Episode 89: Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.Ed.
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(May 20, 2011) For more than a decade, IDRA has been an innovator in holding conferences focused on parent engagement. They are completely bilingual. They are highly participatory. And they feature parents as the experts and leaders. Aurelio Montemayor, M.Ed., director of the IDRA Texas Parent Information and Resource Center, gives a few highlights from IDRA’s recent Annual IDRA La Semana del Niño Parent Institute, where parents and school leaders shared stories and ideas about early childhood education, literacy in the home, bilingual/ESL instruction, dropout prevention, high school graduation requirements, and parent rights through Title I. Aurelio is interviewed by Christie Goodman, APR, IDRA communications manager. Send comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Sign up to receive free e-mail notices when new episodes are available.

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See resource links and show notes. (13.2 MB; 00:14:18 min.)

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IDRA Series of Free Summer Webinars
“Families and Schools Connecting ~ Conexiones entre familias y escuelas”

Agenda: Administrator & Parent Educator Preconference Institute 2011
Annual IDRA La Semana del Niño Parent Institute™
“Home-School-Community Connections: Keys to School Success”

Agenda: Annual IDRA La Semana del Niño Parent Institute™ 2011

New Graduation Guidelines in Texas
PowerPoint Presentation from Annual IDRA La Semana del Niño Parent Institute™ 2011

IDRA Family Leadership Principles

IDRA Texas Parent Information and Resource Center

ARISE South Tower PTA Comunitario – A New Model of Parent Engagement
Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.Ed., IDRA Newsletter

LULAC Education Advocacy Tool Kit for Parents

Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY)
A parent involvement, school readiness program that helps parents prepare their 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children for success in school and beyond.

Texas: Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY)

Show Notes

* Aurelio talks about how the Annual IDRA La Semana del Niño Parent Institute first started, and gives an overview of this year's event.

* Aurelio shares the four main objectives of the 2011 institute:

1. Participate in presentations by parent leaders in education
2. Obtain information on various educational topics
3. Network with other parents and educators
4. Gather information about families and education rights, responsibilities and resources

* Christie and Aurelio discuss some of this year's memorable presentations, all of which were conducted in both English and Spanish:

• A talk from four women leading an ARISE-supported PTA program, looking at how to create schools that work for all their children
• Literacy in the home, using material from the HIPPY curriculum
• Parent leadership in education
• Aurelio's own talk on the many requirements facing Title I campuses, helping parents to learn their rights and what to expect from their schools
• The impact of Texas’ House Bill 3, including graduation rates and the troubling implication that "college is not for everyone"
• A session on how parents can organize parent conferences in their own districts
• A discussion led by LULAC on bilingual education advocacy

* Christie asks Aurelio what administrators and parent liaisons, specifically, took away from the Institute.

Show length: 14:18

Related podcasts

Parents as Leaders in Education – May 14, 2010

The Power of IDRA’s Parent Leadership Model – November 10, 2006

Valuing Families in Children’s Education – April 20, 2007

Engaging Parents in Education – September 28, 2007

Effective Parent Outreach – July 23, 2008

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