PIRC

The Parent Information and Resource Center of A Work of Faith Ministries, Inc., is offering an opportunity to help parents in your community as part of the Parent Information & Resource Center’s (PIRC) program component of the Parent Information & Training Initiative (PITI), a comprehensive effort to reduce youth violence and increase adult engagement and leadership here in the Chicago area. We train Chicago-area parents to conduct parent-to-parent education and community outreach as Parent Leaders.  

 

As Parent Leaders, they will be holding important dialogues about how we can “take back the village,” begin to recover from decades of violence, and save our youth from the negative influences on the streets, by surrounding them with caring adults. Parent Leaders will form teams of ten to design and implement service projects which will contribute to building protective factors in their community. Service projects will be designed with an eye toward making a positive contribution to the community well beyond 2025. If you know people who have been “through the fire” in dealing with their own issues and have recently navigated the tricky waters and challenges of raising an adolescent, The Parent Program training and membership may be an opportunity for you to refer family, friends and community residents!

 

A Work of Faith will identify and train, part-time Parent Leaders (serving evenings and weekends), in your neighborhood. The training and community service positions would be a great way to help parents struggling to raise children in these challenging environments and times.  Contribute to a unique effort dedicated to making our community stronger and better connected to its resources through leaders like you.

 

AWOFINC's Parent Information & Resource Center (PIRC) offers a full training program to develop Parent Leaders as an effective, “go-to” community resource for other parents in your neighborhood. We provide leadership training, background on the project’s outreach messages, and training on violence prevention strategies and other protective factors. If you or someone you know is interested in joining the PIRC: Parent Program team, they are first required to attend an orientation session to learn more.

 

 

AWOFINC: PIRC                                    

​

• Focusing on building trusting collaborative relationships among teachers, families, and community members;

• Recognizing, respecting, and addressing families’ needs and any class and cultural differences;

• Embracing a philosophy of partnership where power and responsibility are shared.

​

​

​

​

Engaging Parents as Education Advisors
 

Although PTA is a common household term, recognized by most parents in the United States as the parent-teacher association, less is known about parent advisory councils (PACs).  PACs are parent-led organizations that function at the state, district, and school levels to give parents more clout regarding their children’s education.  PACs promote parent influence in multiple ways, including polling communities to better understand parents’ needs and wants, recommending policies, and advocating for the rights of parents to be involved in the education of their children.

 

Key Roles for a Parental Information and Resource Center (PIRC)

As defined by the Department of Education, the funding agency for PIRCs, key PIRC roles include:

 

• Providing leadership, technical assistance, and support in the implementation of successful and effective parent involvement policies, programs, and activities intended to improve student academic achievement;
• Strengthening partnerships among parents (including parents of children from birth through age 5), teachers, principals, administrators, and other school personnel in meeting the education needs of children;
• Developing and strengthening the relationship between parents and their children’s school; and 

• Providing a comprehensive approach to improving student learning, through coordination and integration of federal, state, and local services and programs.

 

Key stakeholders include:

​

 Youth

 Policymakers

 Researchers

 Providers

 Consumers, including families and youth

 Schools

State/local affiliates of youth-serving organizations

 Others, depending on the topic to be addressed

​

​

Join Our Team of Parent Leaders and serve your community!

 

 

Check out the Guide To

What's Good In The Neighborhood!

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​