The Care and Feeding of Parents - Thoughts for School Administrators

As my daughter moves speedily toward graduation in June, I am reminded that this too will be a graduation of sorts for me. This year marks my 20th and last year of being associated with the Los Angeles Unified School District as a parent volunteer and leader.

I started to volunteer and lead when my son started in Kindergarten 20 years ago. During the course of many years of motivations, involvements, participations, interventions, stakeholderisms, and interactions, I learned a great deal about what it takes to be a parent leader in a public school.

I certainly can't say that I learned everything I know from the Kindergarten Parent (KP) experience, but so much was based on the energy that existed there. If you could bottle the energy of KP's , you could run a thousand schools without worrying about who will pay for it.

So much of what I learned came from the way I was welcomed in and made to feel that my presence, involvement, and participation was not simply accepted, but thoroughly needed and appreciated. Some of the pearls I gathered while in my formative years as a parent leader included:

• The Power of Thank You is Magical
• Asking for opinions, and acting on those opinions creates connections
• Asking for help says that you value the person you are asking
• Never presume you've sought and received enough input from volunteers
• Parents want to be treated like partners, maybe even consumers, but not like large students
  

Like anywhere else in the world of managing things, some administrators get it (GI's), others think they do, and others fail dramatically. The GI's have a long line of parents wanting to help manage the educational adventure. GI's view parent involvement as something more than another evaluation column.

If you are going to be happy where your children go to school, or where you choose to volunteer, look for the GI's. If there aren't any at the top, perhaps it's time to look elsewhere.

Think about the value you bring to members and participants

People join organizations or participate in activities for a wide variety of reasons. One of their primary reasons is the value they receive from their involvement. Personal value can only be calculated by the participant but we can take some pretty educated guesses at how we figure that one out.

I participate or join because:
1. I like the people involved
2. I like what they do
3. I believe in what they do
4. People will think I'm cool if I am part of it
5. It makes me feel good to be part of it
6. It makes financial sense
7. I will make connections that I couldn't make otherwise
8. I can't put my finger on it but I feel much better being a part than not

You get the idea that there are numerous value calculations that we each make prior to committing any time, money, or both.

As an organizational leader, do you think about what value you bring to your members? When was the last time you made a list of benefits for those who are involved? Think about the organizations that put the list of values right in front.

The American Auto Association (AAA)has more member benefits than anyone could possibly use in a lifetime, yet the primary reason we pay for the card is towing and maybe the occasional check to see if the hotel you are staying at offers a AAA discount. If you avail yourself of all of their other discounts and freebies, congratulations and you have discovered that there is much more value than the cost of membership.

This is not a promotion for the auto club. It is a promotion for the thought of considering what you are giving to your members and participants, and moving your organization farther toward a serious discussion about benefits that you provide.

If you can't identify the benefits you provide, don't expect your members to.