"Just the name itself feels good," says Iman Rashid, of the title of vice president, an office she was elected to by the other parents at the South San Francisco Head Start. As an officer, Rashid, a 32-year-old mother of four who emigrated from Jordan when she was twelve, negotiated such difficult issues as whether-as some parents requested-a divider should separate the boys and girls toilets (they decided yes) and how to spend the center's parents fund (they opted to help pay for individual portraits of the children).

As a member of the regional policy council, Rashid was involved in such major issues as defining the center's goals and objectives, budget allotments, and oversight of center staff. All officers attend a training meeting at their local Head Start and another at the regional offices and receive a manual on their responsibilities and how to handle them. Key to it all? "Staff is always available to help," says Rashid. "We handled things together."

"Head Start requires us to create different kinds of opportunities for parent involvement," says Amy Liew, executive director of the Institute for Human and Social Development (IHSD), which manages the South Francisco site and nine other Head Starts in San Mateo County.

Founded in 1964 as part of the "war on poverty," Head Start's aim is to ensure that there's a comprehensive support system for all the children enrolled in the program. "The structure is designed to give parents a voice," Liew says. "And because of this parents know they're being valued."

As a leader, Rashid found the chance to work with her fellow parents exhilarating: "I would say 'we have an idea' or 'we should do it this way'.and we'd try to work out so we could all go home happy." As a parent, she relied on the support of teachers and advocates: "I'd walk in and say I had a bad day," says Rashid, "and they'd sit and listen and it was more like a family then a teacher-parent sort of thing."

"The reason we're successful," says Rheta Moran, who has worked as a Family Advocate for Head Start since her son went through the program in the '70s, "is how the staff approach parents. We don't just help them; we help to make them self sufficient."

"We give parents an opportunity to grow, if that's what they want," says Maria Hernandez, another family advocate. "Head Start not only supports them if they want to be a teacher, but if they want to learn English, if they want to take computer classes."

Opportunities for leadership

Parent Center Committee (PCC). All parents with children in Head Start belong to the committee, which meets monthly and is run by the elected parent officers. At meetings, parent officers update the other parents about what's going on at the school and community. All parents are encouraged to voice their suggestions, concerns, and ideas. Snacks, child care, and help with transportation are always provided.

Frequent educational workshops. Topics-from health care to child support laws-are based on a broad survey of interests given to all the parents in the program at the beginning of each year. "From the get-go," says Cynthia Yao, Family Services manager for IHSD, "we're asking what the community wants and needs."

Family partnership agreement and educational plan for child. Parents meet with staff to talk about their own goals for involvement and about their child's education. "It's really up to the parent," says Moran, "How involved they want to be and what they want to pursue."

Funds for training. Head Start earmarks funds for parent training and pays for early childhood education classes for parents who want to become teachers. Parents of former students make up 20 percent of IHSD staff.

Policy Council. Elected parents serve on regional management boards and are involved on many levels of decision-making, including budget and human resources. National conferences gather a few parents from each center to further their education.

Keys to success

Formal structures for leadership

The Head Start program expects parent leadership from the minute children come into the program. It is the job of parent leaders to make decisions about their individual centers as well as policy for the region. It is the expectation that they will be involved in managing their children's school.

Jovalinda Magallon, who has two boys in Head Start, says she ran for PCC vice president because she wished her own mother had been more involved in her education. She says her children are proud of her role and impressed by her new-found skills: "When we have the PCC meetings my kids stay in the room," says Magallon, "and when we go home I hear them telling my husband about how I was talking in front of the group and how they're so proud."

Ongoing coaching

Before each center meeting, all the officers attend a "pre-agenda meeting" with teachers and advocates. They talk about how to present information, what questions parents might ask, and how to manage any potential problems. "They kind of show us how," says Magallon, "and it kind of comes out of us on our own." Teachers and staff are always at meetings if something comes up that the officers need help with, like a question they can't answer or difficulty making a decision.

Informal opportunities for growth

Parents are encouraged to drop in and help in the classroom or help in the office. For Valerie Orozco, who stays at the center whenever she has time, the experience has been a valuable one: "You learn so much from the kids, they know more than you think they do. And when I'm there they call me teacher, and I like that too."

Open doors to open ears

Head Start teachers make it their business to be available to listen. And because they're well-connected to the community, they are able to make useful referrals to resources. "They can sit here and cry and tell us what's wrong and I help them the best I can," says Moran. "I help them realize that the process takes a little while but they'll get through it and get what they need."

Head Start is a program of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, 877-696-6775.