A Smile Relieves a Heart That Grieves

As an educational leader, some of my fondest experiences have centered on getting to know my students and their families. Although I am incredibly inspired by creating, developing, and establishing new innovative curricular programs and facility spaces, my greatest source of inspiration has always centered on my students, their parents, and their families. I believe family and parental involvement are incredibly important for shepherding meaningful instructional leadership, and I have been careful to consider how I would feel about the decisions I make if I were a student myself, or if the decisions I make would be good enough for my own children (a powerful litmus test for scientists and nonscientists alike!).

There is a great deal of trust students, parents, and families place in teachers, educational leaders, and a Board of Education. I believe it is our communal, collective duty to ensure students are provided a safe, nurturing environment grounded in fidelity and that our decisions are student-centered. It concerns me when the interests of students are not placed first and people in power make decisions that are self-serving or based on serving their friends or politically connected individuals. Ultimately, this undermines public trust. 

Standards and Principles
We have all heard or read stories about educational leaders or a Board of Education making self-serving (and sometimes political) decisions that are not in the best interests of students. These instances represent a minority of occurrences but are not marginal nor should they be treated as insignificant. Oftentimes, poor Board governance is at the root of these issues, which impacts the entire learning organization, results in frequent administrative turnover, and ultimately harms children. 

Micromanagerial occurrences may include inappropriate Board meddling in areas such as daily operations, curricular development, or professional learning. When personal relationships with employees and community become blurred, a Board may choose to inappropriately pressure procurement from a specific vendor, venture to influence hiring practices, or protect employees who have broken the law by refusing to enforce the law (considerations may also include concerns about how the Board may be perceived by the community). Extreme cases, such as a Board providing access to district property (in opposition to law and policy) for a convicted sex offender family friend, or an administrator falisyfing evaluations for colleagues, are archetypes of poor judgement, malpractice and indicative of self-serving, corrupt behaviors that serve the needs of adults and discard the needs of families and students. 

Passion and Potential
Unfortunately, there have been instances when a school official, such as a district superintendent, intervened to uphold the law, only to be forced out as a result of his or her moral, ethical actions. Under such circumstances, the politics of the district can make it impossible for the official to continue leading, and he, himself,  becomes the community’s scapegoat. These occurrences not only destroy public confidence but they destroy lives. Regardless of the reasons why they occur, students, parents, and families place a great deal of trust in teachers, administrators, and a Board of Education to behave in an ethical manner, operate within the law, and make moral decisions that serve students first. Choosing otherwise undermines faith, confidence, and trust.  

There are also a number of students, parents, and families that are unfamiliar with how to navigate the school system. Most often, these students, parents, and families are less affluent members of the community and are immigrant students, parents, and/or family members. I believe these members of the school community are most at risk (and vulnerable) in terms of not being able to make connections to learn how to navigate the educational system. 

Waiting on a Friend
As a first generation American and son of immigrants, I can attest to the many challenges parents and students face when navigating the American educational system. We are a country of immigrants and supporting families is central to supporting schools. My own experiences growing up and those of my friends who were also almost all immigrants or first generation Americans impacted my view of the world. My experiences as a first generation American created an authentic understanding of the importance of education and that an education can change a life. This impact was so deep that I centered my doctoral study on parental involvement (and the research of Joyce Epstein) so I could employ strategies to better support my students, their parents, and the communities I have served. 

The Highland Park Hispanos Unidos is one such school-support organization I had the pleasure of speaking (and dining!) with while I was superintendent. The members of Hispanos Unidos focus on creating friendships with school families from different parts of the world to create “links” to bind students and parents together. These links create supportive networks for supporting a community of learners and caregivers. It also facilitates empathy. 

Members of Hispanos Unidos regularly organize fundraisers to assist victims of natural disasters and have worked with communities in such places as Mexico and Honduras. The goal is to create a network of families to support one another and develop an authentic understanding of their common experiences and to also develop character in students. Students also participate in community projects outside of the United States (Guerrero, Mexico and San Pedro Sula, Honduras) and regularly volunteer to provide babysitting services for families within their local communities to serve the community. 

Afterimage
During the Hispanos Unidos dinner, each family prepared a homemade dish for other families to share. My wife prepared several Moroccan dishes (my wife is from Morocco), which my daughters, wife, and I shared with other families. They likewise shared their home cooked cuisine. The dinner also provided an opportunity for my own daughters to learn about the world around them through the firsthand stories and experiences of other families in our school district and community. Those opportunities and experiences not only made me proud as an educational leader, they made me proud as a dad.  

I have made it my mission to advocate for and support our less affluent members of the school community and our immigrant students, parents, and families as a teacher and as an educational leader. For me, my reason for being serves a higher purpose, which makes my work personally and professionally meaningful. When I spoke to the students, parents, and families – along with my own family in attendance – at Highland Park on January 26, 2018, it provided much personal and professional satisfaction. 

Aftereffect
When I look back at the photograph from that evening, with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote hanging in the background behind me, “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends,” it is clear now that truer words have rarely been spoken. It is imperative Boards and school officials serve and lead in an ethical, moral, and legal manner, regardless of the consequences. Regardless of the outcomes. Regardless of the repercussions. While those who govern school districts sometimes make decisions that are self-serving and for family and friends, in my experience, it is preferable to lose a friend than to lose one’s self.    

Chris

Referenced links and documents:
Communities that Undermine Learning, Alexander D. Platt and Caroline Tripp. Leadership. September/October 2008

Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement, Joyce Epstein et al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools

Ethnic Identity Development in Schools among First Generation Immigrants in the United States, Erkan Acar et al., Journal of Education and Training Studies Vol. 4, No. 4; April 2016

First-Generation Disadvantage and College Enrollment/Completion, Tabitha G. Wilbur and Vincent J. Roscigno. American Sociological Association. Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World Volume 2: 1 –11. 

Fostering Family-School and Community-School Partnerships in Inclusive Schools: Using Practice as a Guide, Haines et al. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities. 2015. Vol. 40(3) 227–239

Twelve Cardinal Rules for Dealing with School Board Conflict, Peggy Ondrovich. AASA

Teacher–Student Relationships and Personalized Learning: Implications of Person and Contextual Variables. Ronald D. Taylor and Azeb Gebre. Handbook on Personalized Learning for States, Districts, and Schools.

The Promise by Chris Dignam

The Scott County School Board: A Case in Group Dysfunction, William J. Heisler and Lesa L. Hanlin. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 2019, Vol. 22(1) 124– 139. The University Council for Educational Administration

Typologizing School-Community Partnerships: A Framework for Analysis and Action, Linda Valli, Amanda Stefanski and Reuben Jacobson. Urban Education. September 2014.

Waiting on a Friend by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

Why Superintendents Turn Over, Jason A. Grissom and Stephanie Andersen. American Educational Research Journal