This slideshow presentation describes the rationale and process behind NYCpublic.org's first Parent Engagement Lab. It also includes a compendium of the ideas that parents generated at the Lab in response to the organizing question "What might 'real' parent engagement look like in NYC’s public schools?" We created the slideshow in November 2013 for presentation at Talking Transition, the ambitious attempt to bring ordinary citizens into NYC's mayoral transition process.

1. NYCpublic.org’s
Parent Engagement Lab:
a parent-centered process to yield
multiple ideas for genuine parent
engagement in NYC schools
November 2013

2. NYCpublic.org used the following slideshow as part of its
Talking Transition presentation (11/21/13).
***
A project of the Fund for the City of New York,
NYCpublic seeks to connect parents:
to the issues they care about,
to other parents who share their concerns,
to ways of taking action,
and to resources and organizations that can make
their actions even more powerful.

3. Table of Contents
5-8
Overview
9
Why a Parent Engagement Lab?
10-19
The PEL Process: Step-by-Step
18-20
Research Basis and Reaction
22-53
Compendium of Ideas Generated at the PEL
54-57
About NYCpublic.org
3

4. “The idea was that if you give parents better results, better
service — 311 sorts of things — and more choice, then you
don’t need politics, they don’t need participation, they don’t
need to be involved because they’ll get what they want as a
consumer,” Jim Liebman [former Chief of
Accountability, NYCDOE] said. “And I think that’s true for
some things, but it turns out that public education is
something that parents really, deeply want to be involved
in.”
-- Gotham Schools, 11/20/13
4

5. 5

6. What might “real” parent
engagement look like in NYC’s public
schools?

7. parents from
all boroughs
attended
4 mayoral
campaigns sent
candidates or
staff
parents from all boroughs attended
160 “solutions” were generated
160
4 mayoral campaigns sent candidates or
“solutions”
were
staff
generated
7

8. Three Goals of the Day
Re-envision
parent
engagement in
NYC public
schools
Model a new
process for
parent
engagement
Present
parents’
solutions to
mayoral
candidates
8

9. Why a Parent Engagement Lab?
The Parent Engagement Lab is NYCpublic’s version
of the charrette.
The charrette, a structured brainstorming protocol
with roots in architecture, invites full participation
and collaboration between diverse stakeholders.
Parent Engagement Labs support parents as they
move from identifying challenges to building
solutions (together).
9

10. Step 1: A panel of experts spoke to participants about the
current state of parent engagement in NYC and beyond.
Lisa Donlan, CEC 1 President
Fran Huckaby, Professor of
Education at TCU
How has mayoral
control impacted
parents’ access to
power and input into
decision making?
N YC SCH O O L
GOVERN AN CE
How are parents
organizing & engaging
across the country to
improve schools?
MAYO R
parent, teacher and community
involvement structure
Chancellor
PEP
Panel on
Educational Policy
DO E
Depar tment Of
Education
CITYW IDE
DFACE
Division of Family And
Community Engagement
COMMUN ITY
U FT DR
UFT District Rep
SCH OOL
CPAC
Chancellor’s Parent
Advisor y Council
U FT Chapter
Leader
CCELL
Citywide Council English
Launguage Learners
Presidents Council
DLT
District Leadership Team
CCSE
Citywide Council on
S
pecial Education
CCH S
Citywide Council on
High S
chools
CDS
Community District
S
uperintendent
CDEC
Community District
Education Council
DFA
District Family
Advocate
Title One
DPAC
Principal
Parent (Teacher)
Association
SLT
S
chool Leadership Team
Title One
PAC
PC
Parent Coordinator
Kim Sweet, Executive
Director of Advocates for
Children
Under mayoral
control law, what
powers are legally
accorded to parents?
10

11. Step 2: In breakout groups, participants identified the
impacts of the current parent-engagement model.
200 post-its captured over 200 “impacts.”
11

12. Participants noted impacts anywhere that
parents interact with the school system.
at the school level (e.g., language barriers make it hard to
have in-depth conversations about their child’s progress, or to
participate in the PTA)
at the district level (e.g., parents are not consulted for key
district decisions like what kinds of new schools are needed or
where to site them)
at the central level (e.g., parents are seen as a group to be
managed and policies are rolled out without parents’ input)
12

13. Step 3: Groups brainstormed solutions that addressed
the challenges identified in the first session and
suggested ways forward for the next mayor.
13

14. Some of the ideas that emerged
The mayor could adopt the following approaches to his
new job:
See himself as working in service of the schools and
not as someone who must control them;
Create policies that come from a variety of
stakeholders, educators, parents, administrators, com
munity members, and experts in the field;
Appoint an educator to the position of Chancellor.
14

15. Step 4: Breakout groups each selected one idea to
flesh out and worked with a graphic designer to
illustrate and clarify their idea.
15

16. Step 5: Breakout groups present “big ideas” to
mayoral candidates or their representatives.
16

17. Step 6: Every post-it and drawing was collected.
Documentation of parents’ collaboration ensures
continued life for their ideas.
17

18. There is a research-base for this
method of engagement.
“…what is needed to improve schools is
an active citizenry, invested in solving
educational problems through public
deliberation.”
- Kenneth Howe and David Meens, Democracy Left Behind, 2012
18

19. The feedback on the process was very
positive, as well.
“This was a really authentic process where ideas and
input came from the ground up from parents who are
out there every day. [This is] a wonderful start...and the
type of dialogue that needs to happen throughout the
city and that I think will be really helpful … to all of the
candidates.”
Jan Atwell
City Council Education Policy Analyst
19

20. We promised that we would share
the day’s outcomes with the next
mayor.
20

21. COMPENDIUM
Answers to the question “What might ‘real’ parent engagement look
like under the next mayor?”
All ideas* generated during the
NYCpublic.org Parent Engagement Lab
(charrette)
December 2012
*These have been sorted and categorized.
•
21

22. Category 1
Create structures that
prioritize/privilege parent
engagement.

23. 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 authentic parent surveys and input.
Create a citywide leadership team where all constituents
(parents, students, teachers, principals, advocates) weigh in on
policy issues.
Establish regular “town meetings” where the mayor just listens to
issues. He or she can start the next meeting by recounting 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.
23

24. 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 attached 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 communication and collaboration.
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.
24

25. Category 2
Take steps to guarantee that parents on
School Leadership Teams (SLTs) have a real
voice in school level decisions.

26. Implement the enforcement of legislated avenues for
parent input.
Ensure real well-functioning SLTs.
Give SLTs members comprehensive training so they
understand the potential of their role and can make
meaningful contributions.
Principals should not chair SLTs.
Add evaluation of power sharing on SLT to the Quality
Review.
Comprehensive Education Plans (CEPs) should be
streamlined and re-evaluated, and should play a role in
school/principal evaluations.
26

27. Category 3
Take a close look at PTAs across the city and
find ways to strengthen them all.

28. Help PTAs get a sense of how well they are functioning in relation to other
PTAs.
Offer those that are struggling or whoever wants it opportunities for
support.
Institute Peer-to-Peer exchange between PTAs where they share:
Agendas
Outreach
Fundraisers
Newsletters
How to run meetings
New PTA presidents are mentored by seasoned PTA presidents:
Check to see that PTA Presidents Councils are functioning.
Presidents Councils should let parents know their rights.
Empower PTAs to function as key partners in school community.
28

29. Category 4
Re-examine the role of Parent
Coordinator.

30. Parent coordinators should not report to the
principal (conflict of interest).
The parent coordinator’s focus should be on
uniting and supporting parents.
30

31. Category 5
Restructure so that elected bodies (Community
Education Councils and the Panel on Educational
Policy) act as checks and balances for the
Mayor/Chancellor.

32. Give Community Education Councils (CECs) authentic authority to
impact decision making.
Give CECs approval over co-locations and
opening/closing/truncating schools.
Elect CEC reps directly by all parents using cumulative voting.
Empower CECs to roll call vote on Panel for Educational Policy (PEP)
policies.
Allow CECs to create job descriptions and supervise, inform, train
and evaluate parent coordinators with input from PTAs.
Re-make the PEP so that parent representatives 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 executive
board.
Give PEP appointees independence to not rubber stamp.
Give up mayoral majority on the PEP.
32

33. Category 6
Return power to superintendents.

34. Let superintendents back in
schools, supervising principals.
Superintendent reports to the Community
Education Council (CEC).
Make the community superintendents the
place where the buck stops for
policy, budget, and complaints.
Air complaints in public monthly meetings.
34

35. Category 7
Mayoral control -- consider giving
it up.

36. 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
36

37. Category 8
Define a new role for City Council
and other elected officials.

38. Give more elected power for checks and
balances (City Council)
Use local elected officials community-based
expertise and invite them to influence policies
38

39. Category 9
Create ways for parents to get answers
and follow up.

40. Create ombudspeople who can listen to complaints and
direct parents to actual solutions. They should follow up
(carry a caseload) too.
Make ads and post them everywhere in various languages
to notify 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 retribution.
Require schools to post: name, address, phone # of
troubleshooting offices in multiple languages.
Create a “road map” for where parents can go with their
concerns.
40

41. Category 10
Create more independent, parentled support.

42. Have Title I parent involvement money go to
organizations controlled by parents, not the
Department of Education.
Contract with multiple outside organizations
with parent-advocacy expertise.
42

43. Category 11
Use charrettes, or convenings like
them, to solicit real input.

44. Mandate cross-district communications and meetings, for Community
Education 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.
Institute Chancellor meetings 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 participation 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, participatory models like the charrette to rethink
school placements, closures, and new school development.
Treat new school placement and development as something whose
success depends on early/deep Community Education Council/community
input in the design phase.
44

45. Category 12
Opening doors at the top will invite
open doors in schools too.

46. Inspire/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.
46

47. Category 13
Make it possible for parents who do not speak
English as a first language to truly engage with their
schools and the system.

48. Have translators/dual language support so everyone is heard
equally. (Just try and incorporate us!)
Conduct meetings in the first language of parents and
translate for English speakers.
Create “translation squads.” Students get credit and are
trained to be interpreters at all events and meetings (similar
to “mouse squads”).
Give grants to Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) for
them to offer translation/interpretation 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 Education (DOE) needs to make training
school leaders truly inclusive (in terms of language and
culture).
48

49. Category 14
Explore/create policies that will make
the system more equitable.

50. Put integration back on the table as a priority.
Create schools in all neighborhoods that parents would feel proud
to send their kids to.
Ask communities 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 disabilities, making
parents sign off as a legitimate part of the process.
Parents evaluate Individualized Education 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 time for parents to
participate in children’s schools. (Can be a voucher system.)
50

51. Category 15
Create new web tools/social media
outreach.

52. Create/sponsor web-based tools for parent education
and involvement for each school.
Create local wikis/blogs.
Create websites that allow parents to have a voice.
Department of Education staff should monitor these
and respond to questions and concerns.
Fund tools that allow parents to connect remotely via
blogs, community forums; share best practices from all
schools.
Provide innovative and concrete ways for parents to
connect (for example, a group for kindergarten parents
across the city).
Notify and encourage all parents of their options for
engagement in decision-making.
52

53. NYCpublic.org’s projects enable
public school parents to:
learn about education 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 solutions and take action!
53

54. What is NYCpublic.org up to right now?
We are:
Building an online platform that allows parents to learn, organize, and take
action,
Collaborating with CEC 1 to do a Parent Engagement Lab (PEL) focused on
a new school space in their district, and
Designing “Parents Welcome Here.” Essentially a school-based Parent
Engagement Lab, Parents Welcome Here has parents and school staff
come together to tackle a challenge, such as what to do about food waste
in the cafeteria. This common cause promotes community-building and a
sense of allyship.
54

55. NYCpublic is proud to have received grants and
donations from:
Gale Brewer (during her tenor as a City Councilperson)
Elance
Estelle Harris
Four & Twenty Blackbirds
Renee Rosenberg
Maizie and Sue Schaffner
We are especially thankful to Jack and Helen Gorelick for their recent
gift, to our fiscal sponsor, Fund for the City of New York, and to Talking
Transition for providing us an inspirational space to share this report.
We invite you to add your name to this list.
55

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