To improve outcomes for students in a high school alternative-education program, Jamel Adkins-Sharif knew he needed tap parents' knowledge and support. Doing this, he says, has required ramping up communication, repurposing parent-engagement events, and being honest about the fluid and often inconclusive nature of working with struggling learners.

The purpose of this research is to describe how an alternative school leader taught at-risk students and their parents to advocate for students' educational interests and how this affected students' academic and social success. In social justice leadership literature, parents and students are described as passive recipients of a strong social…