Parent Leadership Training Institute of Alexandria

Help parents become the leaders they would like to be for children and families; Expand the capacity of parents as change agents for children and families; Develop communities of parents within the community that will support one another in skills development and successful parent action for children; Facilitate systems change for parental involvement with increased utilization of parents in policy and process decisions; and Increase parent-child interactions and improve child outcomes through parent involvement.

The PLTI program is a two-generation strategy to bolster parental involvement while promoting the lifelong
health, safety and learning of children. The program integrates child development leadership and democracy
skills into a parent curriculum. Parents attend a 20-week program. The application process is competitive.
Family supports such as child care, meals and transportation are provided. Each class mentors the next class,
creating a pyramid effect of community caring and a developing coalition of parents.

Trained Facilitators--PLTI of Alexandria works with the national PLTI program to train facilitators to lead participants in learning objectives.
Well-Developed, Tested 20 Week Curriculum--PLTI of Alexandria uses the national PLTI curriculum, customized for the Alexandria community, which it has delivered to 8 cohorts of participants
Translators--PLTI has Spanish language translators to support participation in the program for Spanish speakers for whom English is not their first language.

Over the 8 cohorts that have participated in the program, self-assessments have shown increased skills; graduates have demonstrated success in advocacy for children and community engagement; program graduates now serve on the Board of Directors and as mentors for current participants.