Hope4Families Support for Parents
Improving School Effectiveness by Enhancing Parent-Child Relationships
Support Your Child’s
Journey to Excellence
The Hope4Families Program empowers parents with effective communication strategies and nurturing parenting patterns, strengthening relationships with their children and creating a supportive family environment.
Parents gain skills in conflict resolution, fostering harmonious co-parenting dynamics, and providing a stable and positive atmosphere for children.
Engaging in discussions, role plays, and expressive art activities deepens connections between parents and children, enhancing emotional well-being and promoting a sense of belonging in the family.
Through assessments and supportive groups, parents receive guidance and emotional support, helping them navigate challenges and improve their overall well-being, positively impacting their children.
By promoting shared parenting contribution, the program fosters better academic performance, increased self-esteem, and reduced risk of behavioral problems, benefiting both parents and children.
Unlocking Potential: Comprehensive Solutions for Student Success
The Parents’ Program in the first half of each session covers various concepts related to Parenting Skills, including:
- Enhancing Children’s Sense of Self-Worth
- Offering Positive Reinforcement to Children and Acknowledging their Actions
- Cultivating Empathy in Children
- Assisting Children in Meeting Their Needs
- Fostering Personal Empowerment in Children
- Supporting Children in Managing Stress
- Guiding Children in Behavior Management
- Recognizing and Empathizing with Children’s Emotions
- Facilitating Effective Communication of Thoughts and Feelings
- Assisting Children in Coping with their Emotions
- Establishing Nurturing Parenting Routines
- Encouraging Problem Solving, Decision Making, Negotiation, and Compromise Skills
- Teaching Children to Express Anger Appropriately
During the second half of each session in the Parents’ Program, the focus shifts towards developing Self-Nurturing Skills. The concepts explored include:
- Developing Self-Esteem
- Acknowledging Self-Affirmation and Acknowledging Praise from Others
- Cultivating Self-Care and Meeting Personal Needs
- Harnessing Personal Empowerment
- Managing Stress and Maintaining Emotional Control
- Identifying and Understanding Our Emotions
- Comprehending and Expressing Anger
- Handling Criticism, Confrontation, and Establishing Rules for Fair Conflict Resolution
Parents engage in experiential activities, including art, games, simulations, role-plays, relaxation exercises, and internal interviews, to learn these concepts. Additionally, mini-lecture/discussions and video viewing are utilized as teaching methods.
To reinforce the themes of each session, a Home Practice Exercise is assigned. This exercise, which is easy to accomplish, is outlined in the Parent Handouts. The handout also includes concise and straightforward readings that reiterate the concepts covered in each session. To track their family’s progress throughout the program, parents receive Family Logs to complete and bring back to the next session. During the “Check-in” period following the Icebreaker of each session, the Home Practice and Family Logs are briefly reviewed.
Group-Based Model
How it Works
The Hope4Families Program follows a group-based format, where parents and their school-age children come together for two hours, once a week for six consecutive sessions.
In the Parent’s Group, two concepts or content areas are covered each week. The first segment of the session typically focuses on the parenting role, nurturing children. After a break, parents reconvene in their group to address personal growth issues, nurturing themselves.
Each session is facilitated by trained professionals who guide participants through evidence-based activities, discussions, and interactive exercises.
Community stakeholders are invited to participate as SME facilitators, lay-mentors, and support.
Enhancing communication, fostering positive discipline techniques & promoting healthy relationships within the family.
Program Elements
Skill-Building Activities: Engaging activities, role-plays, and interactive exercises tailored to reinforce the concepts discussed in each session.
Home Practice Assignments: Parents and children are given weekly assignments to practice the skills learned during the program in their daily lives. This is supported by Lay-Mentors who check-in with the family between sessions.
Parent-Child Activities: Occasionally, the program organizes joint activities where parents and children come together to practice the skills learned and strengthen their relationships.
Resource Materials: Participants receive handouts, worksheets, and resources to support continued learning and application of the skills learned in the program.
Meals/Snacks: Another opportunity that is significant to the effectiveness of the program is to eliminate any obstacles to participation. Providing snacks for participants is an easy way to keep participants engaged. This can be provided by the host school or any other community participant organization.
Technology Requirements: Parent Sessions may require a standard internet-enabled laptop and projector to deliver multimedia presentations. With expansion, it may be possible to allow presentations from SMEs to be delivered remotely thereby eliminating a barrier to participation for a community partner.
* It is not the design of the program to allow Parents or Children to participate remotely, as the value of an in-person program based upon personal connection may be lost with remote participation.
Evaluation
The program’s effectiveness is assessed through pre- and post-program evaluations measuring changes in parent-child relationships, communication, discipline strategies, and overall family functioning.
In addition, weekly Reflection Surveys are collected to gather qualitative data from the prior week’s learning. Data may include information about their current life conditions, their childhood, their relationship with their partner, their relationship with their children, how much they already know about parenting, and the beliefs they have about raising children.
Assessment and Evaluation data are gathered using valid and reliable self-report inventories and rating scales, as well as observing parent-child interactions. All the data collection is designed to ensure parents are acquiring the knowledge and skills in developing their nurturing parenting competencies.
Each Session Follows a Structured Outline:
Session 1: Building Strong Foundations
Parents’ Session: Introduction to the program, establishing goals, and understanding the importance of positive parent-child relationships.
Children’s Session: Icebreaker activities, team-building exercises, and promoting self-expression. (S-3)
Session 2: Stress and Anger Management
Parents’ Session: Identifying sources of stress, managing anger effectively, and teaching children stress coping mechanisms.
Children’s Session: Techniques for recognizing and managing stress, expressing emotions constructively, and relaxation exercises. (S-7)
Session 3: Effective Communication
Parents’ Session: Developing effective communication skills, active listening techniques, and expressing emotions in a healthy way.
Children’s Session: Enhancing communication skills through fun activities, role-playing, and fostering empathy. (S-8)
Session 4: Strengthening Family Relationships
Parents’ Session: Strengthening family bonds, creating quality time, and fostering a nurturing and supportive environment.
Children’s Session: Activities promoting family unity, appreciating diversity, and practicing teamwork. (S-9/5)
Session 5: Positive Discipline Strategies
Parents’ Session: Understanding positive discipline techniques, setting boundaries, and managing challenging behaviors.
Children’s Session: Learning about rules, consequences, problem-solving skills, and the importance of self-control. (S-10)
Session 6: Celebrating Success and Future Planning
Parents’ Session: Celebrating progress and accomplishments, reviewing learned skills, and developing future plans for maintaining positive parent-child relationships.
Children’s Session: Reflecting on learned skills, sharing success stories, and setting goals for maintaining healthy relationships.
Proper Guidance and Support Can Lead to Significant Improvements
+ Behavior
- Reduction in disciplinary incidents, such as referrals, suspensions, or expulsions.
- Increase in positive behavior reinforcement or recognition.
- Improvement in self-regulation skills and behavior management.
- Enhanced social skills and positive peer interactions.
+ Attendance and Engagement
- Increase in overall attendance rates and reduction in absenteeism.
- Improvement in punctuality and on-time arrival.
- Increase in participation and engagement in classroom activities and extracurricular programs.
- Decrease in truancy or unexcused absences.
+ Parental Involvement and Satisfaction
- Increase in parental involvement in school activities, such as attending parent-teacher conferences, workshops, or volunteering.
- Positive feedback from parents regarding their satisfaction with the program’s effectiveness and support provided.
- Improvement in parent-teacher communication and collaboration.
- Parental perception of increased confidence and ability to support their child’s educational needs.
+ Academic Performance
- Increase in standardized test scores or performance on subject-specific assessments.
- Improvement in grades or achievement levels in core subjects.
- Progress in meeting grade-level benchmarks or academic milestones.
- Decrease in the number of students scoring below grade level.
+ Social-Emotional Well-being
- Improvement in social-emotional skills, such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship-building, and responsible decision-making.
- Reduction in emotional or behavioral challenges, such as anxiety, stress, or disruptive behaviors.
- Increase in self-esteem, confidence, and overall well-being.
- Enhancement of coping strategies and resilience.
+ Long-Term Success
- High school graduation rates and post-secondary education enrollment.
- Achievement of college or career readiness indicators.
- Persistence in pursuing higher education or vocational training.
- Positive life outcomes, such as employment stability, community engagement, and personal growth.
These measurable outcomes provide a comprehensive framework for assessing the effectiveness and impact of the program, helping stakeholders understand the tangible benefits and positive outcomes resulting from its implementation. Considering potential negative measurable outcomes that could arise from non-intervention helps highlight the importance of implementing intervention programs to address academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs, ultimately fostering positive outcomes for students and their long-term success.
Let’s Get Your Family THRIVING Again! Connect with Us.
Partnership
Accompanying you through your journey so that you are not alone
Empowerment
Guiding families to choose a future of harmony and sustainability
Advocacy
Protecting the rights of families through community action
Compassion
Alleviating the suffering of families in high conflict custody matters
Education
Providing professionals and families with access to valuable resources