I need to start with a story.  About 20 years ago the State of Virginia adopted a school reform strategy called ‘Turnaround Schools.’   To their way of thinking, the right way to turn around ‘failing’ schools was to recruit experienced and dedicated administrators and spend a summer teaching them ‘Turnaround Tactics.’  These newly-minted ‘Turnaround Specialists’ would then be assigned to lead ‘failing’ schools. 

Because to education reformers, “failing” meant low test scores, the Turnaround Specialist’s mission was straightforward: Produce higher scores on the state’s annual tests during his or her three-year tenure.  

Stuff like that was catnip for journalists, and so we went to ‘Turnaround Training Camp’ and recruited a promising candidate, an idealistic veteran principal named Parker Land, to follow throughout his Turnaround Years at Boushall Middle School in Richmond.  

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find the series on the PBS NewsHour website, but I can tell you that it didn’t turn out well. Standardized test scores didn’t go up, attendance did not improve, and most teachers rebelled against the increased pressure to ‘teach to the test.’  After just one year, Mr. Land was reassigned to a different school.

But what has stayed with me over the years was how he inadvertently hit upon a sure-fire way to connect with families–”Talent Night”–but unfortunately failed to recognize what he’d discovered. I don’t fault him, because making close connections with parents wasn’t an essential Turnaround Strategy. 

Here’s what happened: Early in the fall, Mr. Land scheduled ‘Talent Night,’ and he made it a big deal: Lots of performances by eager middle-schoolers, plenty of free food, live music, and even baby-sitting services provided by older kids–everything to make parents feel that Boushall was their school.  His goal was to make parents feel at home, and it worked spectacularly well. The pleasure was palpable, and I recall that it jumped off the screen in the segment we aired on The NewsHour.  Mr. Land was pleased, and we fully expected that he would make ‘Talent Night’ a regular event.  Why wouldn’t he, after seeing how happy and comfortable parents were in ‘their’ school?  What better way to get parents behind his effort to improve their school?

The right question, unfortunately, turned out to be Why Would He Even Bother?, because in public education, then and now, parent involvement is just a one-off, check-the-box activity, not integral to the system. 

I am not singling out Parker Land for criticism; he was a dedicated educator and a decent man.  Public education’s collective mentality is the villain here; it’s what needs to change. For 41 years I heard professional educators speaking in public forums describe parents as “our greatest asset” and “invaluable partners,” but I also heard their private conversations, or I caught them off guard…and on those occasions the message was pretty much the polar opposite: “Most parents are a pain in the neck!”

Don’t take my word for it–just  examine how most schools treat parents.  It seems to me that most schools make parents ‘outsiders’ in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.  There’s the once-a-year “Back to School Night” and perhaps a “Parent Involvement Committee’ or a “Parent Advisory Board” that meets occasionally with the Principal.  Many administrators expect parents to hold bake sales, auctions, and fundraising drives, but that’s not treating parents as partners in their children’s education.  

Why this negative attitude toward parents?  Some educators feel that low income parents do not have the time or energy to get deeply involved in their children’s schooling.  But even if their dismissal of parents is rooted in empathy or sympathy, it adds up to the same thing: the exclusion of parents.  

As evidence of parental detachment, these administrators and teachers often cite the low turnout at Back to School Night, concluding from the large number of no-show parents that they don’t care.  But look carefully at Back to School Nights: They’re scheduled when it’s least inconvenient for teachers, and they consist of a quick series of show-and-tell presentations by teachers, one-off lectures that may make parents feel like visitors, strangers who happened by. Parents will be told to make sure their kids do their homework assignments and don’t spend too much time on social media.  Why would most parents bother to attend more than once?  What’s about appealing about being talked down to?

Unfortunately, it’s the rare educator who says “We cannot do a good job of educating your child without you,” actually means it, and then proves it by his or her actions.

Perhaps administrators and many teachers hold parents in low regard because they are hoping to elevate their chosen field into a high-status profession.  “After all, you wouldn’t expect a heart surgeon to consult with a child’s parents about the best way to replace a ruptured valve to save the child’s life,” the thinking goes, as if the work of educating a child were the equivalent of complex surgery.

But schooling isn’t heart or brain surgery,  Moreover, schooling and education are not synonymous.  Education is more comprehensive (24/7/365 if we are lucky).  Schooling (only 180 days a year for 12 or 13 years) should be team effort, with teachers and parents on the same side  

Very little–if anything–is done to make parents feel that the school is theirs, but there’s actually an easy way to start to change: Do what that Turnaround Specialist in Virginia failed to do: Schedule frequent ‘Talent Nights’ with pot-luck meals, performances by students, live music, with child-care provided by other students. 

Once parents feel that it’s their school too, consider offering short classes teaching the skills necessary to help their kids become better readers or more proficient problem-solvers. No lectures, no ‘parent involvement committees,’ no window-dressing, but a genuine partnership that invites openness and commitment from everyone.

Because some parents have grown accustomed to educators saying ‘Leave the education to us,’ they’ll need help learning to accept their new role and responsibility.  Because some teachers have grown accustomed to holding parents at arm’s length, they will have to learn ways to acknowledge that parents are essential.  (They’ll have business cards to hand out!)

A big part of public education’s problem is its failure to recognize that most parents want their children to succeed but may not know how to contribute.  Turn that around by accepting parents as valuable assets. Partners, not ‘outsiders.’  

(I invite you to take a look at the five previous steps, which endorse Looping, Play, Democracy, Business Cards for Teachers, and Involving Outsiders.   Share them with others if you are so inclined.  And please stay tuned for more steps….)