High School Teachers and African American Parents: A (Not So) Collaborative Effort to Increase Student Success

This is a case study about a group of African American parents that banded together in an effort to increase their own involvement, the involvement of other African American parents, and the success of African American students at one public high school. The various ways in which this group of parents sought to accomplish their goals, however, was not entirely embraced by school faculty. Consequently, their efforts were undermined and unutilized. The findings suggest that schools require parents, even when unified and with a common purpose, to comply with a specific protocol for involvement or risk being marginalized. It is argued that parent involvement is often based on support and compliance. Parents, moreover, are frequently regarded as one homogenous group, which ignores the varied experiences, visions, and values of ethnic minority parents.