National Coalition of ESEA Title 1 Parents: 34^th Annual
In-Service Training Conference

By Venches Papillon

Title I is the largest federally funded elementary and secondary education program. It evolved from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, which was enacted as part of President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. The program provides for supplementary academic assistance to economically and educationally disadvantaged children.

The National Coalition of ESEA Title I Parents was formed by 50 parents in 1973 from across the nation after a meeting convened by the National Advisory Council on the Education of Disadvantaged Children (NACEDC). William “Hicks” Anderson of Wilmington, Delaware initiated the effort that launched the Coalition into a national organization.

The Coalition was established to provide information, training, and technical assistance to Title I parents whom the law had granted the right and authority to participate in the planning, implementation and evaluation of local Title I programs.

The purpose of the Coalition is:

• to build a network of parents, educators, and concerned citizens committed to advocating for educational programs for disadvantaged children.
• to advocate for full parental rights, involvement, and responsibility in the education of their children; and
• to help parents become involved in the education of their children and build a cooperative relationship between the home and school.

The Coalition is a grassroots parent organization whose training and technical assistance efforts have empowered thousands of parents across the nation. The annual in-service training conference is the only source of information and professional development for many parents and parent educators. This year marks the 34th annual conference.

This year’s guest speaker was Sheila Evans Tranumn, Associate Commissioner to New York State department of Education, and manages the Office of School Improvement. Her message was simple, “it’s a new day”. This was a very powerful message that reached every parent in the room.