Organizing Parents for Social Justice in Urban Schools: A New Urban Model of Parent Engagement

Session Submission Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium examines the longitudinal impact of a grass-roots parent empowerment program that includes urban parents as advocates, critical researchers, and educators. This organization, called Parent U-Turn, is a programmatic effort designed to assist students and families to better navigate the educational pipeline toward higher education. Since 2002, Parent U-Turn has developed, implemented, and tested an advocacy-based model of parent engagement for working class families. Grounded within critical theory and a decade of qualitative and quantitative data, this session examines multiple strategies for empowering urban parents. The personal narratives and case studies presented will illuminate the long term impact of their efforts and greatly informs educators and researchers partnering with urban schools and communities to pursue educational reform.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Family, School, Community Partnerships

Chair

• John S. Rogers, University of California - Los Angeles

Papers

• Seven Principles of Urban Parent Empowerment and Advocacy - Mary Johnson, Los Angeles Unified School District 6

• Placing Urban Parents at the Center of Teacher Education and Urban School Reform - Anthony Collatos, Pepperdine University; Raymundo Tellez, Pepperdine University; Sinai Shayan, Fusion Academy

• 21st-Century Parent Centers: Sites of Urban Parent Empowerment and Capacity Building - Valerie Munoz, Parent-U-Turn/UCLA; Guadalupe M. Aguiar, Los Angeles Unified School District

Discussant

• Susan Auerbach, California State University - Northridge