Training in involvement, a parent advocacy office and a task force to address test score disparities between black and white students are on the wish list for a Cincinnati Public Schools parents group.

        Cincinnati Parents for Public Schools, the local branch of a national organization, brainstormed Saturday on ways to make the district the most parent-friendly in the nation.

        About 70 parents, teachers and community members reviewed a 97-page draft of the branch's suggestions. The group hopes to present a final report to the board of education in April.

        “We know this is a daunting task,” said Carolyn Turner, the group's interim director and parent of one child in Cincinnati Public Schools. “If need be, we'll take small steps.”

        Small but speedy steps, group members said. They hope the district will begin using their recommendations by fall.

        “Cincinnati Public Schools are not any less parent-friendly than other districts, but we figured we're positioned well with the strength of our local chapter to do something that hasn't been done before,” said Brewster Rhoads, local and national board member for Parents for Public Schools.

        A big concern is how parent involvement can help reduce the suspension rate and test score disparities between African-American and white students.

        In Cincinnati, 44.2 percent of white fourth-graders passed the state reading proficiency test last school year, while only 20 percent of black students did. Wide disparities between black and white students occurred on most of the fourth-, sixth- and ninth-grade state tests.

        “We need to help parents understand that their hopes and expectations feed directly into their child's expectations at school,” said Paula Hanley, a teacher at the Cincinnati Academy of Mathematics and Science at Jacobs High School in Winton Place.

        Members of the group also said the district needs to make information more accessible, such as how to enroll students and what school options are available.

        Other suggestions:

        • Offer more board of education meetings at which parents can talk with the board and administration.

        • Have some full board committee meetings at night so more parents can attend.

        • Create a districtwide handbook that covers enrollment, transportation and parent involvement.

        • Help educate community members and parents on how to participate in the local school decision-making councils, which are individual school governing groups.

        For more information, contact the parent group at 751-5437.

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