A Parent's Voice
“The program, what I took away is the experience that I was relaxed. It was fun. I was proud of being myself and expressing myself. And the reliance that I got from everybody else. We just felt like a little family.”
“The Ripple Program left me with the new feeling that what I was already doing is more validated and appreciated and that I know from the parent leadership series that I can do it now. I can get back in, and I can feel comfortable. I know now that I can get back into doing projects and reaching out to parents.”
“How I would describe it to other parents is that it increases and enhances your leadership skills. The Ripple Program is a safe place where you can express yourself as a parent and share your knowledge and experiences so that your ideas can contribute to parents like me. It helps people become more involved in important discussions about their life and their children.”
“It’s an equal opportunity for us all as parents, and it opens up doors and gives us goals that we plan to act on. It’s like a constitution team of workers that help transform our dreams into reality.”
A Partner's Voice
“When we first had the opportunity, it was like a dream come true because my colleague and I have dreamed of having a family ambassador program at our organization. We couldn’t really figure out how to get the buy-in that we needed. All of a sudden, I got this email about the Ripple Program, and I thought, ‘This is perfect, and this will help us.'”
“I loved training because it gave us all a shared language to discuss the projects. What I loved the most was watching each set of family ambassadors go through the training and watching their transformation, becoming more confident in meetings, speaking up more, and becoming the strong leaders that they are.”
“The best thing was watching the family ambassadors as the project comes to life and providing them with that support.”
“Our family ambassadors bring so much energy, enthusiasm, and new perspective to our program. To have that authentic voice is so important, and is what, we, as an organization is all about. Families are children’s first and best teachers, and they guide us in our programming. Now, I really feel that we hear that voice so strongly.”
Impact on Parent Leaders & Organizations
Parent Leader Outcome
Organization Outcomes
The Ripple Program is making changes
To create better outcomes for children, we need systems and policies that address the real needs of our families by involving parents’ perspectives and expertise.
- Receiving an award from the Zaentz Innovation Challenge, awarded by the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is confirmation of the need to elevate and center the voices of parents in order to inform equitable and inclusive practices that benefit all children and families.
- From 13 parent leaders in year one to nearly 400 parent leaders trained today, parents are leading a movement of change across the state – and agencies are welcoming them.
- Our partnership with the NYU Metro Center’s Center for Policy, Research, and Evaluation to conduct a research study on the impact of the Ripple Program validates the importance of family engagement and the impact of parent leaders on organizations and communities.
The Ripple Program Elements
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why did we create the Ripple Program?
Family engagement is the systematic inclusion of parents in the planning and evaluation of programs and institutions that promote children’s learning and well-being. Research shows that successful family engagement leads to positive outcomes for children, families, and communities. Despite the clear benefits for families, many organizations lack formal structures for family engagement and parent leadership. That’s why we created the Ripple Program.
Why should I partner with/support the Ripple Program?
Through our Ripple Program, parents bring their lived experiences raising young children to advise the institutions and policies that are most important in children’s lives. Parents in this program build stronger, more inclusive communities where all parents are engaged in their children’s learning and development and can participate in local systems that are vital for their family’s success. Organizations who participate in the Ripple Program report more equitable, inclusive, and effective family engagement systems, improved programming for families and children, and increased organizational capacity as this program creates a pathway for a pipeline of diverse parent leaders.
What kinds of organizations do we partner with?
We’d like to work with all kinds of organizations that are working with families and willing to enhance their family engagement.
In the past, we partnered with state departments, early education centers, schools, hospitals, non-profits… etc.
Community Impact Project Partners
Over 50 years of family engagement research and implementation demonstrate the critical role of parents as partners and leaders in improving systems and outcomes for children.
The award-winning Ripple program offers an evidence-informed framework for organizations who have attempted to engage families but are not seeing compelling results.
Through this unique, proven, and innovative framework of trainings and collaborative projects, parents and organizations across the nation are seeing changes that reflect the real community needs.
From doubling parent attendance at events, to developing resources for families, and enhancing an advisory council, parent leaders are leading a movement of change. The ripple effect of parent leaders is undeniable.