"At all levels of decision-making, governments must put in place regular mechanisms for dialogue enabling citizens and civil society organizations to contribute to the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of basic education. This is essential in order to foster the development of accountable, comprehensive and flexible educational management frameworks."
Dakar Framework for Action
The public education system in New York City has traditionally been impermeable to the participation of most civil society actors. Apart from unions, the broad range of actors with a stake in the education system –advocacy groups, policy institutions, think tanks, academia, and other civic elites –have played a minimal and sporadic role in school reform efforts over the years. Although the human rights framework supports broad involvement by the full range of civil society actors, this paper focuses on parents and community groups –the core constituency of the education system –both because of the systematic exclusion these civil society actors race, and the importance of their involvement as primary stakeholders in education.
Parents and advocates report a systematic failure by the New York City government to ensure effective participation by parents and communities in the management and oversight of schools. Indeed, low-income parents in particular regularly face obstacles to participating in their child's education. Existing school structures often fail to take into account the reality of parents' lives –such as long work hours, limited English, single parenthood, or inadequate public transportation. School officials also fail to make information accessible to parents or to make processes for decision-making transparent. Moreover, parent involvement structures usually focus on parenting workshops and organizing bake sales, rather than on creating opportunities for extended dialogue between educators and parents about improving student performance.
These structural obstacles stem from a profound failure to respect and value the contributions parents want to make, collectively and individually, to their children's education. Schools and administrators rarely seem to consider involving parents and the broader community in governance as a central obligation of their work, and often take an adversarial stance toward parents. Consequently, as our interviews indicate, low-income parents are routinely dismissed, mistreated, and excluded. As new reforms are proposed in New York City, human rights standards can serve as a guide and provide criteria for how to increase civil society participation and government accountability.
Although the involvement of all sectors of civil society in our schools needs to be increased, we argue that expanding parent and community participation is a crucial step towards fulfilling the right to education. Specifically, the New York City school system needs to:
To effectively implement these recommendations, the school system should develop clear targets for each of these goals, based on human rights standards, and hold school and city staff accountable for meeting these targets.
A. Structures for Participation: Effectiveness, Power and Equitable Representation
Effective participation by civil society –especially parents and community groups –requires structures that engage these important stakeholders in the full range of educational decision-making, including the management and evaluation of the education system, the budgeting and financing of education, and the structure and substance of curricula and teaching methods.35 In districts serving low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, the majority of school governance and parent involvement structures provide, at best, superficial parental and community engagement with little real effect or impact.36
"There are mechanisms that exist on paper for parent involvement – we now need to see them implemented – parents need to understand the policies in order to use them."
Parent, Mothers on the Move
At the school level, the primary means of participation in governance are Parent Associations or Parent-Teacher Associations (PA/PTAs),37 and School Leadership Teams (SLTs).38 Until recently, Community School Boards were the primary means for participation in school governance at a district level,39 although parents also participate on largely advisory district-wide Presidents ' Councils comprised of PA representatives from each school. Our interviews suggest that in many schools and districts, particularly in poor communities, these structures do not function properly, have low levels of participation, or exist only on paper. Even in schools and districts with higher levels of participation, parents and communities lack real power to impact education, and participation structures often fail to reflect the range of socio-economic, racial and linguistic groups represented in the community. As a result, large portions of civil society, in particular parents, are denied their right to participate in the management of our city's schools.
"There are a lot of policies for participation on paper, but no one implements them. We need to get parents access and input into CEPs. We need to make the Superintendent and schools accountable for following through with CEPs and making SLTs work."
Parent, Queensbridge Community in Action
For example, parents report that when they are outnumbered by school staff on SLTs they feel overshadowed, marginalized and powerless to have an impact. They also indicate that too many SLTs are little more than approval mechanisms for principals' policies. Similarly, parents and advocates report that many PA/PTAs focus their activities exclusively on organizing candy sales and raffles and disseminate only the most basic information. Many are dominated by a handful of parents who work closely with the principal, but do not adequately represent the views of the parent community. Parents and advocates also report that most Community School Boards failed to welcome and incorporate the views of large segments of their district's population, and did not effectively encourage broad parent and community participation.
Changing the current dynamic whereby parents and communities are marginalized requires a shift in how educators conceptualize the role of parents and communities in their schools. If parents and community groups are defined as legitimate and critical participants in the process of schooling, they are more likely to be engaged in essential school discussions such as assessing school performance and planning for improvement.
In recent months, parent and community groups in New York City have proposed specific reforms to expand the role of civil society actors at the school and district levels. The Parent Organizing Consortium (POC), for example, has called for strengthening parent participation on SLTs40 by increasing the number of parents on the team, requiring SLT meetings to be well advertised and open to the public, and giving SLTs significant authority over the hiring and evaluation of school principals. The POC and others have also called for representative and participatory district-level structures that involve parents and community groups in developing district priorities and evaluating superintendent performance.41
"We need to focus on giving the community voice power – schools should not only welcome and encourage parents to participate, they need to be responsible for making sure that parents are involved and can have an impact."
Organizer, New Settlement Parent Action Committee
To be effective, the SLTs and new district (or regional) level participatory structures need power to impact decision-making and resources to carry out their functions, and should equitably represent the community they serve. New York City, in consultation with civil society groups, needs to:
But formal accountability structures are not sufficient to ensure parent and community participation in schooling. These structures are too easily isolated from the wider community and too easily manipulated by educators to prioritize schooling interests over community concerns. The creation of mechanisms to insure more effective SLTs or district committees does not eliminate the need for far broader input into school or district discussions, for example, through regular public fora that are widely accessible and allow citizens to obtain information and voice their concerns.
B. Creating Accessible and Welcoming Environments for Participation
For accountability structures to function effectively, school systems must create an environment that welcomes and respects participation and guarantees access across communities and sectors of the public. In the current school system, many school administrators, teachers, district staff and city officials do not believe in or act on the necessity for civil society participation, particularly by parents and community groups. Many parents feel unwelcome when they approach school officials or engage accountability structures (such as SLTs), and have little faith that principals or administrators will consider their concerns.
"If parents go to their children's schools to ask for help, most won't get past the front desk."
Advocate, New York Immigration Coalition
"Some schools find it necessary to be disrespectful to a parent in order to maintain their authority. I was devastated by the way they treated me."
Parent, Queensbridge Community in Action
This lack of respect and commitment stems from a systemic failure to recognize and value the role of civil society, as well as from individual and structural racial and socio-economic biases. Parents and advocates report that poor communities of color face greater barriers and are treated with less respect when trying to access the education system.42 Because of this lack of respect, parents and community representatives are marginalized and denied access to participation structures, officials, and their children 's schools.
The failure to value input from parents and communities also results in structural obstacles to meaningful levels of participation. Meetings presumably scheduled for parents, for example, are held infrequently or at times when parents with heavy workloads cannot easily attend.
Language barriers also make many structures for participation inaccessible. The lack of adequate interpretation services at many meetings of Community School Boards, SLTs and PA/PTAs excludes large numbers of non-English speaking parents from participating. Recent immigrants who are unfamiliar with the school system and do not speak English are unable to access information about the different structures for participation and how parents can become involved and seek assistance.
"There is no system in place right now for helping immigrant parents understand the system. There are language barriers and no understanding of the bureaucracy, so the parents don't engage the schools. Many schools make no effort to communicate and think that the parents aren't interested in their children's education."
Advocate, New York Immigration Coalition
Parents face similar barriers when trying to access individual teachers, principals or district officials. Interpretation is often not available, and telecommunications are at such a rudimentary level in schools that most teachers do not have phones, let alone voice mail or other systems for parents to leave messages. Parents are sometimes denied physical access to schools as well. One parent reported that she was repeatedly denied entry to school premises during the day and was refused access to the principal.
"I know the system and I 'm pushy, so I can get in to monitor my kid's classrooms, but most parents will leave and give up the first time they are turned away."
Parent, Mothers on the Move
International organizations offer useful strategies for ensuring access and creating welcoming structures. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)43 has developed guidelines for participation structures at all levels of the education system.44 School systems must develop a "consistent, system-wide commitment and support to collaboration, participation, and partnerships …[including by ]…'removing obstacles to [parent and community ]participation –ideological, structural and administrative.'45 UNESCO further directs schools to be "'welcoming ' to parents and the community,"...rather [than] 'disqualify[ing]' community experience and...[viewing schools] as places to which parents 'surrender' their children."46
UNESCO emphasizes the role of training and support to help principals and teachers function more openly and collaboratively. It specifies that staff and administrators need support in learning "to listen and give credit to the views and needs of others;…to share plans, procedures, and information openly …; [to be ]tolerant of conflict, dissent, and compromise …;[and ]to see knowledge as residing in both professionals and beneficiaries."47 They also need support in developing skills to encourage shared, participatory decision-making; define school policies, practices and expectations clearly to the community; and plan and conduct meetings in an open, transparent and collegial environment.48
"It 's not that it 's too hard to get the parents involved, there is just a lack of commitment and infrastructure for reaching out to them and getting them involved."
Organizer, New Settlement Parent Action Committee
The Children First initiative's focus on parent involvement and community engagement suggests that schools and school systems might function in more welcoming and accessible ways. School system leadership can operationalize this promise by creating new ways to manage schools, and encouraging staff and administrators to become more welcoming and accessible practitioners. New York City, in consultation with civil society groups, needs to:
Accessible and welcoming structures for effective participation in schooling also require that clear information and consistent support be made available to parents and community members. The new regional support centers proposed in the Children First reforms should create an orientation process to introduce new parents to the school system, be open at times that are convenient and accessible, be sufficiently staffed to respond to those seeking assistance, and be equipped with bilingual services. By incorporating these components into their reforms, the school system can develop models of effective parent and community engagement practice that meet human rights standards.
C. Transparency and Adequate Access to Information
Given how poorly school participation structures function, it is hardly surprising that they fail to ensure transparency of information for parents and the broader public, which is critical to meeting human rights standards for participation. Although the city school system has made significant strides in providing a variety of school performance data on the web, parents and community members routinely face barriers when trying to access important data and documents. Despite repeated requests to her child's teacher and principal, for example, one parent we interviewed was unable to obtain any type of syllabus or work plan for her daughter's class, so that she could assist her daughter with homework.49 A community-based organization attempting to help a parent was unable to procure a copy of the school budget from school officials or members of the SLT.
"It matters how the school gets the information out – they need to try harder to get the important messages and notices into the homes."
Parent, Mothers on the Move
Even when parents and other members of civil society are able to access information, it is often not provided in a format that parents and communities can understand or translated into the primary languages spoken within the community. One community advocate we interviewed struggled for weeks to gain access to her school's Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP), and then was unable to receive help from school officials or the SLT in trying to interpret the document. Most schools do not translate CEPs and other schooling documents into workable English or other languages. New York City schools do implement Performance Assessment for Schools System-wide (PASS), an annual self-evaluation process conducted by SLTs, and the system is producing more detailed and comprehensive data about school, district and system performance. However, much of this information is neither readily accessible nor comprehensible to the average parent.
"Involving parents is hard, and schools say they don't have the time or resources to make it happen. But parents want to be involved. They want information, and they want a way to get the information they need that is consistent with their work schedule."
Parent, Queensbridge Community in Action
"I couldn't get my child 's syllabus …Parents want to be able to follow their kids ' education throughout the year – I don 't want just to see the standards or test scores they have to meet, but what they 're being taught in order to reach those standards."
Parent, Mothers on the Move
Civil society must be able to access and interpret information about finances and resources, management and decision-making, as well as about curriculum and program at the classroom level. Such information should be made easily available, and where possible widely distributed to parents, community organizations and other members of civil society.
Ensuring broad access to relevant information is essential in order for civil society to participate in school management, and monitor whether the school system is meeting its human rights obligations. To ensure greater transparency and access to information, New York City, in consultation with civil society groups, needs to:
D. Building the Capacity of Parents and Communities for Informed and Effective Participation
Under a human rights framework, governments are obligated to build the capacity of civil society, especially its primary stakeholders, to make meaningful contributions to the management and oversight of public institutions. The Committee on the Rights of the Child directs states to "take all effective measures to promote capacity-building among community-based organizations and to further facilitate their inclusion in the coordination, promotion and implementation of [the right to education]."50 Because parent groups and community organizations representing parents are the most invested stakeholders in the context of education, their capacity building needs are a priority.
Yet, parents in New York City report that they have not been trained adequately or given the necessary tools to build their capacity for meaningful participation. Parents report they often feel dominated by principals and teachers on SLTs because these education practitioners are more knowledgeable and confident about schooling issues and better able to exert their influence. Parents also report that they are unable to interpret documents like CEPs, budgeting procedures and other technical processes. Fulfilling this capacity-building obligation is certainly more difficult in a climate of fiscal crisis. But even in less distressed fiscal climates, the school system has not viewed this kind of support as a key responsibility.
"The city offers no good workshops for parents – the issues discussed are so basic they're useless – the parents aren't interested in workshops on where to find the library – they want to know how to interpret a Comprehensive Education Plan."
Parent, Mothers on the Move
Reform movements in other cities have recognized the critical nature of capacity building. For example, in the early stages of Chicago's far-reaching school reform of the late 1980's, foundations and corporations raised millions of dollars to support the training of members of Local School Councils, the elected governance bodies that oversaw Chicago's schools. To build the capacity of parent groups and other relevant civil society actors, New York City, in consultation with civil society groups, needs to: