Heads of the Class

By Peter Bailey

THE PARENTAL LINK

THEY'RE ALL CONNECTED NOW

Brady Keys Jr. has always been a playmaker--on and off the field. In 1964, when he was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he ran a punt back 90 yds., a play that's still a team record. In the '70s, as the owner of several franchises, he was an African-American pioneer in the fast-food industry, and his policy of custom-making orders inspired Burger King's famous "Have It Your Way" campaign. Now the former football star is tackling his most difficult challenge yet: failing inner-city schools.

Keys believes that the secret to educational improvement is getting adults more involved in their kids' schools. But he admits that making every PTA meeting is tough for parents who juggle two or three jobs. So in 2001, Keys, along with educational software company EPOS, launched Helping Involve Parents (HIP), an interactive program that allows parents and teachers to form their own communications network via the telephone or Internet. It's now used by 34,000 students and parents in 29 schools throughout New York City. The software program allows parents to view homework assignments, class schedules and student performance. Through HIP notification, parents are able to get instant feedback on student absenteeism and grades. HIP bridges the digital divide by allowing parents to use the system even if they don't have a computer. The software translates computer text to audible voice messages and vice versa. Says Keys: "With HIP all you need is a quarter and a pay phone."

Counselor Georgine Brown-Thompson remembers "empty PTA halls" before introducing HIP to Walt Whitman Middle School 246 in Brooklyn three years ago. "We've seen PTA attendance rise from five to 164," she says. The school was on the brink of financial ruin in 2001 when 127 parents opted for student transfers under the No Child Left Behind legislation. "Our school was being left behind," Brown-Thompson says. After HIP's introduction, 110 parents changed their mind, saving the school $1.3 million in funding it would have lost if the students had left.

After installing HIP, student test scores at Walt Whitman rose 20%. Karrol-Lee Richards, a seventh-grader, says HIP helped improved her grades from C's to A's. "I log in about four times a day to get advice from the teacher," says Richards. Keys plans to further HIP's reach by allowing students to interact with one another as well. "I just wanted a phone person and a computer person to be able to talk," says Keys. So far, HIP has been a conversation starter. --By Peter Bailey