4.0 Parent /Community Component
Recognizing and empowering parents
and the community that surrounds our students and schools is a critical component
of UD. Building leadership capacity and bridging the Digital Divide by placing
technology in the homes of our students are two goals of this component.
Parents through a community service program will be able to earn a refurbished computer that will be permanently placed in a student's home. This computer will have application programs necessary to support the academic efforts of a student and their families. The equipment for this program will be provided through the services of community organizations.
The establishment of a training program to support parents will focus on the training of the parents. This organization will provide training on the use of the equipment and organize the monitoring of community service hours necessary to "earn" a computer.
Home school connections will be strengthened through the use of technology. The grant's goal of building support and leadership capacity with the parental community will be supported by using web based resources, utilizing the OUSD phone calling system and the district cable station KDOL.
The design of the parent component will vary from site to site depending on other programs that may exist at a given site and the site priorities. Building a community of students, parents, teacher and UD staff will result in significant gains in language arts and social studies achievement.
