ParentCorps
Summer Institute
July 14-17, 2025
Join us for the ParentCorps Summer Institute — a transformational, evidence-based professional development experience. You’ll learn new skills for engaging with children and families and have opportunities to build deep relationships with new colleagues. As we say in ParentCorps, come for the strategies, stay for the community!
This training offers 14-28 Continuing Education contact hours for social workers (LMSWs, LCSWs), mental health counselors (LMHCs), licensed psychoanalysts, and marriage and family therapists (LMFTs) through the NYU Silver School of Social Work, and CTLE credits for New York State teachers and leaders.
$400 early bird pricing
$450 (regular registration)
Deep dive into family engagement.
14 CE hours/CTLEs
$650 early bird pricing
$750 (regular registration)
Deep dive into family engagement plus emotionally responsive strategies to support children.
28 CE hours/CTLEs
Early bird pricing ends April 30, 2025.
Registration deadline: June 15, 2025.
Describe your image
“The first day I observed ParentCorps Fundamentals training, I thought, ‘I have to take this home with me.’ It forces you to look internally and recognize how your own personal experiences impact your interactions with other people. It was exactly what we needed. There has been a fundamental shift in how our staff engages parents.”
Kecia Rorie,
Starfish Family Services, Detroit
Who we are
ParentCorps has 25 years of experience partnering with school districts and Head Start programs to build a high-quality early education experience — one that centers culture and lived experience, engages parents as partners, and supports children's social-emotional well-being – to help unlock the full promise of early childhood education.
We’ve worked in communities from NYC to Detroit, Michigan to Tulsa, Oklahoma, reaching 7,000+ children last school year nationwide.
About the Summer Institute
In the 2025 Summer Institute, we’ll offer our signature professional development, ParentCorps Fundamentals, as part of a community-building experience with early childhood professionals. ParentCorps Fundamentals isn’t your usual professional development. It's highly experiential – focused on reflection, candid sharing, and respect for participants' expertise. You’ll leave not only with new skills and insights to engage with children and families, but new relationships with early childhood professionals around the country.
Is this training for me?
The two-day Summer Institute – focused on strengthening family engagement – is ideal for professionals who work with families with children 0-10.
The four-day Summer Institute – focused on strengthening family engagement and children’s social-emotional well-being – is ideal for professionals who work with children 3-5.
What to expect
Two to four days in community with other early childhood professionals. Experiential activities and candid conversation. Practical tools to bring back for next school year.
The evidence
Rigorous studies show that ParentCorps professional development improves home-school connection and parents’ trust in teachers and school leaders.
Accommodations
Discounted hotel rates available in midtown Manhattan, starting at $290/night.
What will each day look like?
Day 1: Intro to ParentCorps and family engagement
You’ll get to:
-
Reflect on your own experiences and beliefs
-
Participate in fun and meaningful games
-
Consider effective strategies for engaging families and strengthening home-school connection
Day 2: Seeing and treating caregivers as partners
We’ll explore:
-
Strategies to build positive relationships with families
-
Our own identities and experiences
-
Ways to create more supportive environments
-
Empathic listening skills to navigate difficult conversations
Day 3: Creating safe, nurturing & predictable environments for children
We’ll cover:
-
Proactive strategies to support positive behavior
-
Culturally responsive classroom strategies
-
Effective instructions, different approaches to mealtime, and more
Day 4: Reinforcement and responsive strategies
We will:
-
Consider positive reinforcement strategies
-
Practice child-led play skills
-
Consider where challenging behavior comes from
-
Identify strategies to support emotions and decrease negative behavior
-
Learn new ways to navigate tantrums, and more
“As a district, we've struggled with family engagement. Tulsa is a community that has experienced trauma, and a lot of families don't feel like they're a part of a school community. I think ParentCorps has been one step to rebuilding the relationship between the schools and the community.”
Jordan Sheffield-Mix, Tulsa Public Schools
“ParentCorps is truly unique, and to me one of the most useful aspects of our model is supporting educators in self-reflection. Don’t make negative assumptions. Don’t lean on stereotypes or perceived deficits. Instead, get to really know your families, what they value, and what their strengths are. If you start with this spirit, it will spill over in your family engagement materials, strategies, and conversations, including the difficult ones.”
Kai-ama Hamer, Director, ParentCorps