Program Description
Developed by New York University’s Langone Center for Early Childhood Health and Development, ParentCorps works with schools and parents/caregivers to help pre-kindergarten children develop foundational skills. ParentCorps is available in multiple languages and its program model is deeply rooted in racial equity, including an emphasis on honoring families’ expertise and cultures. Three programmatic components include:
- Professional development to help staff build strong, culturally responsive relationships with families and promote socio-emotional wellbeing in their classrooms. The training is designed to help educators and staff reflect on their beliefs about and the lived experiences of families, as well as learning the science of early childhood development.
- A group-based, 14-week parenting program to support families in nurturing early childhood development. The parenting program focuses on affirming families’ experiences, building family-family connections, and equipping families with more knowledge of evidence-based parenting practices.
- Friends School is a classroom-based program that emphasizes the development of children’s social-emotional skills, including communicating about their thoughts and feelings, developing a positive sense of self, and building healthy relationships.
Program Outcomes
The impact of ParentCorps was explored in a cluster randomized controlled trial in 10 public elementary schools with 26 pre-k classes in 2 high-poverty school districts in New York City. Participants were 1050 black and Latino, low-income children participating over 4 years. Intervention included after-school group sessions for families of pre-k students and professional development for pre-k and kindergarten teachers. At the end of kindergarten, students in ParentCorps schools performed better on the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA), a standardized measure covering reading, writing, and math, than students in control schools (effect size = +0.18). In addition, on the New York Teacher Rating Scale for
Disruptive and Antisocial Behavior, students in ParentCorps schools were rated as having less issues (effect size = +0.25). These results qualify ParentCorps for an ESSA Strong rating in the SEL Academic and Problem Behavior categories.
Staffing Requirements
Participation of a school/program leader, mental health professional, early childhood educators, and a staff member for family outreach and support are required, including participation in training and coaching. Staffing is also needed to supervise and support a 14-week afterschool program.
Professional Development/Training
Training and coaching for school/program leaders, Pre-K teachers and teacher aides, mental health professionals, and parent engagement/support staff are required for implementation of ParentCorps. All training and coaching is part of a structured scope and sequence to achieve proximate and long-term outcomes. Depending on their role, participating staff receive two to seven days of in-person training and complete seven e-learning modules, all designed to help build nurturing and predictable classrooms, use evidence-based practices to engage families and students, and understand and reflect on race and culture. Coaching is also provided to school/program leaders (monthly check-ins), Pre-K teachers and teacher aides (3-4 observational visits and 10 calls), mental health professionals (3-4 observational visits and 10 calls), and parent engagement/support staff (weekly check-ins).
Technology
Computers or tablets to access implementation supports through a single software platform called iParentCorps. DVD or other video player for programming.