Participants will become advocates for children through:
– Two Saturday community-building retreats
– A 9-week instructional course on community and personal development
– A 9-week civics course on politics, policy and media
– A written community project
Candidates will be selected from a pool of diverse applicants. The Institute is free; your contribution is your time and commitment.
The training will be offered with an all day retreat on Saturday, January 20th and classes continuing on Thursday evenings for 20 weeks until June. There will also be an all day Saturday session on March 23rd. Class is from 5:30pm to 9:00pm, beginning with dinner, networking and social time from 5:30-6:00pm. The training will be offered only in English. Transportation and childcare may be provided as needed.
Children of PLTI participants ages 4-12 may participate in our hybrid Children’s Leadership Training Institute (CLTI)- a literacy-based curriculum that parallels PLTI’s weekly topics. Participating children get a new book every week!
For more information and to receive an application contact Regan Allan, PLTI Coordinator at (203) 539-1722 or rallan@spefct.org
PLTI is a CT Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity family civics initiative. Mission Statement: The Parent Leadership Training Institute seeks to enable parents to become leading advocates for children. The cornerstones of the program are respect, validation, and a belief that when the tools of democracy are understood, the public will actively engage in civic life.
Parents Supporting Educational Excellence (PSEE)
PSEE is a 13-week program that provides participants with strategies and tools in order to partner with schools and improve education for all children. The curriculum focuses on the topics of leadership, change, educational policies and partnering. School leaders attend as guests to facilitate dialogue and policy partnerships. The program is offered in English. Childcare, dinner, and transportation are provided.
People Empowering People (UCONN PEP)

UCONN PEP is a 10-week program for adults that emphasizes the connection between individuals and community action. The curriculum focuses on values, communication, life skills, problem-solving, parenting, and developing leadership skills. The program is offered in Spanish, and dinner and transportation are provided.
A complement to the PEP program, Children’s People Empowering People (CPEP) aims to enrich the power of children ages 5-12 to assume leadership roles in order to foster community action. This is done through a 10-week literacy-based curriculum that parallels the adult PEP program. Each week, children go home with a free book to build their home library and reinforce what was learned in class with their parents. CPEP is offered in English.
Since 1997, the Stamford PLTI program has graduated 766 parent leaders. Our graduates serve in public offices, establish programs and non-profit organizations, set up scholarships, and lead community initiatives to improve the lives of Stamford children, families, and residents. PLTI/PEP assists future parent leaders in engaging purposefully within civic society to reach positive outcomes for children.
For the Alumni: To keep our graduates engaged and inspired, SPEF provides PLTI Alumni Engagement Programs. These include virtual skills-building workshops, opportunities to apply their learnings from the Institute through connections to leadership opportunities in our community, as well as ongoing social events. These programs provide graduates with skills to add to their “civic toolkit.”