Parents as Allies: How moms, dads and even grandparents became ‘maker coaches’ at Northgate

Photos courtesy of Parents as Allies/Northgate.

In every school, you’re likely to find a core group of highly engaged parents. They’re the faces you typically see at events – those mothers and fathers who move about the athletic fields and building hallways with an easy familiarity. 

Those types of dedicated parents are important for schools. But when the team at Avalon Elementary School joined the Parents as Allies research project, they wanted something more. How, they asked, can we reach the parents who aren’t really connected — and help them feel like a valued part of the school community? 

The Parents as Allies (PAA) project is all about hacking the challenges that sometimes keep families and schools at arm’s length. So it was a perfect fit for Avalon’s principal, Dr. Joe Peacock, and the group of parents and teachers he recruited to join the school’s Parents as Allies team. 

The team knew that after the pandemic school shutdown, parents were eager for ways to reconnect. One piece of evidence: More people than ever had signed up to volunteer at the school’s “field day” event in the spring of 2022. They saw this as a signal that parents wanted to be more involved. 

But how to make that happen? 

WHAT DID THEY TRY? 

As Summer 2022 began, Peacock visited the Fab Lab maker space at the Elizabeth Forward school district. He got to thinking about the role that “maker learning” plays in kids’ lives. Maker spaces are all about experimentation and building things, with kids using materials in a self-directed way that isn’t usually tied to learning a strict curriculum. 

In a sense, they needed not to be taught; they needed to be coached. An idea struck Peacock: What if his school invited parents to become trained coaches who would help out at the Avalon maker space? 

The PAA team loved the idea and began discussing it with other school staff members. 

“The teachers had excitement and enthusiasm, and were willing to commit to the work,” says PAA team member Christina Garczewski, Avalon’s director of special education. Soon, the Parents as Allies in Making program launched. 

Beginning in July, adults were invited to one of three training sessions to learn about the school’s maker lab. Along with eager parents, several grandparents signed up. Once they were trained, they could sign up to help out in the maker space, engaging with their own children and their classmates. 

The volunteers were given aprons emblazoned with the Parent as Allies in Making logo, so kids can easily identify the folks who are there to help them.

For the adults, it’s a way to connect with the school that doesn’t involve traditional things like holiday parties or bake sales. Some fathers who volunteered hadn’t previously been involved with the elementary school. Now, it’s become a place they feel welcome and needed. 

The program became so popular that it spread from Avalon to Northgate’s other elementary school, Bellevue. Avalon parents volunteered to help train parents at Bellevue. 

Parents as Allies in Making “put parents on an equal footing and it also showed teachers that they didn’t have to worry about everything,” Peacock says. And they found that with coaches on hand, “the kids who needed the most support were able to get it.” 

Along with a new learning opportunity for kids, Garczewski sees so much progress among the adults — people who are now active members of the school community. 

“Everyone feels more comfortable communicating. It’s authentic and true,” she says. “Parents have seen compassion from the staff and know that we’re all here to help.” 

WHAT WOULD THEY TELL OTHER SCHOOLS? 

• Gather a motivated team. If you find a few parents and teachers in your district who are really interested in working together in an authentic way, this work will grow and thrive. 
• You can make this idea your own. An afterschool organization has reached out to Northgate to get advice on launching a version of the maker coach program in a different school district.
• Don’t take yourself too seriously. The maker coach program at Avalon worked well partly because the atmosphere was relaxed and fun, and teachers welcomed parents as equals. 

Since early 2021, Parents as Allies has helped more than two dozen school districts in southwestern Pennsylvania build engagement with families with support from the Grable Foundation. As the project enters its fourth year, we are sharing innovative hacks and fresh ideas from these districts to help families and schools in our region and around the world connect more deeply and support each other more fully. This story is one in a series chronicling these parent-school engagement discoveries. Stay tuned for more stories throughout the coming months.