Capturing the Ripple EffectDeveloping a Theory of Change for Evaluating Parent Leadership Initiatives

Final Report Phase I

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Across the country, parents who want greater opportunitiesfor their children are stepping up to become civic leaders,and the field of parent leadership development is growingalong with them. New initiatives are cropping up through-out the United States to ensure that families can acquirethe knowledge and skills to be effective advocates.

We are finding that when motivated by concern for theirown children and others in their community, parents canbe a powerful force for equity and greater opportunity. Inthe past few years, these initiatives to cultivate parent lead-ership have enabled parents to develop civic skills and voiceas leaders and advocates for children, across class, race, andculture.

Increased under-standing of howthese new initia-tives contribute tomore and betteropportunities forchildren, and whatconstitutes a high-

quality program, will help those who wish to grow thefield. The research on which this report is based seeks todescribe how well-prepared parent leaders make change,and to lay the groundwork for developing appropriate indi-cators that parents, philanthropists, and policy leadersmight use to evaluate parent leadership opportunities.

Over the past year, in the first phase of the this work, wehave collaborated with parent leaders, researchers, practi-tioners, and experts in the parent leadership field, to co-create a draft theory of change (TOC) that describes howthe parent leaders who emerge from those initiatives makechange in themselves and their children, families, andcommunities. We have also sought input from public offi-cials, community leaders, and staff of leadership initiatives.Their voices are embedded all through this report. We callthis TOC the “ripple effect.”

In Phase II of the work, we will identify and/or developindicators that are aligned with the TOC, then pilot themin sites with active and mature parent leadership initiatives.The work will culminate in an evaluation framework,

including a variety of field-tested methods, indicators, andmeasurements that can be customized to evaluate a particu-lar program, which will provide a reliable guide for the field.

To clarify, our focus has been on the initiatives and theopportunities for leadership development they offer, not onparent leader candidates themselves and the particular indi-vidual character traits that might predict success. We havefound that parents of many diverse backgrounds and dispo-sitions respond enthusiastically to the training they receiveand forge a pathway to leadership that corresponds to theirown experiences and preferences.

The Ripple Effect Theory of Change A ripple effect can be defined as a gradually spreading influ-ence or series of consequences caused by a single action orevent. This ripple effect action begins with stable, well-structured opportunities – such as the ones described inthis report – for parents to gain civic leadership skills.When parent leaders speak out, their voices carry theauthority of lived experience. They understand how gaps insocial, health, and educational services limit their children’sfuture in critical ways. They learn to work with parentsacross boundaries of education, race, income, language,and culture.

When elected officials and policy-makers listen to parentleaders, they become more aware of how their actions affectchildren and families, especially those who lack income oreducation, or who are marginalized by race, language, andculture. As public officials and parent leaders increasinglywork together on issues and programs, collective action toimprove conditions and outcomes for children gainsmomentum, resulting in more public forums, more publicwill to support education, and more formal inclusion ofvalued parent leaders in decision-making. Civic climateimproves and the whole community benefits.

A growing number of parent leadership initiatives aroundthe country have been successfully demonstrating thisripple effect. Without such dedicated initiatives, opportu-nities for parents to develop civic and leadership skills arehard to come by. But with access to this kind of training,parents can become powerful advocates for greater oppor-tunities for children, and the family becomes a vitalconstituency for improved child and community outcomes.

Being involved is not a choiceanymore. . . . People come to mefor my opinion or to join some-thing – they seek me out! I usedto be just a parent – now I am acommunity leader.

‘P

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The theory of change forthis work addresses ques-tions such as these:

• Does belonging to acadre of knowledgeableand committed parentleaders who engage incivic action have atransformative effect on parents’ lives and on their chil-dren and families?

• Are there common pathways through which alumni ofthese programs work to influence the quality of life forchildren in their communities?

• What supports, conditions, and opportunities are mostlikely to sustain parent leadership programs and theefforts of alumni over time?

• In what ways do parent leaders influence their children,friends, and the network of grassroots contacts theyform?

• In what ways do parent leaders and parent constituenciesinfluence the practices of public officials and communityleaders and the culture of their organizations?

• Do parents as civic leaders, both as individuals andacting in a group, have effects on public policies, thequality and accessibility of programs and services, andthe equitable distribution of community resources forchildren?

What Was Our Process?Our Phase I work has involved:

• scanning the landscape of parent leadership developmentfor examples of quality evaluation frameworks groundedby theories of change;

• drafting our TOC, which provides a strong foundationfor identifying and developing fair and appropriate indi-cators, methods, and metrics;

• collaborating with national experts and parent andcommunity leaders to refine the draft;

• testing the logic of the refined draft TOC via focusgroups and interviews with diverse parent leaders, staff ofparent leadership development initiatives, communityleaders, and public officials; and

• interviewing selected stakeholders (public officials,elected leaders, civil servants, and community leaders)who have interacted with parent leaders seeking changeand better opportunities for children.1

Parent leaders and program staff in focus groups repre-sented Parent Ambassadors from Washington State,Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) fromChicago, Organizers in the Land of Enchantment (OLÉ)from New Mexico, ParentVoices from California, andthree national programs:Abriendo Puertas, the ParentInstitute for Quality Educa-tion (PIQE), and the ParentLeadership Training Institute(PLTI).2

As part of our expe-rience in ParentVoices, we learnedhow to testify or tellour story in a power-ful and effective way.

‘P

After one Parent Ambassador spoke at a hearing, theRepublican legislators walked up and hugged her. Sheconnected on a fundamentally human level aboutwhat the Early Childhood Education and AssistanceProgram (ECEAP) has meant to her family. Peopletend to have their guard up, especially when poorpeople are involved. She told us that these investmentsare working. Not only did this solidify support, itopened people’s hearts and minds.

’PO

Parents are powerfulstorytellers. Theirstories are compellingand they tie the issuestogether, like povertyand child care access.

’PO1 Viewpoints from public officials and position leaders were alsoexcerpted from interviews published by COFI in Chicago in their2014 report, The COFI Way, http://www.cofionline.org/cofi-reports/the-cofi-way-policy-systems-change/ (Interviews are also avail-able at http://www.cofionline.org/publications/policymaker-interviews/).

2 For descriptive profiles of these initiatives, see http://annenberginstitute.org/publications/RippleEffect.‘P’PO

: Parent

: Public Official

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During these reviews with veteran parent leaders and stake-holders, our goal was to verify that the core components of the draft TOC reflected their actual lived experiences.We sorted parent focus group and individual interviewresponses by content and frequency, grouped their mainideas under broader themes, then compared the qualitativeresults across the three focus groups and stakeholder inter-views.

Across the focus groups, the themes showed manycommonalities with the draft TOC, with some suggestionsfor revisions. Parents credited the leadership developmentexperience and their civic engagement with engenderingpersonal transformation – their own and that of othersthey influenced – as well as an increase in knowledge,confidence, and skills.

Interviews with stakeholders reinforced the themesexpressed in the focus groups. In describing how theyperceived the parent leaders with whom they interacted,these officials affirmed the political influence of authenticstories, the power of active parent constituencies, and thevalue parents can add to policy development and decision-making. They also recognized the valuable role that initia-tive staff play in preparing and mentoring the new leaders.3

As a final step, we cross-walked the findings collected fromthese small samples and from descriptive profiles of theparent leadership initiatives that participated in this phaseof our study to affirm their compatibility with the draftTOC components. For more detailed descriptions of what we heard from parent leaders in the focus groups, see Appendix A at http://annenberginstitute.org/publications/RippleEffect.

Key Components of the Ripple EffectTo illustrate the compatibility between our TOC and theexperiences of those in the field, we have laid out thecomponents of the TOC (see the figure on page 4) andrepresentative quotes from our sample that illustrate howdiverse parent leaders, program developers, public officials,and community leaders experienced the main ideas in thedraft. The figure shows the sequence of impacts as parentslearn, develop, and exercise their knowledge and skills asleaders. The remainder of this section elaborates these path-ways, illustrated with the voices of parents and stakeholders.

RIPPLE 1.Parent leadership initiative builds capacity.Based on our study and what we heard from program staffand parent leaders, we have identified several key attributesof initiatives that successfully develop parent leaders:

• A mission that is anchored in a core belief that parentsof all backgrounds and circumstances can be effectiveadvocates and civic change agents on behalf of children.

For example, the mission of Parent Ambassadors is:

To build and sustain a cadre of parent leaders whofight for positive social change in family policiesand for increased investments in Head Start, statefunded preschool, and other early learningprograms that serve children from families withlow income.

• An intentional parent leadership training experience thatbuilds parents’ confidence and is taught throughhands-on practice of acquired knowledge and skills,delivered over a specified period of time.

- PLTI’s curriculum covers how change occurs for chil-dren, then guides parents to apply their knowledge andskills to address an area of interest, with each partici-pant carrying out a civic project.

- ABRIENDO PUERTAS emphasizes interactive learn-ing and incorporate “dichos” (Latino sayings thatconvey values and beliefs), music, and games into awarm and welcoming learning experience.

- COFI participants become a team that works togetherto set and reach attainable goals.

3 For more details about the findings from the focus groups, seehttp://annenberginstitute.org/publications/RippleEffect.

2. PARENTS

UN

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ERSONAL TRANSFORMATIO

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3. P

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FFICIALS SEE PARENTS AS ASSETS

4. P

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KE COLLECTIVE ACTION TO ADDRESS INEQU

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5. PARENT LEADERS INVIGORATE DEMOCRACY

1. PARENT LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE

BUILDS CAPACITY

Capturing the Ripple Effect: Theory of Change 2. PARENTS UNDERGO PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION. Applying what they learn to solve problems, watching theirinner strengths unfold, attracting recognition as a trusted information source, and building networks that bridge race,class and culture, parents say, leads to profound personal transformation.

3. PUBLIC OFFICIALS SEE PARENTS AS ASSETS.As public officials listen to parent leaders, they gain new infor-mation, create new opportunities to learn from diverse parentsabout local issues, and consider parents’ ideas. Support growsfor greater opportunities for all children.

4. PARENTS TAKE COLLECTIVE ACTION TO ADDRESSINEQUITIES.

When parent leaders see opportunity gaps, they know theconsequences for their children and take action, formingnetworks and joining forces with other groups. Using their ownstories, backed by data and told in their authentic voices, theyoffer ideas that lead to more equitable policies and practices.

5. PARENT LEADERS INVIGORATE DEMOCRACY. As parents become key informants, community leaders opennew forums for dialog, providing a platform to increasepublic support for better children’s outcomes. Parents step upto be decision-makers on committees, boards, and task forces.Some parents run for public office; others join the staff ofpublic agencies to provide a

family perspective.

THE IMPACTS OF PARENT LEADERSHIPAll parents, regardless of class, race, and culture, are moti-vated by concern for their children. When parents gain civicleadership skills, especially in marginalized communities,they can be powerful advocates for equity. Parent leadership

initiatives around the country are starting to show howthe actions of parentleaders on behalf of theirchildren ripple through-out the community.

1. PARENT LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE BUILDS CAPACITY.rough hands-on learning and support, parents developknowledge and skills: for example, developing a strategicplan, giving testimony before public officials, analyzing abudget, and running a committee meeting. e initiativesstrengthen civic values, such as respect for others’ opinionsand appreciating cultural differences, and broker connections

among parents, public officials,and community leaders.Supported by this “secondfamily,” parents gain confi-dence as they apply their skills.

We’ve become likefamily, and my familyholds me accountable!

I can create the life Iwant, need, and deservefor me and my children!‘P

Parent leaders speakacross race and class ina voice that is effectiveand authentic.

’PO

We brought officials,providers, and parentleaders together to talkthrough the challenges andcome to concrete solutions!

‘P Parent leaders havebecome the eyes andears and voices forour legislativecommittee.

’PO

We pushed forimproved standards andincreased quality ofchildcare – and won!‘P

Well-coached parent leaders can make pointsthat lobbyists can’t, andthey are much morepassionate about it thanlobbyists are.

’PO‘P’PO‘P

: Parent

: Public Official

We’re not “just parents,”we’re someone public offi-cials want to listen to!‘P My agency learned

that importantresources for childrenjust don’t exist!

’PO

http://annenberginstitute.org/publications/RippleEffect

I was just a mom. I hadno platform to work from.‘P

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- OLÉ uses classroom-based and experiential educationto grow parents’ leadership skills, using readings, groupdiscussion, and out-of-class assignments.

- PARENT AMBASSADORS learn the basics of howgovernment works and how to communicate effec-tively, set goals, and manage conflicts as they reach,educate, and mobilize parents in their local programsand communities.

- PIQE’s parent leaders learn how to become changeagents in their children’s schools, and practice conduct-ing effective meetings and expressing their ideas. Thetraining ends with a parent-led dialogue with theschool principal.

- PARENT VOICES uses a “learn-by-doing” approach;parent leaders organize the annual Stand for ChildrenDay in Sacramento, where hundreds of parents, chil-dren, and childcare supporters make legislative visitsand convene for a high-visibility march and rally.

• Creating a sense of community and shared civic valuesof mutual respect, tolerance, and cross-cultural under-standing among parent leaders, program staff, andcommunity mentors. In parents’ words, they become “asecond family.”

• Developing connections and sustaining effectivenetworks among parent leader alumni and stakeholders.As participants’ children watch their parents becomeleaders, they are profoundly affected by becoming part ofthis new family. Organizations embed positive peersupport throughout their leadership training and team-building process, and help participants and alumni stayconnected through regular meetings and communica-tions via phone, email, text, and social media. For exam-ple, COFI parents partner with local organizations andpublic partners to ground advocacy campaigns in theexperiences, needs, and priorities of low-income parents.

• A sustainable organizational home with communitysupport, stable funding, and technical assistance tosupport growth and ensure fidelity of the model. Of theseven programs sampled, three have reached a doubledecade anniversary (PIQE, twenty-eight years; PLTI andCOFI twenty years). The remaining groups have existedbetween five and ten years. Several have long-term affilia-tions with strong institutional partners.

- PARENT AMBASSADORS program is housed at theWashington State Association of Head Start and

ECEAP (WSA) and receives guidance from staff andparent coordinators.

- PLTI was founded in 1995 as an initiative of theConnecticut Legislature’s Commission on Children,draws support from a state trust fund, and has nowexpanded to twelve states and thirty-one sites.

- PARENT VOICES was established in 1996 by theCalifornia Child Care Referral and Resource Networkand has chapters in fifteen counties.

- PIQE, founded in 1987 as an independent nonprofitorganization, has entered into a long-term relationshipwith the California State University (CSU), whichsponsors PIQE in five K–12 schools annually in eachof the CSU’s twenty-three campus regions.

• A commitment to collecting and using data and evalua-tion results for improvement, and to demonstrating thevalue of the initiative for parent leaders, their children,and the community. Most programs track immediateresults by surveying their participants, but few have hadthe resources to track parent leaders over time to assesslong-term impact. For example, the Washington StateHead Start Association does a pre- and post survey ofparents going through Parent Ambassadors, along withintensive listening and focus grouping during and afterthe program year to measure the impact of its work.PLTI collects pre- and post-survey responses from itsclasses every year. For the past three years, RMCResearch has provided analysis of this database andconducted qualitative interviews.

At the end of each review, we asked parent leaders whatthey felt were the most valuable components of their train-ing. Across all the sites, these three components were mostfrequently mentioned:

• Coaching and support from skilled staff, mentors, andother parents in the group.

• Access to public officials and other decision-makers intheir community and state.

• Knowledge of how government works and how to makeit work for their children.

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RIPPLE 2. Parents undergo personal transformation as they exercise individual and collectiveleadership.Parent leaders described constructing a new role for them-selves, as they find place and purpose in the democratic

process. They feelequipped with theknow-how and confi-dence to take action inthe public affairs oftheir community.

Parent leaders havetold us that they knowhow to work within

the system and to be seenas credible by public offi-cials and communityleaders.

As one program evaluator noted:

The Parent Ambassadors who took the financialliteracy course had a ten-fold increase in influence,especially through “teach backs” such as conversa-tions at the grocery store, sharing information withneighbors. We saw a snowball effect.

Realizing their leadership potential brings personal trans-formation to these parent leaders. Parents spoke eloquentlyabout the tremendous change they feel in themselves as

they learn how to apply their talents and experience, andabout the great internal energy that is unleashed as theybegin to take action.

Parents described the dynamics of what they portray as aprofound personal transformation. As they apply what theylearn while developing various projects and joining coali-tions to make change, they see their inner strengths andabilities unfold. This transformation, in turn, attractsrecognition and respect and continues to build theirnetworks of support and political influence.

As one program director put it: “Getting a business card istransformational. Being in a space where they can speakfreely to decision makers is transformational.”

Parents reflected that they now know how to be leaders andfeel like they belong to a new – and diverse – family.

We have becomelike family, andmy family holdsme accountable! ‘P

We are more than “justparents”; we are someone thatpublic officials want to listento. Why? Because we havenetworks [of parents] to drawon and can bring in otherswith clout and credibility.

‘P

[Public officials] arejust like us! We can talkto them and they listen.I have their cell phonenumbers in my phone.

‘P

It isn’t enough to allow parents to be at the table. Webrought officials, providers, parent leaders, and otherstogether, where we could talk through the challengesand barriers. With all the stakeholders at the table, wecould come to concrete solutions.

‘P I overcame my prejudice

and racial bias; now Ivalue immigrants, allpeople. I also speak out toconservative friends andchallenge their attitudes.

‘P

I do not have to accept the life for me and mychildren that was “set as fate” for me. I learnedthat the power in setting a foundation of successfor me and my kids was in my hands, and thatI can actually create the life I want, need, anddeserve for me and my children.

P

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RIPPLE 3. Public officials see parents as assets.Public officials and community leaders gave examples ofhow listening to parent leaders can influence the policy

positions they take. Theseinteractions influence theirperception of parents. Forexample, public officialssaid when parent leaderstell their authentic stories,they begin to see parents as

knowledgeable citizens who can help them make betterpublic policy for children and families. Parent leaders canbring a new voice and point of view to public deliberationsabout policies and the allocation of resources that benefitchildren and families.

They also became key informants for public officials.

Parent leaders become adept at creating allies by engaginglocal, state, and federal public officials and legislators,changing perceptions of parents and bridging barriers ofrace, class, and culture.

Such leadership may lead to more respectful and inclusivebehavior toward parents active in civic life on the part ofpolicy-makers, as well as increased openness to listening tofamilies’ perspectives and intentionally reaching out toparent leaders to find out what they think.

RIPPLE 4. Parents take collective action to addressinequities. As parent leaders establish their credibility and value topublic officials and community leaders, they offer theirown ideas to solve problems, based on their authentic expe-rience navigating the system on behalf of their children.They know where the gaps in services are; they have run upagainst arbitrary rules that make it difficult for families toenroll their children in programs; they know, better thananyone, the value of learning resources for their children.In addition to providing their view on governmentprograms, they also undertake their own initiatives.

As a result, parents begin to speak out against inequities,form horizontal networks, and take civic action in theirneighborhoods, at City Hall, and at the State House.

The power of parents,when coached on how totalk to policy-makersand testify at committees,is amazing.

’PO

One of the ways we work is having a meeting withlegislators to convince them that it is a lot better forthem to invest to get results in education . . . insteadof investing in jails and juvenile justice. ‘P

What is most critical about the Parent Ambassadors istheir authenticity. They are not some group’s politicalpawns. They are not spouting a group’s message. Theyare talking about their own experience.

’POPLTI graduates are not afraid to go to meetings, not

afraid to raise their hand and speak out, not afraid toseek out public officials. In our city, we have parentsfrom everywhere in the world. Our community lead-ership, from the PTA to the city council, should reflectthis diversity. For everyone to succeed, we no longercan have a handful of White citizens making all theimportant decisions that affect our children and thecommunity.

‘P

Through COFI, I met families that didn’t just demandthings of me. [These] families I could rely on and havedialogues with. Not like a Town Hall meeting, . . . but,like, “Tell me what’s going on for you and I’ll tell youwhat’s going on in Springfield. Let’s see if we can putthe two together.”

’PO

School nurses told me their pet peeve was kids’coming to school sick because their parents don’t havethermometers. So I thought I’ll get them thermometers,not just for my daughter’s school, but all the elemen-tary schools. The mayor liked what I was trying to do.I presented my research and showed him the [Centersfor Disease Control] article that parents don’t know tokeep their kids home when they have a fever. He setme up with a manager at Walgreens, who donated7,000 thermometers!

‘P

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Parent leaders partner with like-minded groups to amplifytheir voice while working for change at the grassroots levelin their neighborhoods, cities, and states.

Supporting parents to act as leaders empowers parentsacross the community.

And this foundation of leadership creates new roles fortheir children.

RIPPLE 5. Parent leaders invigorate democracy.Creating space for parents to serve as leaders and key part-ners in education enlivens the climate for civic action andpromotes greater understanding of the challenges andinjustices facing lower-income families. At the beginning ofeach review, we asked parent leaders this question: Whatwould be different for children in your state/community ifmany more diverse parents became effective advocates andcivic leaders on behalf of children?

Their answers reflect not just their dreams, but their experi-ence-based assessment of what a small army of parent lead-ers could accomplish:

• Instead of serving less than half all the eligible kids, therewould be unlimited funding so that every child would bein a high-quality early learning program.

• Public officials would see parents as experts on earlychildhood issues and find out what parents think andwant, then make better decisions.

• The community would be tighter, less divided. Forexample, immigrants would have more opportunitiesand become accepted, and there would be racial equity.

• Children would have more skills and greater dreams forthemselves, which will carry to next generations, leadingto better outcomes and lower costs.

In more concrete terms, parent leaders have had an increas-ingly dramatic impact on child policy and programs.

As a result of their activism, parent leaders reported thatthey were able to increase funding for childcare and basicbenefits for families, improve the quality of childcare byraising standards, lighten the load on parents by creating acontinuity of care in early childhood education, andimprove the treatment of children by eliminating suspen-sions in the lower elementary grades.

We contacted alumni, usedemail to get out the vote.After our voting rate went up,we got Native Americans onthe school board and countycommission, as well as candi-dates for state legislature.

‘P It only takes oneor two people whobecome leadersand get support tofind success. Thenthey bring othersalong.

’PO

The confidence of my eleven-year-old daughter isevident; she takes charge of herself and communicatingis much easier for her. She shadows me in action. Shesolves her own problems and those of her friends. ‘P

My becoming a parent leader has motivated mywhole family. My children see a better future, and theyare using their voices, advocating for themselves andothers. ‘P I know this sounds simple, but presenting to policy-

makers changes policy! I am astounded at the impact ofparents on state policy when they are trained to beadvocates.

’PO

It is happening! At City meetings and public hearings,PLTI grads are showing up and saying, “I’m a PLTIgraduate.” That means, “I am here and I mean busi-ness!”. . . The City sees that PLTI grads are prepared,talented advocates who don’t have a narrow agenda.And now, the City calls PLTI when they’re looking forpeople to fill seats on committees, task forces, andcommissions. At [one] official City planning activity,PLTI grads were asked to facilitate the table discus-sions and to take a real role in running the sessions.

’PO

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Next Steps for the Ripple EffectPhase I concludes with this report. To guide the secondphase of this work, we are identifying a small pool ofuniquely qualified researchers and organizations to developindicators, scales, metrics, and methodology recommenda-tions that will advance evaluation practices for the field ofparent leadership development. Reviewing the framework’stools with field-based evaluators, parent leaders, andprogram staff, and implementing a pilot evaluation usingthese tools, will comprise the next steps of this work.

Our goals for Phase II are to create:

• A Parent Leadership Indicator Framework: a compila-tion of field-friendly indicators, measures, and datasources that are aligned with the Theory of Change; and

• A Parent Leadership Research and Evaluation ConceptPaper: an agenda detailing recommendations for advanc-ing research and evaluation of parent leadership trainingand organizing initiatives.

We are delighted to report that support for this work hasbeen pledged from the Peppercorn Foundation, the Hagedorn Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation; additional sponsors are anticipated.

For a list of further resources and references that guide our work, author bios, organizational profiles, and othermaterials, see http://annenberginstitute.org/publications/RippleEffect. For more information about the parent lead-ership organizations participating in this study, see:

• Parent Ambassadors: http://www.wsaheadstarteceap.com

• Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI):http://www.cofionline.org/

• Organizers in the Land of Enchantment (OLÉ):http://olenm.org/

• Parent Voices: http://parentvoices.org/

• Abriendo Puertas: http://www.ap-od.org/

• Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE):http://www.piqe.org

• Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI):http://www.nationalPLI.org

These organizations and others have formed the UnitedParent Leaders Action Network (UPLAN) to build a voicethat will influence policies and programs that matter tochildren and families, especially families with young chil-dren. For more information about UPLAN and the devel-opment of parent leadership initiatives, go to: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedParentLeadersActionNetwork/

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AcknowledgmentsThis report and the diagram that illustrates the “Capturingthe Ripple Effect” Theory of Change truly were co-createdwith a wide variety of parent leaders; directors of parentleadership initiatives; experts in the field of parent, family,and community organizing and engagement; and othersfamiliar with the benefits of broad civic participation.Every one made an invaluable contribution, and we deeplyappreciate their insights and suggestions.

Participants at the two think tank meetings on evaluatingparent leadership development programs in Hartford onMarch 13 and August 14, 2014, greatly enriched this draftwith their thoughtful advice. We thank Bill Campbell(PLTI graduate and school board member, Alexandria,VA), Joanna Geller and Sara McAlister (Annenberg Insti-tute for School Reform, Brown University), Dawn Homer-Bouthiette and Elaine Zimmerman (ConnecticutCommission on Children), Patti Keckeisen and DonnaThompson-Bennett (National Parent Leadership Institute),Cathleen Love (University of Connecticut), ElisabethO’Bryan and Robin Stern (Yale Center for EmotionalIntelligence), Lynda Parmely (Hagedorn Foundation), AdaSanchez (Peppercorn Foundation), and Ron Thomas(Connecticut Conference of Municipalities). Extra thanksto Eileen Forlenza (Family and Community EngagementSpecialist, Colorado Department of Public Health and theEnvironment), Arthur McFarlane (Children’s Hospital ofColorado), Karen Mapp (Harvard Graduate School ofEducation), and Deloris Vaughan (Everyday Democracy)for their thoughtful suggestions.

We also want to thank the parent leaders who attended thetwo focus groups with established programs, Parent Leader-ship Training Institute (PLTI) and Parent Ambassadors.

Attending the focus group on December 12, 2014, inAlexandria, Virginia, were PLTI alumni from the classes of2007 to 2013: Bill Campbell (2007), Roxana de Lauchu(2007), Cathy Santiago (2007), Cassandra Ford (2008),Jeff Murphy (2009), Sahr Pombor (2009), JenniferMurphy (2010), Katharine Fogden (2011), Angela Drake(2012), and Nora Mead (2013). Faye Slotnick and Adri-enne Fikes, the immediate past and current chairs of theAlexandria PLTI, gave invaluable assistance in organizingthe session and recruiting the PLTI alumni.

Attending the focus group on March 11, 2015, in the Seat-tle area were alumni of the seven cohorts from the ParentAmbassadors program led by the Washington State HeadStart Association: Tafra Jones, Natasha Fectcan, JamesMcBride, Sonya Lennox, Maybell Russo, Julianna Johnson,Victoria Hilt, Maricela Rodriguez, Drayton Jackson, LyndaPopplewell, Abril Mitchell Ward, Grace Sselangwawo, andKylee Allen.

On the same date, we held a focus group with ParentAmbassadors stakeholders. All who attended gave us addi-tional understanding of the program and its impact onstate agencies, policies, and resources: April Messenger(Washington State Department of Early Learning), MaggieMcKenna (evaluation consultant), Nubia Lopez (PugetSound Educational Service District), Hana Gregory (Wash-ington State Head Start Association), Holly Wyrwich(Thrive Washington), and Hannah Lidman (Early Learn-ing Policy Council). We thank Lori Pittman, coordinatorof the Parent Ambassadors program, and Joel Ryan, direc-tor of the Washington State Head Start Association, fortheir expert and cordial help organizing these sessions andfor their ideas and insights.

The third focus group review was held on March 16, 2015,at the Parent Leader Network meeting in Alexandria,Virginia. We thank the parent leaders for participating in atwo-hour review of our Theory of Change and Will Fay forhis excellent note taking:

• ABRIENDO PUERTAS (Opening Doors)/National:Jessa Bunker, Luz Gonzalez, Alma Mendoza, IvonRodriguez, and Zully Rodriguez.

• COFI (Community Organizing and Family Issues)/Chicago: Rosazlia Grillier, Maria Cristina Martinez,Rosalva Nava, and Treyonda Towns.

• OLÉ (Organizing in the Land of Enchantment)/NewMexico: Reina Acosta, Kris Buchanan, Juperi Johnson,and Royal Sexton.

• PLTI (Parent Leader Training Institute)/National: ToyinAnderson Willis, Clarisse Harris, Patti Keckeisen, andMariemee Rodriquez Aviles.

• PIQE (Parent Institute for Quality Education)/Califor-nia: Socorro Fernandez, Lilia Perez-Mejia, and Julia Sosa.

• PARENT VOICES/California: Lourdes Alarcon,Aaleyah Gaphoor, Eloise Rossiter, and Jessica Wood.

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• PARENT AMBASSADORS/Washington State HeadStart Association: Bianca Bailey, John Jones, MaricelaRodriguez, and Grace Ssebugwawo.

We wish to extend our deep appreciation to all the parentleaders in these three groups. Their insights, personal testi-mony, family stories, and accounts of their experiences wereboth inspiring and deeply informative.

In addition, we conducted in-depth interviews with keystakeholders of Parent Leadership Training Institute(Alexandria, Virginia), Parent Ambassadors (WashingtonState) and Parent Voices (California). We are thankful fortheir time and their candor:

PLTI: William Euille, Mayor of Alexandria, Virginia;Margaret Lorber, Director, Bi-Lingual Family Services,Alexandria City Public Schools; Fay Slotnick, Director,Alexandria PLTI; Joyce Woodson, former member, Alexan-dria City Council.

PARENT AMBASSADORS: Sarah Bolton, EducationCounsel for Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) on the U.S.Senate HELP Committee; Mike Gentile, staff, U.S. SenateAppropriations Committee, GOP-Majority side; RuthKagi, Washington State House of Representatives andChair of the House Early Learning and Human ServicesCommittee; and Frank Ordway, Government AffairsDirector at the Washington State League of EducationVoters.

PARENT VOICES: Elizabeth Fuller, Consultant to theLegislative Women’s Caucus, California State Assembly;Nancy Strohl, Consultant for California State SenatorHolly Mitchell; and Debra McMannis, California Depart-ment of Early Childhood Education and Support.

Thanks to James Haley , Joanna Geller , and Haewon Kim for their brilliant work conceptualizing the Theory of Change Diagram.

Finally, we wish to thank Ada Sanchez of the PeppercornFoundation and Lynda Parmely of the Hagedorn Founda-tion for their far-sighted vision and leadership in advancingparent leadership on behalf of children whose life prospectshave been limited by social, racial , and economic inequal-ity. Their financial support and thought partnership havebeen invaluable.

ABOUT THE ANNENBERG INSTITUTE FOR SCHOOLREFORM AT BROWN UNIVERSITY

The Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) is anational policy-research and reform-support organizationaffiliated with Brown University that focuses on improvingconditions and outcomes for all students in urban publicschools, especially those attended by traditionally under-served children. AISR’s vision is the transformation oftraditional school systems into “smart education systems”that develop and integrate high-quality learning opportuni-ties in all areas of students’ lives – at school, at home, andin the community. AISR conducts research; works with avariety of partners committed to educational improvementto build capacity in school districts and communities; andshares its work through print and online publications.

Rather than providing a specific reform design or model tobe implemented, AISR’s approach is to offer an array oftools and strategies to help districts and communitiesstrengthen their local capacity to provide and sustain high-quality education for all students aligned with a set of valuesand design principles that promote equity and excellence.

http://annenberginstitute.org

ABOUT THIS REPORT

Authors: Anne T. Henderson, Kate Gill Kressley, and SusanFrankel

Editing: Sheryl Kaskowitz and Margaret Balch-Gonzalez

Design: Haewon Kim

Suggested citation: Henderson, A. T., K. G. Kressley, andS. Frankel. 2016. Capturing the Ripple Effect: Developing aTheory of Change for Evaluating Parent Leadership Initia-tives, Final Report, Phase I. Providence, RI: Brown Univer-sity, Annenberg Institute for School Reform.

This report is available online at http://annenberginstitute.org/publications/RippleEffect, along with author bios,further resources, and other materials.

Anne T. Henderson and Kate Gill Kressley are independentconsultants. Susan Frankel is a senior research associate atRMC Research Corporation.

© 2016, Brown University, Annenberg Institute for SchoolReform