No One Asked Us: Reimagining Parental Partnerships in School Takeovers

• In Event: Oppression at the Intersection: State Takeover Legislation and the Hostile Takeover of an Afro-Latina/o District

Abstract

Parents of school-age children, particularly historically marginalized parents, are uninvited guests in discussions on school reform policy and implementation. While parental involvement is an expressed desire of school leadership, marginalized parents still describe their experiences and efforts at engagement as diminished and thwarted (Posey-Maddox, 2017). Policymakers at various levels and stages of reform hold negative associations of marginalized parents, placing the reason for school reform and takeover at doorstep (Lofton & Davis, 2015). Therefore, it is difficult to envision parents from historically marginalized groups as having a seat and voice at the table of reform.

The purpose of this study was to explore how marginalized parents acquire and/or lose agency to and through state takeover reform. Specifically, this work focused on the parental experiences in the state takeover of the Lawrence, Massachusetts school district. Literature suggests an increasing concern on the part of historically marginalized parents over their children’s existence and identity in public schools since the 1970’s (Sobol & Beck, 1978;). Today, marginalized parents are demanding that school leaders address the very same marginalizing and exclusionary practices that they experienced as school children (Bottiani, Bradshaw, & Mendelson, 2016; Lofton & Davis, 2015). Meanwhile, marginalized parents have recognized their need to compensate for the racial socialization and identity messages sent to their children by school reform policy (Reynolds, Howard, & Jones, 2017; White-Johnson, 2015).

Employing a qualitative approach informed by a case study design, we explored the experiences of parents in the Lawrence, MA school district during state takeover reform. Combining Khalifa, Gooden, and Davis’ (2016) Culturally Responsive School Leadership’s 4th behavior, engaging parents and students in community contexts, and the 3rd domain of McGuigan and Hoy’s (2006) academic optimism, faculty trust in parents and students, we provided a lens for inclusion and agency in policy development and implementation.
This study leans upon AERA’s 2022 theme Cultivating Equitable Education Systems for the 21st Century. We see authentic agency of marginalized parents in educational policies that impact their children as reimagining of equity in education systems. A system not inclusive of its parents has limited potential or intent for equity.

Author

• Derrick Robinson, North Carolina A&T State University