Fourteen parents say their work will continue in their communities, after graduating from the inaugural Central Ohio Parent Leadership Training Institute on Sunday.
The 27-year-old program has been launched in 17 other states, but this class of parents marked Ohio's first-ever group of graduates. The program's website says its goal is "bolstering parental involvement while promoting the lifelong health, safety and learning of children...creating a pyramid effect of community caring and developing coalition of parents."
The graduates spent 20 weeks meeting once a week, visiting different professional setting and hearing from speakers in a variety of industries and services in Central Ohio. Each graduate then completed a training project that serves as the groundwork for their own community involvement — battling obesity, designing creative smartphone apps, or networking to fight homelessness.
The graduates, referred to as "Cohort 1," will now continue that work, and also become a resource for the next class.
"The parents that graduated are going to reach back to the new parents, the new cohort," said co-site coordinator Karle Poole, "and help them become stronger and better leaders."
Central Ohio Parent Leadership Training Institute is now accepting applications for its 2019-2020 class, and expects to enroll 35 members in a competitive process. You can access the application by clicking here.
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