Reply to Parent Engagement at Gentrifying Schools

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Reply to "Parent Engagement at Gentrifying Schools - WaPo feature story"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=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.[/quote]

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.[/quote]

Garrison Elementary in Shaw. [/quote]

Good work, Garrison.  I really think it's unfair when people attack a small PTA for not successfully solving this problem in a few years of existence.  There are so many large and serious obstacles, and often the school administration itself is a big part of the problem.  [/quote]

I guessed right away it would be Garrison.  Mr Kiplinger is amazing... we miss him at Mann :)[/quote]

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