Leadership Development - PASS also seeks to train and nurture emerging and seasoned community leaders so that they can take on facilitation of new PASS circles, serve as individual Allies, support school and community initiatives, and serve as change agents promoting active family and community advocacy on behalf of children’s success in their schools and communities. 

Advocacy – In its advocacy function, PASS serves to help parents, schools, and decision-makers better understand how the system and schools can better meet the needs of the diverse community. PASS also mobilizes resources that meet needs identified by families and communities.

PASS developed a model to be delivered by facilitators who are trained to understand the program concept, during study circle groups and by other means. Also, PASS trains professionals to become “Allies” who will be assigned to support a family and work with parents in one-on-one sessions; for the time the family in need of assistance (about a year), addressing and identifying educational issues regarding children schooling, and other identifiable needs.

Identification of Need

Family life has become more complicated and hurried; consequently education has become more complex for parents to be supportive of the students. The rapid changes in society, the impact of high stakes testing on students, the fast pace of today’s complex dynamics, creates a problem for parents not having the time to be up to date with information about resources related to education. Many of the families in the Northern Virginia area must also overcome perceived and real linguistic, cultural and socio-economic barriers that prevent them from understanding the schooling process and to be effective communicators.  It can leave a family member feeling overwhelmed and disenfranchised.

• Meeting the Identified Need
  
  However, with the support of a more capable and knowledgeable ally, a parent member can develop the skills and increase awareness to assume their core role as an advocate for their children. This engagement in their children/child education process will reap long term educational benefits for both parents and children. The research on parent engagement shows that parents who have a major influence on their children’s achievement in school and in all other areas of child development. The impact of school, parent and community connections on student achievement were found to be very positive, and students are more likely to graduate and go on to postsecondary education.
  
  PASS is a support system for parents to, in turn, they will be able to advocate for their children toward a positive outcome in their education.