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Schools resource center to help parents choose
(Published April 19, 2004)

The nonprofit Center for Student Support Services opened its new D.C. Parent Information and Resource Center April 9.

The center was set up to provide information about different school options within the District, said Eve Brooks, executive director of the Center for Student Support Services.

The group hopes to help parents with children in "failing" schools recognize their rights to alternative means of education, which include public charter schools, private and parochial schools, and a new school voucher program to begin next fall.

"Parents have a right to transfer to other DCPS schools... or to charter schools. We help them figure out their options," Brooks said.

Staff members will provide callers with program information regarding the public schools in the District, charter schools and the scholarships available to attend private schools.

"Parents have excellent opportunities in this city through DCPS, the public charter schools and private institutions. Fortunately, they will now have help in working through this maze to find the best fit for their children," Brooks said. "We’ll help them think through how to choose the right school."

The Parent Information and Resource Center is organized into three components that provide specific services for different needs.

The Call Center and Parent Outreach component is the primary focus of PIRC. It will help parents take advantage of the federal "No Child Left Behind" legislation, to make decisions based on information that explains parents' rights and options under the law. The No Child Left Behind legislation requires the District to set aside 10 percent of its Title I federal funds for supplemental services, such as tutoring at "failing schools." Parent Outreach will give parents options if their child attends a failing school

Another component will provide assistance to schools in promoting student achievement, and a partnership with Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care Inc. will help parents prepare their young children to enter school.

Funded by a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the D.C. Parent Information and Resource Center is still in its early weeks of operation. Brooks said the organization will eventually create a database of recurrent problems with schools so they can address the issues in a "policy sense," if necessary.

Most schools targeted by PIRC are in Wards 1, 7 and 8, Brooks said, but she said there are failing schools all over town.

In the future, PIRC plans to give out information in writing, through packets of information and a Web site. In the meantime, Brooks said communication will be primarily over the phone.

The resource center may be contacted at (202) 464-3233. Assistance is available in both English and Spanish. --Julia Bilz