Bridging the Engagement Gap: Lessons for Equitable School-Community-Family Collaboration Within a Collective Impact Initiative

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Persistent inequality and unequal outcomes of non-dominant racial minority students have created a sense of urgency to integrate parent engagement efforts as a critical component of new cross-sector “collective impact” initiatives aimed at aligning a broad range of stakeholders to decrease educational disparities, from cradle to college and career. This session highlights district and neighborhood-based initiatives in the Pacific Northwest that are working within such a collaborative initiative to build meaningful engagement and equitable collaboration between families, communities, and educational systems. Each paper explores key issues of parent engagement within this policy context by advancing theory around authentic, equitable participation and partnership within collective impact initiatives; identifying the limitations of current measures of parent engagement; illustrating efforts to build parent capacity and participation in systemic reform; and considering new roles for cultural brokers in school and place-based organizations that lead to successfully connecting parents and families to collective impact initiatives.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Family, School, Community Partnerships

Chair

• Karen L. Mapp, Harvard University

Papers

• Moving Toward Collaboration: Theory and Practice of Parent Engagement in a Collective Impact Initiative - Ann M. Ishimaru, University of Washington; Joe L. Lott, University of Washington

• Communicating Results: How Do We Measure the Effectiveness of School-Community-Family Collaborations? - Ismael Fajardo, University of Washington - Seattle; Jessica E. Salvador

• Building Parent Capacity and Participation: Two District Parent Engagement Initiatives - Kathryn Elizabeth Torres, University of Washington; Ismael Fajardo, University of Washington - Seattle

• Cultural Brokers as Leaders: District and Community-Based Initiatives and Equitable Parent-School Collaboration - Dawn M Williams, University of Washington; Christine Tran, University of Washington

Discussant

• Camille M. Wilson, University of Michigan