Parent Engagement at Gentrifying Schools - WaPo feature story

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the article is inspiring, honestly, but they don't say what exactly is in this secret sauce. What is it they're doing, just opening the conversation and having select group of non-involved POC parents take part? If it works, that's great, and I hope our school participates, but...also who is paying them? Can we copy some techniques?

Agree it's an infomercial, a bit short on details, but it certainly caught my attention. I think while we don't really know what their approach actually is, there are any number of things that we need to be doing better to have strong parent communities and what we typically do is not working well enough.

This. What, specifically, is the secret sauce? A paid facilitator? Because I have tried all kinds of things, and hardly anyone, of any background or income level, shows up. What is a school to do if they cannot afford Kindred?

Also, there are a lot of other pressing issues. Engagement is important, yes. But maybe if the PTA a track record of real accomplishments, that would help. Maybe if the school didn't have so many problems, people would be more interested. Doing all these flyers and everything costs money and it isn't working. The school can't even get it together to put the flyers in the backpacks half the time. We can't afford food at meetings yet. I pay the sitter out of my own pocket because so few other children are even there.

Why not read up on organizing techniques in general?

I don't know what the secret sauce is either, but one thing you could do is decide not to take ANY action until you get the input of a broad swath of the school. If that means going to people's houses, tracking them down at drop-off, so be it. For example, my PTA has a HUGE new proposed line-item that is exactly the type of thing to please white UMC people, but I can think of about a million other things we might use it for that would be more equitable (for instance, tutoring to help close the math gap.) A PTA that honestly wanted to be inclusive wouldn't just say "welp, we emailed the budget proposal to everyone and 20 people showed up to vote, so 15% of our annual budget will go to a GMO-free emotion coaching clown in every PK classroom! we were as inclusive as possible!"

A PTA that actually wanted to be inclusive would NOT have proposed that line item in the first place, and would instead have developed a menu of options that respond to different constituencies at the school, and done more active outreach. Even if you can't get everyone to come and vote, you can understand their preferences.

NP here but this is an insane ask. If the job requires 10+ hours/week of unpaid work then most people wouldn't be willing to do it. Then the schools stay failing and that's bad for all the kids, but especially those without access to the better alternatives.

Ok well, then if this is truly the white man's burden as you all seemed to be utterly convinced of, you ought to do some thinking about whether you are spending PTA funds on items that truly benefit those who need them most.

[Anonymous]

I've been through this as a white gentrifying PTO leader. You kind of get stuck in a situation where the only people who show up are clueless preschool parents, because they're already friends. Then people say oblivious things and don't prioritize well. The school leadership and PTO leadership can try to steer them in a better direction, but ultimately if you tell people they can't have their twee little projects, they'll get bored and wander off.

You have to invest a lot of time and effort in getting them to see the real needs. Unfortunately, the more they learn about the real needs of the school and its population, the more overwhelmed they feel, and it makes them want to remove their child. So it's very very hard to get off the ground.

When I look back at this period of my life, if I had known how awful the school leadership actually was, I wouldn't have beat my head on the brick wall of their incompetence for so long. The other parents tried to tell me, but I wasn't ready to hear it. Sometimes when people don't participate, there's a message for those willing to listen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the article is inspiring, honestly, but they don't say what exactly is in this secret sauce. What is it they're doing, just opening the conversation and having select group of non-involved POC parents take part? If it works, that's great, and I hope our school participates, but...also who is paying them? Can we copy some techniques?

Agree it's an infomercial, a bit short on details, but it certainly caught my attention. I think while we don't really know what their approach actually is, there are any number of things that we need to be doing better to have strong parent communities and what we typically do is not working well enough.

This. What, specifically, is the secret sauce? A paid facilitator? Because I have tried all kinds of things, and hardly anyone, of any background or income level, shows up. What is a school to do if they cannot afford Kindred?

Also, there are a lot of other pressing issues. Engagement is important, yes. But maybe if the PTA a track record of real accomplishments, that would help. Maybe if the school didn't have so many problems, people would be more interested. Doing all these flyers and everything costs money and it isn't working. The school can't even get it together to put the flyers in the backpacks half the time. We can't afford food at meetings yet. I pay the sitter out of my own pocket because so few other children are even there.

Why not read up on organizing techniques in general?

I don't know what the secret sauce is either, but one thing you could do is decide not to take ANY action until you get the input of a broad swath of the school. If that means going to people's houses, tracking them down at drop-off, so be it. For example, my PTA has a HUGE new proposed line-item that is exactly the type of thing to please white UMC people, but I can think of about a million other things we might use it for that would be more equitable (for instance, tutoring to help close the math gap.) A PTA that honestly wanted to be inclusive wouldn't just say "welp, we emailed the budget proposal to everyone and 20 people showed up to vote, so 15% of our annual budget will go to a GMO-free emotion coaching clown in every PK classroom! we were as inclusive as possible!"

A PTA that actually wanted to be inclusive would NOT have proposed that line item in the first place, and would instead have developed a menu of options that respond to different constituencies at the school, and done more active outreach. Even if you can't get everyone to come and vote, you can understand their preferences.

NP here but this is an insane ask. If the job requires 10+ hours/week of unpaid work then most people wouldn't be willing to do it. Then the schools stay failing and that's bad for all the kids, but especially those without access to the better alternatives.

Ok well, then if this is truly the white man's burden as you all seemed to be utterly convinced of, you ought to do some thinking about whether you are spending PTA funds on items that truly benefit those who need them most.

dp: The perfect should be the enemy of the good, right?

[Anonymous]

Most schools can not afford Kindred on their own. I am a parent at a DCPS school that has partnered with Kindred and the program was brought to our school by our outstanding principal who has made race and equity work a top priority for our entire community. He got the program funded by reaching out to stakeholders in our neighborhood (local businesses, neighborhood organizations, churches, and the PTO itself). Kindred has not been a quick fix and the work is ongoing, but the impact of just a year partnering with Kindred has been invaluable. For our school, the burden of addressing these issues has not been placed solely on one subgroup or another. It’s all a matter of the powers that be making it clear that this should be and can be a top priority for all stakeholders. Treating this work as critical to a school’s success is half the battle.
Instead of blaming families for their lack of engagement, I would suggest holding your school leadership accountable for engaging the entire school community (including the systems and organizations responsible for the harmful affects of gentrification and displacement) in critical conversations about race and equity. An organization like Kindred won’t be a magic bullet. But I can say from experience that it’s a great place to start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most schools can not afford Kindred on their own. I am a parent at a DCPS school that has partnered with Kindred and the program was brought to our school by our outstanding principal who has made race and equity work a top priority for our entire community. He got the program funded by reaching out to stakeholders in our neighborhood (local businesses, neighborhood organizations, churches, and the PTO itself). Kindred has not been a quick fix and the work is ongoing, but the impact of just a year partnering with Kindred has been invaluable. For our school, the burden of addressing these issues has not been placed solely on one subgroup or another. It’s all a matter of the powers that be making it clear that this should be and can be a top priority for all stakeholders. Treating this work as critical to a school’s success is half the battle.
Instead of blaming families for their lack of engagement, I would suggest holding your school leadership accountable for engaging the entire school community (including the systems and organizations responsible for the harmful affects of gentrification and displacement) in critical conversations about race and equity. An organization like Kindred won’t be a magic bullet. But I can say from experience that it’s a great place to start.

Thank you for the reminder that the school admin needs to take thie lead not PTO alone. Partly just due to the costs involved.

Also...which school? I think some are worse hit by gentrification than others.

[Anonymous]

Good to hear, PP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most schools can not afford Kindred on their own. I am a parent at a DCPS school that has partnered with Kindred and the program was brought to our school by our outstanding principal who has made race and equity work a top priority for our entire community. He got the program funded by reaching out to stakeholders in our neighborhood (local businesses, neighborhood organizations, churches, and the PTO itself). Kindred has not been a quick fix and the work is ongoing, but the impact of just a year partnering with Kindred has been invaluable. For our school, the burden of addressing these issues has not been placed solely on one subgroup or another. It’s all a matter of the powers that be making it clear that this should be and can be a top priority for all stakeholders. Treating this work as critical to a school’s success is half the battle.
Instead of blaming families for their lack of engagement, I would suggest holding your school leadership accountable for engaging the entire school community (including the systems and organizations responsible for the harmful affects of gentrification and displacement) in critical conversations about race and equity. An organization like Kindred won’t be a magic bullet. But I can say from experience that it’s a great place to start.

Can you speak a bit more to what working with Kindred looks and feels like for your school? I think that's what is missing for a lot of posters here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The story was a great read. I am sort of a mash-up of both here - I'm UMC black and technically a gentrifier married to a Native Washingtonian. I also attended public school growing up that had some of the same dynamics.

I tend to think that white people are using to getting what they want, which makes them comfy asking for whatever they want. They don't "see" barriers because barriers just don't typically exist for them in the same ways.

Agreed, another black parent here. I think there are two things going on:

1) in addition to less flexible work schedules, less educated black and Latino parents are less likely to have the requisite knowledge and know-how to get things done. Teachers and principals are more highly educated than them, and so it's tough to demand change (or even make inquiries about existing policies) from people in a higher position of power and authority than you. So, they truly have less agency, and they don't bother to show up.

2) school staff at gentrifying schools tend to be much more deferential to white parents. As another poster mentioned, I've witnessed this with everyone from front office staff to teachers. Even when black parents are themselves highly educated, it's harder to get things done than for white parents. This also leads to less engagement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am/was a white gentrifying PTO parent. One time I got a glimpse of the way DCPS admins treat low-income parents and I was aghast. It was an extremely authoritative, top-down approach that basically told parents to step off and keep their mouths shut. They were definitely being a lot nicer and more polite to me. It was eye-opening and made me realize why people might not want to participate. I tried to be inclusive, get materials translated, chit chat with everyone, provide food and childcare, all the usual recommendations. But the way DCPS itself treats parents, it's an uphill climb.

12:25 here, this is the post I was referencing.

[Anonymous]

Whoever said a better PTA might get more interest, that's what I experienced at our school. When it was just a handful of people trying to get 501(c)(3) status, can you blame people for not finding it compelling? After a few years when there was a real budget and enough money and people-power to have fun events, we saw an uptick in low-income participation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I found this story pretty interesting. It talks about some of the cultural clashes and pitfalls when a school begins to gentrify in DC or there is a wide disparity in experiences and expectations about school. It describes what happens when new to DC (usually white families) clash with native Washingtonians. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/as-cities-gentrify-and-schools-diversify-ptos-grapple-to-ensure-all-parent-voices-are-heard/2019/09/20/50314488-7277-11e9-8be0-ca575670e91c_story.html

It features Kindred, a nonprofit founded by Laura Phelan, that is going into PTA/PTOs to get parents within a school community to talk, share and hopefully find ways to collaborate. It says that they are in 12 schools, including YY, Bancroft.

One anecdote stood out to me -- that many black parents see school leadership as authority figures and they perceive white parents as coming in and making demands and not respecting the administrators.

Did anyone else read this? Is your school working with Kindred? Do you see this dynamic at your children's schools?

THIS is YY's biggest problem? Not enough AA parents these days?

How about the actual problem of the school enrolling no more than a handful (literally) of students who mainly speak Chinese at home? How about the fact that great majority of YY students hardly speak Chinese after 7 or 8 years of 50% immersion in the program?

As a native Mandarin speaker, I hear the two dozen upper grades YY students around the neighborhood I've known for years speaking at roughly the same level as my PreK4 kid.

Ludicrous. I've posted this comment on the Post comments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found this story pretty interesting. It talks about some of the cultural clashes and pitfalls when a school begins to gentrify in DC or there is a wide disparity in experiences and expectations about school. It describes what happens when new to DC (usually white families) clash with native Washingtonians. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/as-cities-gentrify-and-schools-diversify-ptos-grapple-to-ensure-all-parent-voices-are-heard/2019/09/20/50314488-7277-11e9-8be0-ca575670e91c_story.html

It features Kindred, a nonprofit founded by Laura Phelan, that is going into PTA/PTOs to get parents within a school community to talk, share and hopefully find ways to collaborate. It says that they are in 12 schools, including YY, Bancroft.

One anecdote stood out to me -- that many black parents see school leadership as authority figures and they perceive white parents as coming in and making demands and not respecting the administrators.

Did anyone else read this? Is your school working with Kindred? Do you see this dynamic at your children's schools?

THIS is YY's biggest problem? Not enough AA parents these days?

How about the actual problem of the school enrolling no more than a handful (literally) of students who mainly speak Chinese at home? How about the fact that great majority of YY students hardly speak Chinese after 7 or 8 years of 50% immersion in the program?

As a native Mandarin speaker, I hear the two dozen upper grades YY students around the neighborhood I've known for years speaking at roughly the same level as my PreK4 kid.

Ludicrous. I've posted this comment on the Post comments.

You post this comment everywhere. Perhaps you could start your own YY sticky so we can return to the main topic of this thread?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found this story pretty interesting. It talks about some of the cultural clashes and pitfalls when a school begins to gentrify in DC or there is a wide disparity in experiences and expectations about school. It describes what happens when new to DC (usually white families) clash with native Washingtonians. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/as-cities-gentrify-and-schools-diversify-ptos-grapple-to-ensure-all-parent-voices-are-heard/2019/09/20/50314488-7277-11e9-8be0-ca575670e91c_story.html

It features Kindred, a nonprofit founded by Laura Phelan, that is going into PTA/PTOs to get parents within a school community to talk, share and hopefully find ways to collaborate. It says that they are in 12 schools, including YY, Bancroft.

One anecdote stood out to me -- that many black parents see school leadership as authority figures and they perceive white parents as coming in and making demands and not respecting the administrators.

Did anyone else read this? Is your school working with Kindred? Do you see this dynamic at your children's schools?

THIS is YY's biggest problem? Not enough AA parents these days?

How about the actual problem of the school enrolling no more than a handful (literally) of students who mainly speak Chinese at home? How about the fact that great majority of YY students hardly speak Chinese after 7 or 8 years of 50% immersion in the program?

As a native Mandarin speaker, I hear the two dozen upper grades YY students around the neighborhood I've known for years speaking at roughly the same level as my PreK4 kid.

Ludicrous. I've posted this comment on the Post comments.

It's a joke to pat yourselves on the back for having Kindred when you have basically zero at-risk kids of any color. Charters shouldn't be allowed to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most schools can not afford Kindred on their own. I am a parent at a DCPS school that has partnered with Kindred and the program was brought to our school by our outstanding principal who has made race and equity work a top priority for our entire community. He got the program funded by reaching out to stakeholders in our neighborhood (local businesses, neighborhood organizations, churches, and the PTO itself). Kindred has not been a quick fix and the work is ongoing, but the impact of just a year partnering with Kindred has been invaluable. For our school, the burden of addressing these issues has not been placed solely on one subgroup or another. It’s all a matter of the powers that be making it clear that this should be and can be a top priority for all stakeholders. Treating this work as critical to a school’s success is half the battle.
Instead of blaming families for their lack of engagement, I would suggest holding your school leadership accountable for engaging the entire school community (including the systems and organizations responsible for the harmful affects of gentrification and displacement) in critical conversations about race and equity. An organization like Kindred won’t be a magic bullet. But I can say from experience that it’s a great place to start.

Thank you for the reminder that the school admin needs to take thie lead not PTO alone. Partly just due to the costs involved.

Also...which school? I think some are worse hit by gentrification than others.

Garrison Elementary in Shaw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I found this story pretty interesting. It talks about some of the cultural clashes and pitfalls when a school begins to gentrify in DC or there is a wide disparity in experiences and expectations about school. It describes what happens when new to DC (usually white families) clash with native Washingtonians. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/as-cities-gentrify-and-schools-diversify-ptos-grapple-to-ensure-all-parent-voices-are-heard/2019/09/20/50314488-7277-11e9-8be0-ca575670e91c_story.html

It features Kindred, a nonprofit founded by Laura Phelan, that is going into PTA/PTOs to get parents within a school community to talk, share and hopefully find ways to collaborate. It says that they are in 12 schools, including YY, Bancroft.

One anecdote stood out to me -- that many black parents see school leadership as authority figures and they perceive white parents as coming in and making demands and not respecting the administrators.

Did anyone else read this? Is your school working with Kindred? Do you see this dynamic at your children's schools?

THIS is YY's biggest problem? Not enough AA parents these days?

How about the actual problem of the school enrolling no more than a handful (literally) of students who mainly speak Chinese at home? How about the fact that great majority of YY students hardly speak Chinese after 7 or 8 years of 50% immersion in the program?

As a native Mandarin speaker, I hear the two dozen upper grades YY students around the neighborhood I've known for years speaking at roughly the same level as my PreK4 kid.

Ludicrous. I've posted this comment on the Post comments.

You post this comment everywhere. Perhaps you could start your own YY sticky so we can return to the main topic of this thread?

+1 Not a YY booster or even a particular fan of the concept of charter schools but this "YY is garbage because there aren't enough native speakers" poster is unhelpful, meaningless, and so so boring at this point.