Beyond Coffee with the Principal: Toward Leadership for Authentic School–Family Partnerships

Abstract

This article problematizes conventional school–family partnerships, as geared toward narrow school agendas or mandates for collaboration, and documents efforts to lead more authentic partnerships as part of socially just urban schools. Just as meaningful parent involvement needs to go “beyond the bake sale,” so, too, must leadership for authentic partnerships go beyond symbolic activities such as coffee with the principal. Based on qualitative data from two studies of Los Angeles administrators in predominantly Latino immigrant schools, this article proposes a continuum for understanding varying approaches to leadership for partnerships and composes portraits of three school leaders dedicated to dialogue, parent advocacy, and community revitalization.