1. NYCpublic.org’s
Parent
Engagement
Lab
a
new
vision
for
parent
power

2. NYCpublic.org’s
projects
enable
public
school
parents
to:
! learn
about
educa@on
policy
issues
! connect
and
collaborate
with
other
parents
across
geographical,
economic,
social,
and
ethnic
divides
! maximize
the
reach
of
parent-­‐led
campaigns
through
a
variety
of
online
and
offline
tools
! build
solu@ons
and
take
ac@on!
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
2

3. 11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
3

4. Three
Goals
of
the
Day
! Re-­‐envision
parent
engagement
in
NYC
public
schools
11/21/13
! Model
a
new
process
for
parent
engagement
NYCpublic.org
! Present
parents’
solu@ons
to
mayoral
candidates
4

5. Daiyu
and
Pat
make
a
case
for
parents
collabora@ng.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
5

6. We
promised
that
we
would
share
the
day’s
outcomes
with
the
next
mayor.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
6

7. Why
a
Parent
Engagement
Lab?
! The
Parent
Engagement
Lab
is
NYCpublic’s
version
of
the
charreWe.
! The
charreWe,
a
structured
brainstorming
protocol
with
roots
in
architecture,
invites
full
par@cipa@on
and
collabora@on
between
diverse
stakeholders.
! Parent
Engagement
Labs
support
parents
as
they
move
from
iden@fying
challenges
to
building
solu@ons
(together).
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
7

8. Step
1:
Hear
from
a
variety
of
experts
about
the
current
state
of
parent
engagement
in
NYC
and
beyond.
Lisa
Donlan,
CEC
1
President
Fran
Huckaby,
Professor
of
Educa@on
at
TCU
How
has
mayoral
control
impacted
parents’
access
to
power
and
input
into
decision
making?
How
are
parents
organizing
&
engaging
across
the
country
to
improve
schools?
Kim
Sweet,
Execu@ve
Director
of
Advocates
for
Children
What
powers
do
parents
have
legally
under
mayoral
control?
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
8

9. Step
2:
Iden@fy
the
impacts
of
the
current
parent
engagement
model.
200
post-­‐its
captured
over
200
“impacts.”
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
9

10. Par@cipants
noted
impacts
anywhere
that
parents
interact
with
the
school
system.
! school
level
(ex:
language
barriers
make
it
hard
to
have
in-­‐
depth
conversa@ons
about
their
child’s
progress,
or
to
par@cipate
in
the
PTA)
! district
level
(ex:
parents
are
not
consulted
for
key
district
decisions
like
what
kinds
of
new
schools
are
needed
or
where
to
site
them)
! system
level
(ex:
parents
are
seen
as
a
group
to
managed
and
policies
are
rolled
out
without
parents’
input)
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
10

11. Step
3:
Brainstorm
solu@ons
that
address
current
challenges
and
suggest
a
way
forward
for
the
next
mayor.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
11

12. Some
of
the
ideas
that
emerged
The
mayor
could
adopt
the
following
approach
to
his
new
job:
! not
as
simself
as
working
in
csontrol
tohem
schools
and
See
h omeone
who
must
ervice
f
the
! Create
policies
that
come
from
a
variety
of
stakeholders,
educators,
parents,
administrators,
community
members,
and
experts
in
the
field
! Appoint
an
educator
to
the
posi@on
of
Chancellor
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
12

13. Step
4:
Breakout
groups
each
select
one
idea
to
flesh
out.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
13

14. Step
5:
Breakout
groups
present
“big
ideas”
to
mayoral
candidates
or
their
representa@ves.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
14

15. Even
the
former
DoE
Accountability
Chief
now
realizes
that
parents
want
to
be
seen
as
partners.
“The
idea
was
that
if
you
give
parents
beWer
results,
beWer
service
—
311
sorts
of
things
—
and
more
choice,
then
you
don’t
need
poli@cs,
they
don’t
need
par@cipa@on,
they
don’t
need
to
be
involved
because
they’ll
get
what
they
want
as
a
consumer,”
Jim
Liebman
said.
“And
I
think
that’s
true
for
some
things,
but
it
turns
out
that
public
educa@on
is
something
that
parents
really,
deeply
want
to
be
involved
in.”
Gotham
Schools,
11/20/13
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
15

16. Step
6:
Collect
every
post-­‐it
and
document
parents’
collabora@on.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
16

17. Step
7:
Build
in
new
solu@ons
as
more
and
more
parents
respond
to
the
original
ideas.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
17

18. Talking
Transi@on
Ac@vity
1
Circulate
around
the
tables
and
read
parents’
ideas
about
how
the
next
mayor
can
beWer
engage
and
empower
parents.
11/21/13
2
Once
you
have
read
several
ideas,
please
select
a
table
with
the
topic
that
most
interests
you.
NYCpublic.org
18

19. 1
What
ques@ons
do
you
have
about
these
ideas?
Please
limit
ques,ons
to
one
per
post-­‐it.
Lay
finished
ques,ons
out
on
your
table.
2
Select
1-­‐2
of
the
ideas
that
appeal
most
to
you.
Each
par,cipant
can
use
2
dots
to
“vote”.
If
there
is
a
,e,
resolve
through
discussion.
11/21/13
3
What
do
you
want
to
tell
the
new
mayor
about
why
you
would
like
to
see
this
or
these
policies/solu@ons
implemented?
As
a
group,
come
up
with
a
1-­‐2
min.
“pitch.”
In
crea,ng
your
pitch,
include
how
the
policy
would
posi,vely
affect
your
child,
school,
the
district,
or
the
system.
NYCpublic.org
19

20. Group
Share
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
20

21. “…what
is
needed
to
improve
schools
is
an
ac,ve
ci,zenry,
invested
in
solving
educa,onal
problems
through
public
delibera,on.”
-­‐
Kenneth
Howe
and
David
Meens,
Democracy
LeI
Behind,
2012
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
21

22. 11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
22

23. Step
7:
Build
in
new
solu@ons
as
more
and
more
parents
respond
to
the
original
ideas.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
23

24. Video
example
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
24

25. NYCpublic
is
proud
to
have
received
grants
and
dona@ons
from:
Gale
Brewer,
ManhaWan
Borough
President
Elect
Elance
Estelle
Harris
Four
&
Twenty
Blackbirds
Renee
Rosenberg
Maizie
and
Sue
Schaffner
We
are
especially
thankful
to
Jack
and
Helen
Gorelick
for
their
recent
gir.
And
to
our
fiscal
sponsor,
Fund
for
the
City
of
New
York.
We
invite
you
to
add
your
name
to
this
list.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
25

26. Please
stay
in
touch.
info@NYCpublic.org

27. Compendium
of
ideas
generated
by
public
school
parent
par@cipants
at
the
NYCpublic.org
December
2012
Parent
Engagement
Lab
(charreWe)

28. Ins@tu@onalize/priori@ze/
privilege
parent
engagement.

29. ! Strengthen
the
current
structure
to
meaningfully
include
parents
or
work
to
change
the
structure.
! “Accountability”
should
include
how
well
a
school
or
the
system
invites
and
listens
to
parents’
voices.
! Publish
a
“report
card”
for
parent
engagement
at
each
school
determined
by
authen@c
parent
surveys
and
input.
! Create
a
citywide
leadership
team
where
all
cons@tuents
(parents,
students,
teachers,
principals,
advocates)
weigh
in
on
policy
issues.
! Establish
regular
“town
mee@ngs”
where
the
mayor
just
listens
to
issues.
He
or
she
can
start
the
next
mee@ng
by
recoun@ng
what
he
or
she
heard
and
what
his
or
her
progress
is
on
each
issue.
! Establish
office
hours
where
reps
or
the
mayor
hears
from
parents.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
29

30. ! Create
a
truly
inclusive
system
that
mandates
real
parent
and
community
input
in
decisions
at
the
school,
district,
or
city
level.
! Provide
for
(parent
involvement)
as
a
line
in
each
school’s
budget
to
pay
for
trainers
and
technical
assistance
(same
as
DYCD
and
other
agencies
that
provide
services
through
CBOs).
! Create
a
parent
feedback
system
that
is
not
aWached
to
the
Progress
Report.
! Each
school
could
create
a
shared
project
with
teachers
and
parents
(this
could
be
about
any
issue
in
the
school,
like
how
to
create
less
waste
at
lunch)
with
the
goal
of
fostering
communica@on
and
collabora@on.
! Each
cabinet
member
is
given
the
task
to
meet
with
100
parents,
each
year,
to
discuss
and
debate
policies.
! Create
real/meaningful
volunteer
roles
for
parents
and
provide
training
support.
! Train
school
personnel
on
the
rights
of
children
and
parents,
respect
and
friendliness.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
30

31. Take
steps
to
guarantee
that
parents
on
School
Leadership
Teams
(SLTs)
have
a
real
voice
in
school
level
decisions.

32. ! I mplement
the
enforcement
of
legislated
avenues
for
parent
input.
! Ensure
real
well-­‐func@oning
SLTs.
! Give
SLTs
members
comprehensive
training
so
they
understand
the
poten@al
of
their
role
and
can
make
meaningful
contribu@ons.
! Principals
should
not
chair
SLTs.
! Add
evalua@on
of
power
sharing
on
SLT
to
the
Quality
Review.
! Comprehensive
Educa@on
Plans
(CEPs)
should
be
streamlined
and
re-­‐evaluated,
and
should
play
a
role
in
school/principal
evalua@ons.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
32

33. Take
a
close
look
at
PTAs
across
the
city
and
find
ways
to
strengthen
them
all.

34. ! Help
PTAs
get
a
sense
of
how
well
they
are
func@oning
in
rela@on
to
other
PTAs.
! Offer
those
that
are
struggling
or
whoever
wants
it
opportuni@es
for
support.
! Ins@tute
Peer-­‐to-­‐Peer
exchange
between
PTAs
where
they
share:
!
Agendas
!
Outreach
!
Fundraisers
!
NewsleWers
!
How
to
run
mee@ngs
! New
PTA
presidents
are
mentored
by
seasoned
PTA
presidents:
! Check
to
see
that
PTA
Presidents
Councils
are
func@oning.
! Presidents
Councils
should
let
parents
know
their
rights.
! Empower
PTAs
to
func@on
as
key
partners
in
school
community.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
34

35. Re-­‐examine
the
role
of
Parent
Coordinator.

36. ! Parent
coordinators
should
not
report
to
the
principal
(conflict
of
interest).
! The
parent
coordinator’s
focus
should
be
on
uni@ng
and
suppor@ng
parents.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
36

37. Restructure
so
that
elected
bodies
(Community
Educa@on
Councils
and
the
Panel
on
Educa@onal
Policy)
act
as
checks
and
balances
for
the
Mayor/
Chancellor.

38. ! Give
Community
Educa@on
Councils
(CECs)
authen@c
authority
to
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
impact
decision
making.
Give
CECs
approval
over
co-­‐loca@ons
and
opening/closing/
trunca@ng
schools.
Elect
CEC
reps
directly
by
all
parents
using
cumula@ve
vo@ng.
Empower
CECs
to
roll
call
vote
on
Panel
for
Educa@onal
Policy
(PEP)
policies.
Allow
CECs
to
create
job
descrip@ons
and
supervise,
inform,
train
and
evaluate
parent
coordinators
with
input
from
PTAs.
Re-­‐make
the
PEP
so
that
parent
representa@ves
are
the
majority
and
all
members
serve
fixed
terms.
Put
parents
on
the
PEP
-­‐-­‐
should
be
like
the
School
Leadership
Team
(SLT),
where
#Educators=
#Parents
Change
supervision
of
Presidents
Council
to
include
PTA
execu@ve
board.
Give
PEP
appointees
independence
to
not
rubber
stamp.
Give
up
mayoral
majority
on
the
PEP.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
38

39. Return
power
to
superintendents.

40. ! Let
superintendents
back
in
schools,
supervising
principals.
! Superintendent
reports
to
the
Community
Educa@on
Council
(CEC).
! Make
the
community
superintendents
the
place
where
the
buck
stops
for
policy,
budget,
and
complaints.
! Air
complaints
in
public
monthly
mee@ngs.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
40

41. Mayoral
control
-­‐-­‐
consider
giving
it
up.

42. ! Allow
parents
to
create
a
survey
to
assess
mayoral
control
! Give
power
back
to
stakeholders
and
support
the
sunset
of
mayoral
control
! Run
schools
with
an
elected
school
board
just
as
the
districts
in
NY
state
do
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
42

43. Define
a
new
role
for
City
Council
and
other
elected
officials.

44. ! Give
more
elected
power
for
checks
and
balances
(City
Council)
! Use
local
elected
officials
community-­‐based
exper@se
and
invite
them
to
influence
policies
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
44

45. Create
ways
for
parents
to
get
answers
and
follow
up.

46. ! Create
ombudspeople
who
can
listen
to
complaints
and
direct
parents
to
actual
solu@ons.
They
should
follow
up
(carry
a
caseload)
too.
! Make
ads
and
post
them
everywhere
in
various
languages
to
no@fy
parents
of
a
hotline
site
where
parents
can
go
with
their
problems.
! Contact
info
should
be
posted
clearly
in
each
school
office.
! Set
up
an
anonymous
hotline
where
parents
can
ask
or
tell
their
problems
without
fear
of
retribu@on.
! Require
schools
to
post:
name,
address,
phone
#
of
troubleshoo@ng
offices
in
mul@ple
languages.
! Create
a
“road
map”
for
where
parents
can
go
with
their
concerns.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
46

47. Create
more
independent,
parent-­‐
led
support.

48. ! Have
Title
I
parent
involvement
money
go
to
organiza@ons
controlled
by
parents,
not
the
Department
of
Educa@on.
! Contract
with
mul@ple
outside
organiza@ons
with
parent-­‐advocacy
exper@se.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
48

49. Use
charreWes,
or
convenings
like
them,
to
solicit
real
input.

50. ! Mandate
cross-­‐district
communica@ons
and
mee@ngs,
for
Community
!
!
Educa@on
Councils,
School
Leadership
Teams,
PTA.
Solicit
input
from
parents
in
a
real
way
and
use
this
to
make
policy.
Create
a
system
of
roundtables
to
invite
input
and
allow
that
input
to
influence
policy.
! Use
networks
to
connect
parents
–
create
facilitated
discussions.
! Ins@tute
Chancellor
mee@ngs
with
parents
in
every
district,
with
!
!
!
translators,
and
report
back
to
parents
on
result
of
concerns
–
may
break
into
small
groups
with
deputy
chancellors
and
report
back
to
group.
Invest
resources
in
winning
the
par@cipa@on
of
many,
many
stakeholders.
Have
frequent
events,
maybe
monthly
even,
that
involve
parents
within
a
district,
within
a
community,
to
have
their
voices
heard
on
the
issues
that
concern
them.
Use
highly
inclusive,
par@cipatory
models
like
the
charreWe
to
rethink
school
placements,
closures,
and
new
school
development.
! Treat
new
school
placement
and
development
as
something
whose
success
depends
on
early/deep
Community
Educa@on
Council/community
input
in
the
design
phase.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
50

51. Opening
doors
at
the
top
will
invite
open
doors
in
schools
too.

52. ! I nspire/make
principals
truly
open
their
doors
to
all
parents.
! Give
parents
greater
access
to
their
children’s
classrooms
so
that
they
are
able
to
observe
how
their
children’s
school
is
run.
11/21/13
NYCpublic.org
52

53. Make
it
possible
for
parents
who
do
not
speak
English
as
a
first
language
to
truly
engage
with
their
schools
and
the
system.

54. ! Have
translators/dual
language
support
so
everyone
is
heard
!
!
!
!
!
!
equally.
(Just
try
and
incorporate
us!)
Conduct
mee@ngs
in
the
first
language
of
parents
and
translate
for
English
speakers.
Create
“transla@on
squads.”
Students
get
credit
and
are
trained
to
be
interpreters
at
all
events
and
mee@ngs
(similar
to
“mouse
squads”).
Give
grants
to
Community-­‐Based
Organiza@ons
(CBOs)
for
them
to
offer
transla@on/interpreta@on
services
in
schools.
Work
with
parents
who
are
bilingual
and
offer
workshops.
Hire
staff
(teachers,
admin,
etc.)
who
speak
the
languages
of
the
community.
The
Department
of
Educa@on
(DOE)
needs
to
make
training
school
leaders
truly
inclusive
(in
terms
of
language
and
culture).
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55. Explore/create
policies
that
will
make
the
system
more
equitable.

56. ! Put
integra@on
back
on
the
table
as
a
priority.
! Create
schools
in
all
neighborhoods
that
parents
would
feel
proud
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
to
send
their
kids
to.
Ask
communi@es
about
what
school
they
might
want
to
see
in
their
neighborhood
and
then
request
proposals
that
can
meet
this
need.
Look
at
special
needs
as
a
diversity
and
treat
it
as
a
civil
rights
issue.
Provide
adequate
resources
to
children
with
disabili@es,
making
parents
sign
off
as
a
legi@mate
part
of
the
process.
Parents
evaluate
Individualized
Educa@on
Plan
(IEP)
process/
service.s
Parents
of
children
with
special
needs
receive
training
that
explains
their
rights.
Leadership/parent
development
should
include
working
across
cultural
differences.
Make
provisions
for
“Parent
duty”
(like
the
Family
Leave
Act).
Require
all
employers
in
NYC
to
provide
@me
for
parents
to
par@cipate
in
children’s
schools.
(Can
be
a
voucher
system.)
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57. Create
new
web
tools/social
media
outreach.

58. ! Create/sponsor
web-­‐based
tools
for
parent
educa@on
and
involvement
for
each
school.
! Create
local
wikis/blogs.
! Create
websites
that
allow
parents
to
have
a
voice.
Department
of
Educa@on
staff
should
monitor
these
and
respond
to
ques@ons
and
concerns.
! Fund
tools
that
allow
parents
to
connect
remotely
via
blogs,
community
forums;
share
best
prac@ces
from
all
schools.
! Provide
innova@ve
and
concrete
ways
for
parents
to
connect
(for
example,
a
group
for
kindergarten
parents
across
the
city).
! No@fy
and
encourage
all
parents
of
their
op@ons
for
engagement
in
decision-­‐making.
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