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Monday, December 12, 2011

Steven Wasko: What Does Parental Involvement in a Big City School District Really Look LIke?

Steven Wasko: What Does Parental Involvement in a Big City School District Really Look LIke?:

What Does Parental Involvement in a Big City School District Really Look LIke?



So you think you have your mind made up about what parent involvement looks like in a big city school district? Have you convinced yourself that it's the lack of parental engagement that will inhibit even the most courageous educational reform platforms?

Think again.

It's mid-morning on the first really cold Saturday in downtown Detroit and more than 550 parents along with 400 students have just finished a full breakfast and are engaged in questioning a panel of educational leaders who run some of the most innovative educational alternatives in the city -- Dr. John Covington from the new Education Achievement System and the leaders of Cornerstone Schools, Excellent Schools Detroit, New Paradigm and, yes, DPS.

(With five newly authorized charters, a brand new Office of Innovation and the unique opportunity