Oscar Cruz
As education advocates we know the powerful connection between student achievement and parent engagement.
Take any student; no matter what grade they’re in, which school they attend, their ethnic or racial background, their age, what part of the state they live in – take your pick of factors, but when you get their parents involved, that student will always do better in school. The research behind this is well documented and well known.
But like the quality of education those schools offer across the state, the quality and even the commitment to parent engagement is anything but consistent.
That’s one of the reasons why we as education advocates and community leaders are behind Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). LCFF is, in fact, a significant victory for parent engagement advocates. The law makes parent engagement one of eight statewide priorities and holds districts to a higher standard and great level of commitment to parent engagement than ever before.
Yolie Flores
To begin with, the law requires districts to solicit the opinion of parents when developing their education plans. They are required to solicit parent input through community meetings, parent committees and other engagement strategies. But these types of requirements have historically fallen short of effectively reaching out to parents and addressing the real needs. For example, concerns have been raised about how schools interact with low-income, immigrant, foster, or disadvantaged families. Many of these parents have faced discrimination at their children’s schools and therefore feel undervalued in their child’s education. Many schools fail to provide adequate guidance to parents who are trying to support their child’s
