To Whom It May Concern:

In an effort to increase parental involvement at our school, the Compensatory Education
Advisory Committee (CEAC); which is composed of parents and community members at our
school, opted to partner with Mr. Son Phan, from VPlex.

Mr. Phan’s company provides classes for our parents that teach them how to navigate the
program and learn the basic computer skills that will allow them to electronically communicate
with teachers. The teacher he provided to our school is very patient and tailors the classes to
meet the needs of our parents, which has led to two successful sessions averaging forty parents in
each. I must admit that the classes have been the key to the recent increase of parent volunteers
at our school.

Mr. Phan also provides computer coupons to those parents that finish the program. If they finish
the program and donate CEAC specified volunteer time they attain a coupon that provides them
with the availability to purchase a computer for half -price.

This is my second venture with Mr. Phan as I also successfully partnered with him at my
previous school, Southeast Middle School, for three years. I look forward to a continued
working relationship with Mr. Son Phan.

Sincerely,

Walter Flores
Principal

I never imagined that my job would take me on a path of understanding parental
involvement and trying to understand the challenges both school and communities
through out America face on a daily basis.

What is Parental Involvement? What is Parental Engagement? I hear these terms
loosely used from inner city Los Angeles, to the desert town of El Paso. I have come
to realize that both are trying to get the same results, but are very different in how
they reach them. This is my take in how they work.

Parental Involvement is a structured way that the school and school administrators
decide prior to the school year on how they want to steer or direct Parents of the
school to either volunteering, attending school sponsored Parental workshops,

Parental Engagement is the polar opposite to the current system of Involvement.
Engaging parents and asking them what they want and what the school can offer.