How to be an effective agent of change at your child’s school

Being engaged in education change is inherently a political process involving a struggle over the distribution of resources and power, which are at the heart of school improvement. Good parent political dissent requires skills and dispositions to disagree with a typical way of doing things in schools. These parents first look carefully at the practices of schools to determine whether they are meeting the needs of children. Then they bring their worrisome findings to light by sharing them with others. Good parent change agents don’t just stop at uncovering problems or telling others about them. They work to envision and implement solutions. As they do so, they seek out an array of perspectives on an issue. Along the way, they often build a support network for their efforts at change.

The most effective parent change agents:

These tips can help parents move from frustration about problems in our schools to amelioration. Engaging in political dissent, while challenging and at times risky, may be one of the most important contributions parents can make to improving our public schools.