Teachers College Press Equity in School-Parent Partnerships: Cultivating Community and Family Trust in Culturally Diverse Classrooms

Starting from the premise that children learn better when their learning community respects their families and cultures, this thought-provoking resource shows what it means-and what it takes-to include today's diverse parents in their children's learning. Moving readers away from out-of-date practices that can potentially marginalize and devalue the cultural assets of families, the authors provide practical, ready-to-use strategies to help schools re-envision the meaning of parental involvement and engagement. Based on the research and K-12 teaching experience of three educators, chapters address contemporary issues such as the absent parent, homework, vulnerable populations, limitations of current school-based family programs, and pedagogies of hope. Book Features:Explores the multiple meanings of parental involvement and engagement.Examines the limitations of current approaches to parental engagement, particularly for language-minority parents.Reframes the conversation surrounding parental engagement to emphasize community and parental empowerment.Addresses the importance of parental engagement amid today's political discourse surrounding immigration.Includes vignettes, discussion questions, visuals, and engagement activities. Review "This thin, idea-packed textbook proposes a critical reimagining of family-school partnerships in U.S. classrooms. Lead author Socorro Herrera is well known for her textbooks on teaching CLD students: students whose home language and culture differ from the dominant culture of school. This book builds on her past work on culturally responsive teaching while diving deeper into the role of family-teacher relationships. She is joined by co-authors Lisa Porter, a sociologist of education, and Katherine Barko-Alva, a scholar of ESL and bilingual education. The authors move smoothly between theoretical concepts, vignettes, discussion questions, and practical advice with a facility that will appeal to teachers, pre-service teachers, and teacher educators alike. The theories they draw on include well-worn family engagement standards such as relational trust and funds of knowledge, alongside concepts less commonly found in family engagement texts, such as sociological imagination and radical kinship."--Teachers College Record About the Author Socorro G. Herrera is a professor of education and director of the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy (CIMA) at Kansas State University. Lisa Porter is an assistant professor of sociology at James Madison University. Katherine Barko-Alva is an assistant professor of ESL/bilingual education and director of the ESL/Bilingual Education Program at William & Mary, School of Education.