Educator and Student Support

Authentic Outreach

Chapter 2 of the IDRA Family Engagement – Technical Assistance Toolkit

This short video addresses an antidote to the often-heard complaint about families not attending school meetings and functions. As you plan your family engagement activities, consider the ideas in this video.

Effective communication with families is labor intensive but when sustained over time, it pays great dividends in family participation and connections created in the community. An initial expectation is quality rather than quantity and large numbers. A large number of attendees at an annual meeting might provide a check-off on a list, but it isn’t authentic and continuing engagement.


Engaging Parents through Powerful Coalition Building

This article features an interview with Jose Medrano, of the START Center, South Texas Adult Resource and Training Center of San Benito, Texas, and then chair of the education committee of the Equal Voice Network. Here is an excerpt of their conversation, edited for space. The full interview is available through the IDRA Classnotes Podcast.

See Engaging Parents through Powerful Coalition Building article


Promotora Model for Family Leadership in Education – Podcast Episode 118

The promotora model of community outreach evolved in neighborhoods in Mexico and Latin American countries to provide medical treatment often in marginalized communities. Community-based organizations in South Texas adopted the model naturally as women volunteer leaders from the community serve and inspire other women and families to leadership.

In this Classnotes podcast episode, Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.Ed., IDRA senior education associate; Frances Guzmán, M.Ed., IDRA education associate; and Hector Bojorquez, IDRA education associate, discuss how schools can use this model for outreach to families. They share examples from Education CAFEs (then called PTA Comunitarios) in South Texas who have used the promotora model to build family leadership in education to great effect.

Go to Promotora Model for Family Leadership in Education – Podcast Episode 118