Equity in School-Parent Partnerships: Cultivating Community and Family Trust in Culturally Diverse Classrooms (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780807763797)

"This thin, idea-packed textbook proposes a critical reimagining of family-school partnerships in U.S. classrooms... 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

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Moving readers away from out-of-date practices that can potentially marginalize and devalue the cultural assets of families, the authors provide practical, ready-to-use strategies to help schools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:

• Provides guidelines and examples of homework that allow multicultural and multilanguage parents to engage with their children around learning.
• Shows how teachers and school leaders can collaborate to effect more inclusive practices.
• 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.