Ann Ishimaru’s call for a re-imagining of the relationship between educational leaders and the students and parents they serve is timely and urgently needed. For too long, parent involvement in schools serving low-income students of color has involved little more than getting parents to come out for back-to-school night or to sell cookies and cupcakes to support field trips. Deep partnerships in which parents and students articulate what they need and want from schools — and educational leaders respond to them positively — have been rare. In fact, too often, such partnerships have been viewed as a distraction from the larger mission of raising achievement (as measured by test scores).
Of course, in affluent communities such relationships are common. In fact, when I ask educators who work in schools serving affluent families who they are accountable to, more often than not they tell me they are accountable to the parents they serve. This is because of an implicit, and sometimes explicit, understanding that those with financial resources and social capital have the wherewithal to get what they want, even when their demands may not be in the best interest of children. For instance, we saw this on clear display in many of the recent conflicts over masking in schools: In communities where affluent white parents opposed district policies requiring students to wear masks, we often saw lawsuits and recall elections of board members. Indeed, this type of push-back is one of the reasons why some children were far more likely than others to attend school in person during the pandemic — according to a 2021 study by the Rand Corporation, 42% of white children in rural and suburban districts were able to attend school in person, compared to just 17% of children in urban districts.
It is important to note that educational leaders and parents of color can, and sometimes do, work together to advance the interests of children and improve schools. For example, in a recent interview with Mike Matsuda, school superintendent in Anaheim, California, I learned that the district has taken significant steps to involve parents in efforts to improve student outcomes. According to Matsuda, “By allowing parents a voice in the decision making process, and by taking their budgetary priorities seriously, we’ve shown the families we serve that our commitment to them is real. We’ve listened carefully to parents; we’ve also started hosting regular learning walks, so parents can see what’s happening in the classroom, and that has really helped us in building trust.”
Trust must be central if districts are to create the re-imagined relationship that Ishimaru calls for between educational leaders and parents. It may not be easy to forge trust with parents whose children have not, historically speaking, been well served, but as Ishimaru reminds us and Matsuda shows in his district, doing so can lead to substantial improvements in student learning.
This article is an invited response to “Youth, families, and communities as educational leaders” by Ann M. Ishimaru, part of Kappan‘s Reimagining American Education: Possible Futures series, sponsored by the Spencer Foundation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pedro A. Noguera
Pedro A. Noguera is the Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean of the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
