In self-determination and that as parent leaders we must lead the change we all deserve and build the schools and communities of our dreams.

• In building lines of solidarity across diverse communities to build powerful partnerships, that lead with conviction.

• We must act, because “if there is no struggle, there is no progress.” (Frederick Douglass)

• We can build communities here and now that are joyful, safe, and liberating.

• That through these efforts, we are creating a collaborative base with the ability to act and make change; to live in strong communities that are prosperous and free.

JOIN THE PARENT MENTOR MOVEMENT

We are excited to announce that our FY24 Parent Mentor Program Application is now available! Check out this page for more info on how to apply.

The Parent Engagement Institute has successfully implemented its model for communities in Colorado, Arkansas, Iowa, Boston, Newark, and North Carolina.

Please feel free to contact the Director of the Parent Engagement Institute Bridget Murphy at bmurphy@lsna.net for a calendar of upcoming trainings and how we can provide technical assistance to your organization or district.