At Verde Elementary School in North Richmond, a certain first-grader started getting into fights and disrupting the classroom. One day he didn't show up at school. So a neighbor, Annie King-Meredith, working in a program called Verde Involving Parents (VIP), called his home. She found out that the child was refusing to go to school because other kids had been making fun of how his toes poked through his old shoes.

"Instead of me hurting their pride and buying new shoes for the child, I talked to (the parents) and said, 'Is now a good time for us to go shopping together?' They didn't mind hearing it from me. They know me." King-Meredith was born and raised in North Richmond. She and her two children all graduated from Verde.

Using VIP funds, King-Meredith and the parent went together to buy new shoes for the student. He went back to school and his behavior improved.

Grassroots strategy

Verde's VIP program is a "top-down, bottom-up" effort run by and for parents, says Nina Goldman, manager of the Contra Costa County Service Integration Program, which helped create VIP.

If a child is absent, a parent (Family Partner) on the VIP staff calls or visits the family and provides help. If more is needed, the VIP staff sit down with the family to figure out a solution. Often they can help by connecting the family to health and other resources at the North Richmond Family Service Center, half a mile from the school.

Hitting bottom

Three years ago, Verde had the worst attendance in the West Contra Costa Unified School District and some of the lowest test scores in California. It was "a symbol of the dashed hopes of the community," says Goldman.

The school was known as a training ground for inexperienced teachers. Over a period of six years, Verde had five different principals. Parents were fed up.

Striking success

In its first year, the VIP program produced dramatic change: absences dropped by one-third. By the end of the second year they had been cut in half. Scores on the statewide testing program also rose-by 50 points the first year, 101 points the second.

And parents "are more trusting now of the school," says Family Partner Ceclia Ornelas, who has four children attending Verde. "I heard some of the same parents who had been complaining about the school talking about how great the school is now."

Keys to success

Organizational partnership: The VIP program is a unique partnership between the school, the parents, and public and private agencies, coordinated by the Family Service Center. Funds come from the school district and private foundations.

Parent-to-parent approach: When parents first began getting calls from the VIP staff about their absent kids, "people were very surprised that we were taking an interest in them," says Ornelas. But, she says, because all VIP staffers live in the community and have a relative attending the school, families feel comfortable talking to them.

Welcoming parents at school: About twice a semester, VIP holds a Family Celebration Night to honor parents and build community. VIP also has an office at the school where parents can drop in for the VIP Parent Coffee Club, any morning at 8:30.