LAUSD Inspector General’s Audit Report: PROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF PARENT CENTERS

to be presented and discussed at the Bond Oversight Committee Wednesday 17 October at noon.

[ agenda | agenda item #4 ]

from the office of the inspector general

from the report:

STATUS OF LAUSD PARENT CENTERS:

In support of the District’s commitment to increasing parent and family and community engagement and the implementation of the Board adopted resolution, Parents as Equal Partners in the Education of Their Children, the Superintendent has upgraded and improved Parent Centers throughout the District. The Board has approved 573 Parent Center upgrades since April 2011.

The status of those Parent Centers are as follows:

• 21 Parent Centers have been completed which were all funded by Board Member Priority Funds.

• 9 Parent Centers are in progress and are currently being upgraded.

• 27 Parent Centers have not been started.

• The average cost of each Parent Center funded by the $20 million allocation is $102,045.

It is estimated that 196 Parent Centers will be upgraded with the $20 million bond fund allocation.

POTENTIAL IMPACT

Possible risks associated with future Parent Centers:

• Parent Centers may not be used for the intended purposes if not monitored.

• Existing network infrastructure at schools may not support the equipment such as laptops provided by the upgrade and improvement projects initiative.

• Recruiting and engaging parents as volunteers at middle schools and high schools may be difficult to accomplish, especially if schools do not build partnerships with families and address their concerns and honor their contributions.

NEXT STEPS: Actions the District Should Consider

The following actions should be considered by the Parent Community Services Branch and all stakeholders to mitigate potential risks identified in this report. A written response is not required for these actions, however the actions should be discussed and taken into consideration for future planning of Parent Centers at LAUSD.

• Ensure that the existing network infrastructure at schools with Parent Centers support the equipment that is being provided by the District through the upgrade and improvement projects initiative.

• Ensure that the objectives and goals of the District’s Parents as Equal Partners in the Education of Their Children Resolution are conveyed to community members on the purpose of Parent and Family Centers.

• Consider adding to the schoolwide survey the question, “How can a Parent Center be more effective” or developing a separate survey to obtain this information.

• Consider developing a districtwide Parent University.

• Consider implementing a survey similar to the one presented in “Appendix B” to determine the number of Parent Centers districtwide in lieu of physically visiting schools.

NOTE: the full 50 page  IG’s Internal Audit  - which follows - has been reduced to a 7 page “highlights reel” in the agenda of  the Bond Oversight Committee presentation on Wednesday.

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