Parent Liaison Team

WHAT is the Parent Liaison Team? 

The Parent Liaison Team (PLT) is a project developed by Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina (PEFNC) to educate parents about the benefits of parental school choice. The PLT’s work encompasses local and one-to-one outreach to North Carolina parents of school-aged children. Team members, who hail from regions all over the state, connect with parents across an array of platforms and venues to share information, stories, and PEFNC resources, and ultimately, to empower parents to utilize the state’s school choice programs.

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WHO makes up the Parent Liaison Team?

The Parent Liaison Team is made up of … parents! The reasoning for this is simple: Who better to educate parents about school choice options than parents who are themselves utilizing these options? Some have children who attend public charter schools; others have children enrolled in private schools using state-sponsored scholarships. As participants in parental school choice programs, team members possess the know-how and savvy to help other parents navigate these programs. Nearly one dozen parents currently serve as official team members.

Many other parent advocates augment the PLT’s work periodically by participating in media interviews or video campaigns, writing a Letter to the Editor, attending events and school tours, or contacting legislators to share their perspectives about the impact parental school choice has had on their lives. Since the PLT was created, more than 400 parent advocates have helped PEFNC spread the word about parental school choice.

HOW does the PLT work?  

Parent Liaison Team members take on numerous roles to promote awareness of, and participation in, North Carolina’s school choice options. They work a variety of hours, including weekends, to accommodate other parents’ busy schedules. Team members typically engage in the following efforts:

• Providing parent outreach to families interested in the Opportunity Scholarship, Children with Disabilities Grant, and the new Education Savings Account—particularly during the application periods for these programs. Team members also follow up with families that have established scholarship pre-eligibility through SchoolChoiceNC.org.
• Conducting and participating in work sessions with school and parent groups to provide information about North Carolina’s state-sponsored scholarships. Work sessions also focus on increasing parental involvement in K-12 education and identifying potential parent advocates for the PLT.
• Following up with families awarded state-sponsored scholarships to help them identify and enroll in a private school; team members contact families to confirm acceptance of a scholarship and enrollment in a school.
• Demonstrating PEFNC’s new school choice web application, NC Schools Around Me, to parents at community-based events to help them locate nearby public charter or private schools.
• Offering PEFNC event support through parent outreach, which includes extending personal invitations to parents for PEFNC events, following up with families that attend, and serving as a point person for parents at events. Team members also assist in overall on-site event execution alongside PEFNC staff.

WHY is the PLT’s work so important?

The PLT is making a critical difference in the lives of thousands of schoolchildren through personal, parent outreach sharing school choice information, help, and resources. Take a look at what the team accomplished in 2020:

• Scholarship Assistance: The team reached out to over 10,000 parents and made almost 30,000 direct connections.
• Event Outreach: The team reached out to over 5,000 parents and made over 15,000 direct connections.
• Total Impact: The team reached out to over 15,000 parents and made more than 50,000 direct connections. On average, each team member reached 1,250 parents and made 4,166 direct connections!

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