Recentering Community Knowledge and Strategies in Family-School-Community Collaborations: Coconstructing Contextually Relevant Pathways for Youth

• In Event: Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: The Value of the Role of the Community in Enhancing Parent Involvement Practices at Home and School

Abstract

Research in school reform provides evidence of the potential of family-school-community initiatives to transform low-performing schools (Weiss, Lopez, & Rosenberg, 2010). This paper challenges the school-centric nature of some partnerships and proposes alternative frameworks for integrating the knowledge and resources of all stakeholders. Our team of community and university researchers conducted a series of home visits with 29 families whose children had been placed in a school program for “over-age and under-achieving” youth in an urban high school. Our findings provide insights into family and community goals and expectations for youth and schools and the strategies adopted to address challenges. We argue for re-centering community and families to create sustainable collaborations that construct contextually relevant supports and pathways for youth.

Authors

• Joyce Mahler Duckles, University of Rochester

• Wallace Smith, NorthEast Area Development

• Joel Gallegos Greenwich, University of Rochester

• Brittany Calvin, NorthEast Area Development

• Tashara Smalls, NorthEast Area Development