Overview of the “I Care” Parent Involvement Curriculum Model for Families, Schools & Communities

The System

Supports the importance of parents as the primary educators of their children
Designed to bring parents, school, and community together for the purpose of raising children with character
Implementation materials enable family, schools, and communities to focus on the same pillar of character each month
Defines parent involvement as the number of times parents are positively engaged with their children at home, at school, and in the community

Pre-K through 12th Grade curricula are built around the 12 Pillars of Character. As an example, elementary students will practice respect in the form of courtesy, politeness, fairness, patience, honor, and open-mindedness based on their grade level. Over time, they will gain a deeper understanding of respect.
- Enables all grades levels to study the same pillar each month, though each grade is practicing a different trait related to the pillar. This is a school-wide approach to character education.
Based on sound principles of learning:
- New field of positive psychology
- Conditions of learning: reception, availability, and activation
- Open-ended questions; multiple learning styles
- Connectedness to real life
One trait a month, instead of one per week
- Enables coverage of the 12 Pillars of Character annually
- Provides variety to keep parents, teachers, and students interested and motivated
Includes:
- Five monthly Character-Building Parenting Activities
- Monthly Teacher Lesson Plans
- Monthly Bulletin Board Messages and posters
- Monthly Character Mastery Activities
- Monthly Independent Student Study Character Activities (for middle and high school students)
- Documentation and Assessment Tools
  - On-Line Parent Involvement Data Collection and Evaluation Service

Research is clear about the positive impact of parent involvement on character development

Components:
- Annual parent training (only takes 15 minutes)
- Five activities to do with their child each month
- At the end of the month, parents return a Feedback Form to the school online indicating how many activities they did at home.
Benefits:
- Provides parents with new ideas and strategies to help their children at home
- Increases communication from home to school and from school to home

Includes not only families with children in school, but also citizens who are interested in and affected by the quality of education
- Trains teachers, parents, and the community partners
- Sends monthly character-building parenting activities and Feedback Forms to parents
- Teachers teach at least one lesson related to the character trait; post and reference the bulletin board messages and posters throughout the month
- Teachers communicate a positive (with no negatives) comment about their students to each parent monthly
- Provides Student Character Mastery Activities at the end of each month
- Provides Student Independent Study Character Activities at the beginning of each month (Middle & High School)
- Staff inputs monthly data into the On-Line “I Care” Data Management System to document parental involvement
Benefits:
- Meets and exceeds Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) parent involvement requirements
- Feedback Forms help teachers better understand families’ lifestyles and cultural background

Includes not only families with children in school, but also citizens who are interested in and affected by the quality of education
- Chamber of Commerce
- Local businesses
- Local government
- Faith-based organizations
Benefits:
- Provides common ground for a discussion of integrity, character, and ethics
- Reinforces ethics in the workplace
- Improves communication between school and community
Components:
- Partnerships with schools
- PowerPoint training presentation for the workplace
- Monthly character posters illustrating the pillar of character being studied and practiced in the schools and at home
- Mentoring training presentation