Here’s the headline that caught my eye: “
Pflugerville ISD’s free job training teaches parents plumbing, nursing and more”
Working with SkillPoint Alliance, the local school district is offering free job training along with child care and transportation assistance while parents take classes. It’s a three year pilot program intended to increase opportunities for these parents and increase their involvement in their children’s education. When you leverage your education resources to serve children and their parents, when you recognize that a parent that is well connected to the labor market will be a strong ally for helping their children make educational choices, and when you find a way to collaborate and clear hurdles to make it a reality, that’s memorable.
There’s a name for the spirit of this kind of program – the 2Gen approach. NPR did some extensive coverage in 2017, focusing on the Career Advance program in Tulsa that you can read about here. The Ascend Initiative of the Aspen Institute has also written extensively about how a whole family approach not only prepares both children and parents for jobs, but encompasses the kind of holistic perspective that sets family up for long-term success.