At LEAP Academy University School — a K-12 public charter school in Camden, N.J. — parents are required to volunteer at the school for 40 hours over the academic year.
School officials say volunteer engagement builds strong home-school connections and helps LEAP — which stands for Leadership, Education and Partnership — better understand and respond to parents' needs. Parents, meanwhile, say volunteering gives them more voice and authority in school activities and helps build trust among the school community.
"The child sees that the parent trusts the school, and the parent is learning from the school and getting resources from the school," says Cheree Coleman, a parent of rising 8th and 9th graders. "So now the student looks at the school like, 'This is family. This is a place that I can go if I can't get help from my parents or, you know, other resources.' It's stability."
The school works with families to try to ensure the 40-hour requirement is not burdensome. Maria Cruz, director of LEAP's Parent Engagement Center, says school leaders work with each family to find ways for them to help out within their own schedules or situations. Students' relatives can also contribute to the families' volunteer hours.
Volunteer hours can be gained by participating in any event at the 1,560-student school, including reading to students, planning special events, fundraising, attending parent workshops, serving on committees, sending emails to school groups, or any other activity that supports school efforts.
Cruz adds that while the school tracks the volunteer hours, no student would lose their spot if their family failed to meet the 40 hours.
"We work with them" to fill the hours, Cruz says. "We don't tell them that the volunteer hours are mandatory. The word ‘mandatory’ is kind of like a negative term for them, so we don't use it. We talk to them, let them know that the reason why we're doing the volunteer hours is so they can be engaged in the school."
The school, founded in 1997, has a long history of parent engagement, says Stephanie Weaver-Rogers, LEAP's chief operation officer. "We opened based on parent needs so parents have always been integral and we are very focused on having parents involved in every aspect of the school."
Educating students and parents
In addition to volunteering, the school engages parents through workshops specifically for them. Held weekly at the school, these optional parent workshops offer learning on a variety of topics and skills, such as homeownership, English language, employment, nutrition and technology.
Along with the free classes, parents get dinner, child care and parking also at no charge, Cruz says. She and other school staff work to recruit experts in the community — including other parents — to lead the classes.
The skills-based classes help parents "move forward" in their lives "and also help them better themselves for their children," Weaver-Rogers says.
To further parent engagement efforts, the school encourages parents to apply for open positions, but Cruz noted that hires are made based on skills, experience and job fit. Currently, approximately 10-15% of LEAP staff are parents of current or former students.
Having parents on staff has several benefits, Weaver-Rogers said. It can give parents "a step up economically." Plus, students behave better knowing their parents or their friends' parents are in the building.
"It's an all-around win," Weaver-Rogers says.
Coleman, who worked at the school as a parent ambassador for three years, adds, "What I love the most when it comes to the parent engagement with LEAP Academy is the fact that they don't just educate the student, they educate the parents as well."
Being engaged in the community
The home-school connections at LEAP don't end at graduation. The school, which has four buildings within two blocks, makes efforts to stay in touch with and support alumni through job awareness efforts, networking opportunities and resources for struggling families.
Coleman says LEAP staff and families have also supported students and families in need at other schools in the community.
The school opens its doors to the public for certain school events and celebrations — for instance, with community organizations and government service providers setting up information tables, Cruz says.
Hector Nieves, a member of the school's board of trustees and chair of the parent affairs committee, says parents are encouraged to bring friends, neighbors and family to some school get-togethers, especially those held outside to accommodate larger crowds. "We have music. We have all kinds of games for the kids. There's dancing," he says.
Cruz added that this “all are welcome” approach helps the school recruit new students, too.
Additionally, LEAP's partnership with Rutgers University provides support to families for their children from birth through postsecondary education. LEAP is located along Camden’s “Education Corridor,” which includes campuses for Rutgers University-Camden and Rowan University. Both Rutgers and Rowan provide dual enrollment, early college access and other learning opportunities for LEAP students.
Nieves, who had three children graduate from LEAP — including one who now teaches English at the school — says the holistic approach of serving students and families has empowered the school community over the years and helped families improve their financial situations.
"I believe that somehow, whether they came and worked here, we gave them classes, we helped them along, all of a sudden, I see this growth," says Nieves. "I believe we had a lot to do with that.”
