New Report: Parent Power and Urban School Reform

Posted by on February 6, 2004

[posted from Public Education Network newsblast]

PARENT POWER & URBAN SCHOOL REFORM

A new case study of Mothers on the Move (MOM) written by Kavitha Mediratta and Jessica Karp, and published by the New York University Institute for Education and Social Policy, analyses efforts to improve schooling outcomes in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the South Bronx. It describes a ten-year struggle to expose hidden disparities in achievement and resources between local schools and schools in wealthier neighborhoods, oust ineffective school district leadership and, ultimately, help the Hunts Point schools improve. The study is based on interviews conducted between June 2002 – 2003 of MOM members and staff, as well as with the Chancellors and superintendent who presided during MOM?s organizing. The researchers also examined data obtained from the New York City Department of Education regarding changes in Hunts Point and District 8 schools. The report concludes that MOM?s organizing played a pivotal role in forcing numerous critical changes in the district. New York City Department of Education data show that the improvements set in motion through MOM?s organizing for leadership change are beginning to bear fruit in some Hunts Point schools. For example, fourth grade reading scores at Public School 62, where MOM began its organizing, increased by over fifty percent, from 22% meeting the state standard in 1999 to 36% meeting the standard in 2003. For more information and to obtain a copy of this report, please contact the NYU Institute for Education and Social Policy at 212/998-5880.

http://www.nyu.edu/iesp/