Parents are extremely interested in shaping the educational experiences of their children and those in their communities, according to an article in The 74. The pandemic heightened the role of parents in their children’s learning and challenged the traditional model of how educators and families interact.
Educators are realizing more than ever the need to strengthen relationships with parents.
Parent power is a core pillar of Rocketship Public Schools, a national network of charter schools. Organizing committees of 10 to 15 parent volunteers each lead advocacy work at each of the network’s schools with the support of full-time school staff dedicated to building parent leaders.
Rocketship’s approach involves these key strategies to build and support parent leadership and advocacy:
Create a strong family engagement culture. Rocketship asks parents to complete “parent partner” hours, keeping a log of activities such as hosting school staff for home visits, reading with their children at home and attending community events.
These interactions enable parents to build relationships at the school, developing trust and making parents feel comfortable transitioning into advocacy activities. Parents learn more about advocacy programs in one-on-one meetings with education organizers. Parents also decide on the advocacy issues they want to address, creating buy-in and sustained efforts over time.
Prioritize parent leadership and advocacy across the organization. Principals connect with families and encourage parents to participate in organizing initiatives. Network or district leaders allocate funding for full-time staff positions like education organizers and ongoing professional training.
Meet the needs of the local community. Parents need the opportunity to learn about local concerns, and education organizers need to be familiar with cultural traditions, the local political landscape and other specifics so they can effectively assist with researching issues and organizing campaigns.
These strategies are the foundation for how Rocketship school staff engage with families and encourage them to participate in advocacy efforts. Parents’ interest and involvement in their children’s education continues to increase, and schools can apply these strategies to build stronger family-school partnerships and robust parent leadership.
The 74
