The VIP (Very Important Parents): Parent Committee Institute will be uniquely delivered with a combination of fun, interactive activities ultimately leading up to participants playing the role of actual Parent Committees. The Institute combines brief lecturettes with individual, small and large group-work designed to address variety of learning styles. The core of the Institute is geared to the importance of effective Head Start/Early Head Start Parent Committee structures as another means to engaging families in school readiness. The VIP Institute will help staff energize or re-energize Parent Committees so that parents understand the importance of their role and take ownership of it. This is an effective approach to helping families and staff connect school readiness with grassroots parent leadership.

The newly released Head Start Program Performance Standards reaffirmed Head Start’s commitment to the Parent Committee as an important, viable, required governance structure. Many programs view the Parent Committee as a weak link. If you are one of those programs, now is the time to attend this important Institute. Programs need relevant and revised strategies and approaches to successfully implement the Parent Committee. The Head Start Program Performance Standards allow for great flexibility in implementing this structure. This Institute will incorporate regulatory requirements as well as help participants remember the spirit and intent of the structure.

The VIP Institute is structured so that Day One will include activities, information, a review of regulations, and a Parent Committee quiz for participants. Day Two is designed so that participants form an actual Head Start Program; with each table becoming a Parent Committee for your program. Participants then design an agenda, elect officers, conduct business, get to know each other, and work in the role of a Parent Committee member. There is a Chinese proverb that says, "What I see, I forget. What I hear, I remember. What I do, I understand;" therefore this experiential activity will assist participants in examining their current practices and redesign more effective approaches.