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ERIC Number: EJ847415
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1059-308X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Walking the Walk: Portraits in Leadership for Family Engagement in Urban Schools
Auerbach, Susan
School Community Journal, v19 n1 p9-32 2009
Family and community engagement are increasingly seen as powerful tools for making schools more equitable, culturally responsive, and collaborative. The commitment of school leaders is vital to school-community connections, yet is poorly documented in the literature and insufficiently addressed in training for administrators. Many school leaders "talk the talk" of school-family partnerships, but how exactly do they "walk the walk," given the competing pressures they face in a massive urban district like Los Angeles? This qualitative study offers contextualized portraits of four school leaders notable for their proactive, community-oriented approach. Data focus on the administrators' role in promoting activities, including an annual conference with elected officials, the Parents as Authors Program, community organizing-style "house meetings" in classrooms, and home visits. Findings suggest these leaders actively pursued family engagement as part of a broader moral commitment to social justice and educational equity for disenfranchised Latino families. Inspired by various family engagement models but distrustful of traditional parent involvement structures in the district, they shaped activities to the needs of their particular communities. Implications for leadership preparation programs are discussed, such as the need for more hands-on experience working with parents and apprenticeships with community-oriented school leaders. (Contains 1 endnote.)
Academic Development Institute. 121 North Kickapoo Street, Lincoln, IL 62656. Tel: 217-732-6462; Fax: 217-732-3696; Web site: http://www.adi.org/journal
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Elementary Secondary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A