The Hartford Parent Network publishes the newspaper, the Voice of Hartford Parents. A committee of interested parents was formed to direct the publication of the newspaper. To ensure compatibility with other HPN initiatives, the president of HPN was the chair of the committee. Recently this role has been designated to a member of the Board of Directors.

The project goal is to publish a newspaper for parents that is written and produced by parents. In this way, the newspaper is a vehicle to develop parent leadership, as well as writing, editing and salesmanship skills. The newspaper is also translated into Spanish so Spanish-speaking parents can have access to the same information as everyone else. HPN also negotiated with the Superintendent for use of the school system's mailing list, so that the newspaper is mailed directly to every household in the Hartford Public Schools (HPS) system.

In June 1997, the first issue of the Voice of Hartford Parents was published. By March 1998, the paper was consistently being published quarterly. Advertising space was sold to cover publishing costs. The Voice of Hartford Parents is a unique publication that tries to speak to issues, concerns and questions that Hartford parents have. It keeps parents informed on the status of school system reform. It published data on parent participation on school improvement teams. It provided information to Hartford families on school choice opportunities, welfare reform regulations, health care and parenting tips. It published a citywide parent and family calendar and in-depth interviews with two new superintendents.

HPN has received many positive responses from parents regarding the newspaper, especially from Spanish-speaking parents who have very few ways of getting substantive information about these issues.

For parents to feel ownership in the newspaper, most if not all of the articles are actually written by parents on issues of interest to them. This has meant that staff has had to work harder to ensure that parents have editorial support, as well as research support for articles.

The newspaper is almost able to support itself through advertising. The partnership with the Hartford School System allowing it to be mailed directly to parents' homes helps attract advertising. The publication may expand to bimonthly to increase visibility and advertising revenue. Funding is being sought through grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 to pay for extra staff support for the parent volunteers.

The greatest obstacle and challenge is the time needed for staff to support parents, especially as the paper goes to publishing bimonthly. Many news items are timely and parents need to respond quickly. Another important challenge will be our evolving partnership with the HPS. While the paper has given the new Superintendent positive coverage, parents may not always agree with his views or policies. The challenge will be to maintain editorial autonomy without hurting our partnership with HPS.

The newspaper is the most visible project of the Hartford Parent Network. It receives many messages of support and appreciation, especially from Spanish-speaking parents.

Hartford Parent Network, (860) 560-5320

David MacDonald of Hartford was following the news and trying to find out information about the education system in Hartford. From what he heard, the school system seemed to have a lot of problems. Since his children would eventually enter Hartford Public Schools, he decided to become involved. "I wanted to get substantially more involved to try to improve the school system. Trying to organize parents seemed like the best way to do that," remembers Mr. MacDonald.

Through the efforts of himself and other parents, the Hartford Parent Network was founded and Mr. MacDonald became its first president. "The basic idea of the Parent Network was to create a citywide organization that could represent all parents in the city and be a place where parents could get information about what was going in the education system in Hartford, whether or not things were improving, and any other information we could give parents about how to provide a better education for their children."

Over the years, the Hartford Parent Network had collaborated with the Children's First Initiative. Eventually both agencies merged into one. One successful result of this collaborative effort was the development of the Voice of Hartford Parents. The newspaper started as a way for parents to communicate with other parents about the school system and programs in the community that would help parents advocate for their children.

When the newspaper was started in 1996, only 2000-3000 copies were distributed. Now the newspaper is mailed to every single household in the Hartford Public School System. Mr. MacDonald points out its value to parents and children alike, "We can put in articles that are hard-hitting and can challenge what the school system is doing. But we can also put in information that the school system wants to get out, including the positive changes that are going on. It is a good mix of information, particularly issues that parents are interested in."