It’s a challenge as old as CPS itself:  How to involve busy parents in making their local schools safer and more effective for their children. This is the conundrum that a group of

Humboldt Park parent patrols worked to tackle in both English and Spanish at their annual conference.

The 14^th Police District Safe Passage conference, held March 30 at Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, brought nearly 50 parents together to develop strategies for recruiting new parents to help get children safely to and from school.

Participating schools included Von Humboldt Elementary, Cameron Elementary, Stowe Elementary, deDuprey Elementary, and Roberto Clemente High School. Miriam Alvarez of the 14^th District CAPS office was an able mistress of ceremonies, welcoming the groups she’s helped to develop since 1987. Also present to celebrate the parent volunteers were new 13^th District police Commander Frank Goss, 14^th District Police Commander Linda Flores, and 35^th Ward Alderman Rey Colon.

CAPS has partnered on this effort with several key organizations serving the Humboldt Park community: Broader Urban Involvement and Leadership Development (BUILD), the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC), the New Communities Program Safety Committee, and the City of Chicago Safe Passage initiative. BUILD’s Carmen Gutierrez and CLOCC’s Miguel Morales were on hand to help facilitate the break-out sessions. Each partner organization had volunteers on hand to assist with event logistics and oversight.

The most important outcome of the conference was each group’s innovative strategy for recruiting new parent-patrol volunteers. Divided by school, each team of parents generated a concept they hope to implement in the coming weeks. A small sampling follows:

• Recruit parents at the upcoming report-card pick-up day, which will allow for interaction with every parent in the school
• Bring flowers for women in the days just preceding Mother’s Day along with a recruitment flier for the patrols
• Movie nights
• School clean-up days
• Recruit parents from local block clubs

If these strategies work, an invaluable but but often underappreciated asset — the parent patrols — will grow in the 14th District. Children will have safer routes to schools, and engaged parents will be a key tool in preventing dropout rates and keeping the peace.