1. Empowering Parents
Shannon Polee
Dafne Melgar
Mentor: Dr. Luz Chung
Department: Education Studies

2. Why we decided to do this
Research Project?
 Shannon Polee: 2 parent house hold, Involved
Mom, Involved Dad, Involved siblings.
 Dafne Melgar: Migrant and no parent
involvement.
 Due to our varying circumstances, we decided
to further explore the topic of parent/ family
engagement within the South East San Diego
community. We chose this community because it
has a YMCA/support system right in the heart of
its impoverished and underprivileged community.

3. Jackie Robinson YMCA
• Predominantly Latino and
African American
Community.
• War zone between 53
registered gangs.
• 51 homicides in 2011
• Hundreds of unsolved
crimes.

4. YMCA PHILOSOPHY
 The YMCA states:
 “Its for Everybody”
 “We build strong kids, strong families and strong
communities”
 Our research question began to take shape
through analyzing how the YMCA does this, and
we discovered that parents are at the center of
the community and are at the heart of the
YMCA.

5. Research Question: Needs
Assessment
 What factors influence and deter
increased engagement of parents in
the Jackie Robinson YMCA service
area?

6. What is parent involvement
according to educational
experts?
 Volunteer help
 Field trip chaperones
 Help in fundraising projects
 Attending school conferences
 Home work assistance
 Volunteer in sports
 Help to make decisions in the school
governance (PTA)
Educationnorthwest.org

7. General Methodology
This community needs assessment of parent involvement at the
JRYMCA was carried out through surveys, individual interviews, and
group interviews that took place at the YMCA site.
-Participants: There were 266 persons who participated in the survey.
There were 15 parents who participated in interviews, represented
mostly by Latina and African American women in their early 30’s and
up. There was 1 African American male and 1 Latino male.
10 staff members participated in the interviews including front desk
clerks, volunteers, athletic coaches, bus drivers, administrative staff,
camp counselors, health/fitness staff and out reach counselors.
We planned and conducted these interviews and surveys over a
course of a month.
Protocols: This taxonomy identifies 4 dimensions that express details
about parent involvement in this community. (1) Parent Perceptions
(2) Staff perceptions (3) Parent Suggestions (4) Staff suggestions

8. Survey Questions
 How many of your children currently participate in programs
managed by the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA?
 About how long have you lived in the JRYMCA service area?
 How involved have you been in parent led efforts at your child’s
school?
 What challenges do you face when it comes to being more
involved in your child’s school?
 How confident are you in your ability to support your child’s
learning at home?
 How often do you help your child engage in educational
activities that are outside the home?
 Would you like to participate in a 15-minute interview at the
Jackie Robinson YMCA?
 If yes, please leave your contact information and our UCSD
McNair Scholars Dafne Melgar and Shannon Polee will schedule
your in person interview

9. WHAT PARENT
INVOLVEMENT IS FOR THIS
COMMUNITY
 Discussing why education is important to children
 Teaching children about their culture
 Finding community resources for children
 Quality time with children
 Motivating children in school and after school
activities
 Support: Financial, emotional and physical

10. Then, why are the children
confused?

11. Why are parents confused?

12. Why is the YMCA staff
confused?

13. Findings: Survey’s results
TIME
TRANSPORTATION
LANGUAGE
WORK
DAYCARE
SCHOOL
CONNECTING TO SCHOOL’S STAFF
Lack of parent’s experience recognition
Poor cooperation
Can’t sacrifice income
TIME
TIME
WORK

14. Interview Results: Parent Issues
 Time poverty
 Parents drop their kids off, but do not stay because there are not many
parent/family events
 Parents are not aware of the information the YMCA has to offer. Not enough
people know about the resources there.
 Parents do not think that they have the skills or requirements necessary to
facilitate workshops and events.
 Some feel afraid and unwelcome due to financial obligations.
 Generational cycle of Parents not being there
 Parents wish there was more organization and more funding at the JRYMCA.
 Parents are afraid to reveal things about themselves such as immigrant status or
details that would affect the volunteer background check.
 side of the zip-code, therefore get limited alerts and assistance
 Many parents do not qualify for a lot of financial assistance, even though they
are living paycheck to paycheck.
 Surveys do not make a difference if no effective action comes as a result.

15. Staff Issues
 Parents exploit the security of the JRYMCA and turn it into a babysitting
service.
 Everybody does not qualify for financial aid
 The YMCA is a non profit organization, therefore there is a limited
amount of funds available
 There are too many roles and not enough staff: many of the staff are
volunteers and are not all dedicated
 Has an outreach director, but no resource counselors to help students
with scholarships and academic issues
 There is a sense of community culture v YMCA culture: Many families
feel entitled and feels that the YMCA owes this something. They want
more for less.

16. Parent and Staff
Commonalities
 1. Time poverty
 2. Financial Capital
 3. Communication/ Awareness (Parent
Liason)
 4. Resources
 5. Opportunity

17. Parent/Staff Suggestions
 Parent Liason
 More family activities
 Mandatory parent and child chaperoning events
 Taking the opportunity to find out what parents are willing to do
what
 Create activities that can reach a diverse range of people
 Send Text alerts for busier parents/ make face book event
 Create a family newsletter and out up parent wall
 Advertise more free and easy activities such as dodge ball, father-
son basketball day, mother and daughter tea-party or jump rope
contest.
 Training Workshops- Tips and advice for parents to volunteer.
Informative parent workshops on health, sex, academics, etc.

18. Further Research Questions
 Why aren’t more father’s present at the
YMCA?
 How can the YMCA create more
opportunities for funding?

19. YMCA
 YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
 HEALTHY LIVING
 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
 FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
 FRIENDLY STAFF MEMBERS AND VOLUNTEERS
 LOCATIONS AROUND SAN DIEGO COUNTY

20.  Harris, Marry M., Arminta Jacobson &Rebecca Hemmer (2004). Preparing Teachers to
 Engage Parents. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Famy Research Project.
 Kan, Deniz. “Parent Involvement Activities from Parent’s Point of View” International
 Journal of Academic Research 3.6 (2011): 130-158.
 Overstreet S., Devine J., Bevans K., Efreom Y. (2005). Predicting parental involvement
 in children’s schooling within an economically disadvantaged African American
 sample. Psychology in the Schools, 42(1), 101-111.
 Smalley, S. Y., & Reyes-Blanes, M. E. (2001). Reaching out to African American parents
 in an urban community: A community-university partnership. Urban Education, 36,
 518-533.
 Williams, Terrinieka T., and Bernadette Sánchez. "Identifying And Decreasing Barriers
 To Parent Involvement For Inner-City Parents." Youth & Society 45.1 (2013): 54-74.
 Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 July 2013.
Research Literature

21. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Mentor: Dr. Luz Chung
Michael Brunker

22. QUESTIONS?