ERIC Number: ED355305
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1992-Aug
Pages: 38
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Community Involvement in Public Education: Parents United for the D.C. Public Schools. CWAS Occasional Paper 11.
Speicher, Anna
A case study was done of the community-based education reform group, Parents United for the D.C. Public Schools in Washington, D.C. Data for the study came from written records; from interviews with Parents United staff and officers, members of the Board of Education, and others familiar with public education in Washington, D.C.; and from public hearings. Records included newsletters, minutes of meetings, testimony, press releases, grant proposals, clippings, and other materials. Parents United is a research, education, and advocacy group whose mission is to ensure that the City provides adequate funding for public schools and high quality education services to students. It was founded in 1980 in response to a budget crisis and has continued as an organization concerned with the total budget process. Analysis of information on the group found that the general principles underlying its strategy include a focus on creating alliances, pragmatic selection of issues based on inclusiveness and tangibility, and a preference for negotiation over confrontation. Achievements have included making public education a front burner issue for local government and educating and mobilizing parents. Criticisms include perceptions that Parents United is a mostly white, affluent group with too narrow a focus on budget issues. Sixty-two footnotes are included. (JB)
Descriptors: Advocacy, Boards of Education, Budgeting, City Government, Community Action, Community Involvement, Community Organizations, Educational Finance, Educational Improvement, Elementary Secondary Education, Lobbying, Parent Participation, Public Education, School Community Relationship, Urban Schools
Center for Washington Area Studies, 2020 K Street N.W., Suite 240, Washington, DC 20006 ($6.50; 40 percent discount for 10 copies per title or an order of more than 20 copies).
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: George Washington Univ., Washington, DC. Center for Washington Area Studies.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A