Middle-Class Parents' Participation in a Parent Network and Perspectives on School Choice in Detroit

• In Event: Restoring Local Urban Readiness for School Change

Abstract

This community-based, participatory action research study examined the perspectives of participants in an organized parent group that supported their school choices in Detroit. Their residency and school choices emerged against the grain of urban schools that have racially charged histories (Carter, 2007) and decades of residential mobility trends. Examined are 1) parents’ perspectives surrounding their participation in a parent network that informed their public school choices, 2) parents’ perspectives of their selected school, culture, and curriculum and 3) parents’ perceptions and participation in reform efforts of their select schools. This study documented the group’s third year. Interview data revealed confidence in public school selections and parents’ willingness to contribute resources and advocacy efforts.

Author

• Kirsten D. Hill, University of Michigan - Dearborn