Welcome to Pennsylvania’s State Parent Advisory Council website.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education formed the Title I State Parent Advisory Council (SPAC) in 1990 to act as an advisory board to provide input and advice to the Division of Federal Programs on how to better meet the needs of Title I parents across the state. SPAC includes parents of children participating in Title I and serves as the collective voice of Title I parents across the Commonwealth. Parent volunteers in SPAC focus on all aspects of parent involvement… from working with children at home to developing partnerships between parents, teachers, administrators, and community leaders to create effective and engaging parent involvement programs.

SPAC has three main goals:

• To establish a network of parents across the state to disseminate pertinent information and share strategies to encourage greater parent participation in Title I programs.
• To identify successful parent programs that can become models for schools with limited parent involvement.
• To empower parents with the skills and knowledge to become advocates for their Title I children.

In order to meet the goals of SPAC, activities are divided into four major components: (1) an annual Title I parent training conference, (2) visits to Title I schools that request assistance in increasing meaningful parent involvement, (3) parent involvement mini-contracts for Title I schools, and (4) a statewide parent resource center.

The Title I State Parent Advisory Council is funded with Title I State Administration Funds by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Division of Federal Programs through contract with Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV.

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Anne T. Henderson is a Senior Fellow in the Community Involvement Program at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform and author of the parent involvement book Beyond the Bake Sale. On March 28, 2007, she spoke to the U. S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions about Effective Strategies for Engaging Parents and Communities in Schools. Download testimony.

On pages 8 and 9, she shares ideas that you can use as you review your compact with your parents. Her suggestions might spark some great conversation among your teachers and parents!