"We need parental engagement in the schools, not just involvement," says Dennis Shirley, author of Community Organizing for Urban School Reform.
Parents and the community must be engaged in conversations and relationships with teachers and other school employees that extend beyond fundraising and back-to-school nights, he told the nearly 1,000 participants at a conference on building communities of learners recently.
Tom Kinney and Morgan Brown, both members of the Associated Pomona Teachers, tell conference participants how their chapter is organizing the community and getting it involved in the schools.
"Parental engagement transcends traditional approaches to school and community relations by bringing the community into the heart of the school and using the school as a base for political revitalization of the community," said Shirley.
CTA was one of the cosponsors of the all-day conference, which was initiated by the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) Los Angeles Metro Strategy. The conference, held at Occidental College in July, was the result of hundreds of small-group and individual meetings over the past two years involving more than 80 institutions and thousands of people. Among the participants were CTA leaders and staff from Pasadena, Alhambra, El Segundo, Glendale, Pomona, Lynwood and Compton and United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA).
The three-point school strategy put forth at the conference called for the creation of clusters of schools throughout metropolitan Los Angeles, including Pomona and Pasadena and other area districts. Clusters would be allowed three years of "political space" to create a relational culture involving all public school stakeholders. At the end of the three years, success would be gauged by the increases in student achievement levels and the accountability of stakeholders.
"Now we must begin the hard work of identifying and engaging the schools and local associations who want to be part of this exciting organizing opportunity," says Tom Kinney, a member of the Associated Pomona Teachers and one of the conference developers, along with fellow APT member Morgan Brown. "Together we must challenge the culture of bureaucracy."
The basic strategy, which involves a cluster of 25 schools in Los Angeles Unified, won the enthusiastic endorsement of Los Angeles Superintendent Roy Romer and Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn. "No one has the answer," said Romer. "We (LAUSD) can't do it alone. We need your help."
Hahn, who noted that he has worked with IAF for more than 20 years, invited IAF leaders to work with him on the development of after-school programs that support the basic strategy.
Others who endorsed the community organizing approach to school reform at the conference included Lauren Resnick, director of the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh; Jeannie Oakes, education professor at UCLA; Sonia Hernandez, director of the Los Angeles County Alliance for Student Achievement; Robert Moses, founder of The Algebra Project; and many others.
The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) has been active in the Los Angeles area for nearly 30 years and traces its roots back to Saul Alinsky in Chicago during the 1930s. The IAF is currently engaged in organizing projects in Baltimore, Seattle, Atlanta, New Orleans, Chicago, Texas, Arizona and other places throughout the country.
Nearly 80 institutions are alliance members of the Los Angeles Metro Strategy, including schools, unions, religious congregations, community service agencies and corporations.
In addition to CTA and NEA, the unions involved include the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), and Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (HERE).
Tom Kinney and Morgan Brown, both members of the Associated Pomona Teachers, tell conference participants how their chapter is organizing the community and getting it involved in the schools.
