The Parent Leadership Collaborative (PLC) is composed of parents and caregivers from diverse cultures, economic backgrounds, vocations, family structures, ages, and genders. Our group first started meeting in 2022 with the purpose of improving early childhood care services for children in the Greater New Orleans area. What we realized is that often parents and caregivers, who know their kids better than anyone else, are overlooked in the decision-making process for their own children.
We knew this approach needed to change.
However, rather than creating division and putting parents and caregivers at odds with service providers, we decided that building trust and collaborating with service providers would be the best path forward. With our intention firmly set, the PLC established common values, and standards, and based on these, developed a comprehensive assessment tool for evaluating early childhood care service providers. Working with a group of 10 Greater New Orleans area service providers and trained assessors, we performed an initial pilot phase to test the assessment tool.
When we released the findings of the pilot, every single organization involved said that the evaluations were beneficial and would assist in improving their services. This was the result that we aimed to achieve and while the assessment tool does require revisioning, we see the PLC and this tool as a way for parents and caregivers to work with instead of against service providers and ensure every child in the Greater New Orleans area has the opportunities needed to thrive.
Below are our values that have guided the PLC and our approach.
Encouraging and inspiring, making stakeholders feel capable and motivated. Use active verbs and affirming language that helps individuals feel they have the power to make changes and have a meaningful impact.
Transparent and honest. Show reliability and integrity to build confidence in the collaborative. Consistency in messaging and tone will be key to fostering trust.
Inclusive and welcoming, emphasizing connectivity and mutual support. Use language that speaks to collective action and shared goals, making every communication feel like an invitation to join and contribute to a community effort.
Teamwork and the value of working together. Phrasing should suggest partnership and cooperation, using "we" and "us" to foster a sense of belonging and mutual investment in outcomes.
Maintain a respectful and elevated tone that honors the experiences and contributions of everyone involved. Language should avoid patronizing tones and instead uplift and respect the dignity of all participants and stakeholders.
