Cheryl Hollis, a family room liaison for the Omaha Public Schools in Omaha, Nebraska, describes how the schools in her community attempt to involve parents in their prevention programs. Excerpted from the video series Schools That Work: The Research Advantage, videoconference #6, Preparing Students for Drug-Free Lifestyles (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 1992).
"We get them involved by calling them on the telephone, giving them good news about their children instead of a negative answer in response to what the children are doing. They like to hear something positive every once in a while. They get frantic when a school authority will call, but when I call them, I give them good news. That's a good way to meet the parents on a positive level. We send out fliers, we hold in-services that the parents request information in, we get in contact with them in seminars, anything, the family rooms are there to get the parent more actively involved in their children's education as a whole."
This Critical Issue was researched and written by Emanuel Hurwitz, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago; Julius Menacker, Ed.D, Professor of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago; and Ward Weldon, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago. Additional comments were provided by Carol Sullivan, a Minneapolis-based violence prevention consultant.
Date posted: 1996