Elgin U-46 board member wants to expand group beyond Latinos and blacks
An Elgin Area School District U-46 school board trustee's call for a leadership institute for all district parents - not just Latinos and blacks - is being criticized by fellow board members.
U-46's Hispanic and black parent leadership institutes "should be open for all parents to participate," school board member Jeanette Ward said earlier this week.
Two school board members said opening up the institutes to everyone would defeat the purpose for which they were created.
"It was created to address an underrepresentation issue," school board member Traci O'Neal Ellis said. "I strongly and strenuously object to any dilution of the African-American and Hispanic leadership institutes."
The institutes - started in 2010 and 2011, respectively, by former Superintendent José Torres - are open to Latino and black parents of students in elementary or middle school. They promote parents' involvement in their child's education, district and school activities, and participation in committees and meetings.
U-46 CEO Tony Sanders said the program initially was created for bilingual parents and later was expanded to black parents. The institutes were prompted by a discussion with the district's Citizens Advisory Council on how to get more parents from minority communities involved in committees.
Ward said the district doesn't have to exclude other groups of parents to accomplish that.
Board member Veronica Noland - an alumna of the Hispanic Parent Leadership Institute - said there is a need for such leadership programs for minority parents.
"At the moment these two (minority) groups are the groups that are mainly underrepresented," Noland said. "I think they really serve a purpose, and I'm an example of this. I'm open to another group, if we felt we needed it."
U-46's institutes were modeled after the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Academy. Participants have gone on to participate on the district's instructional council and the Citizens Advisory Council, and represent the district at the state level.
The program came under fire last year from some district taxpayers who questioned why the district was paying parents $1,000 for participation - funded through general fund revenues. Parents could earn up to a $1,000 stipend if they met the program's requirements, though the money was not guaranteed to every participant. The stipend was based on attendance, promptness and active participation in all training sessions, and providing at least four completed meeting logs.
However, that stipend was eliminated this past school year after feedback from participants, said Karla Guzmán, U-46 parent outreach coordinator.
"It wasn't due to funding issues," Guzmán said. "We wanted the focus to be on the actual work of the parent leadership institute participants and not so much on the stipend. The parents are there because they are committed and because they wanted the program."
Since its inception, 84 parents have graduated from both leadership institutes, and 11 parents currently are enrolled.
The district has awarded $150,600 in stipends for both institutes, though a few participants chose not to accept or donated their stipend to a local parents group.
Participants meet once a month for eight months during the school year and must commit to completing two full years of the program. Only 25 parents can be accepted per group at one time.
Meetings for interested parents will be held 5-6 p.m. Thursday and July 17, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 7, and 9-10 a.m. Aug. 28 in room 240 of the U-46 district offices, 355 E. Chicago St., Elgin. Those interested should contact Guzmán at karlaguzman@u-46.org or call (847) 888-5000, ext. 4211.