Matters of participation: notes on the study of dignity and learning
FLDC member Shirin Vossoughi, along with Manuel Luis Espinoza, Mike Rose, and Luis E. Poza, are the authors of “Matters of participation: notes on the study of dignity and learning” in the Mind, Culture, and Activity journal. Abstract: Meaningful participation (i.e., substantive involvement in socially vital activities) and educational dignity (i.e., the multifaceted sense of […]
The Wall of Moms Got Your Attention, but Mothers Have Always Been Fighting for Change
Camille Wilson, FLDC member, was quoted in a recent Harper’s Bazaar article on the importance of Black mothers’ activism. Chelsey Sanchez writes, “Camille Wilson, a professor at the University of Michigan whose work explores community leadership and educational activism, says that the stain of slavery has always shaped the way Black women parent—and organize. ‘Black mothers have always […]
When Learning as Movement meets Learning on the Move
Kris Gutiérrez, FLDC member, is the author of “When Learning as Movement meets Learning on the Move” in the Cognition and Instruction journal. Abstract: Considering the special issue on learning-on-the move in light of earlier work on learning as movement, this commentary reflects on how the articles in the special issue expand the field’s theoretical […]
In an Era of Pandemic and Protest, STEM Education Can’t Pretend to Be Apolitical
FLDC members Shirin Vossoughi and Megan Bang, along with Daniel Morales-Doyle and Sepehr Vakil, are the authors of an op-ed in Truthout, “In an Era of Pandemic and Protest, STEM Education Can’t Pretend to Be Apolitical”. “Across the U.S., the push to reopen schools is predicated on troubling beliefs about schools and families. Time at […]
Organizing Engagement Interview with Keith Catone
Keith Catone, FLDC member, was interviewed by Organizing Engagement. “As the founding executive director of the Center for Youth and Community Leadership in Education (@CYCLE_RWU) at Roger Williams University, Keith Catone is committed to partnering with communities and schools seeking to build collective power to fight for and win education policies and practices that create equitable […]
Hearts and Minds First: Institutional Logics in Pursuit of Educational Equity
FLDC member Ann Ishimaru, along with Mollie Galloway, published an article, “Hearts and Minds First: Institutional Logics in Pursuit of Educational Equity” in the August 2020 Educational Administration Quarterly. Abstract: Purpose:Despite an explosion of professional development to help educators discuss issues of race and equity, expectations for addressing racial disparities outstrip current leadership practices, and […]
Learning on the Move Toward Just, Sustainable, and Culturally Thriving Futures
FLDC member Megan Bang is the author of “Learning on the Move Toward Just, Sustainable, and Culturally Thriving Futures”, which was published in the July-September 2020 edition of Cognition and Instruction. Abstract: This issue is particularly timely, in its plea to the field to understand that human learning and development have always been on the […]
Learning-in-Relation: Implementing and Analyzing Assets Based Pedagogies in a Higher Education Classroom
FLDC member Timothy San Pedro is one of the authors, along with Kaitlyn Murray, Shannon C. Gonzales-Miller, Wendy Reed, Binta Bah, Crystal Gerrard, and Andrew Whalen, of an article, “Learning-in-Relation: Implementing and Analyzing Assets Based Pedagogies in a Higher Education Classroom” published in Equity and Excellence in Education. Abstract: This article discusses the assets-based pedagogical […]
FLDC By The Numbers
Get a birds-eye view of the Family Leadership Design Collaborative in this accessible report. Learn about the breadth and depth of this work across the country. Download
As Tensions With Iran Escalate, It Is Time to Challenge Empire in the Classroom
In a January 2020 editorial in TruthOut.org, FLDC member Shirin Vossoughi, along with Roozbeh Shirazi and Sepehr Vakil, challenge narratives that dehumanize Middle Eastern peoples while promoting empire and war. “It is crucial for educators to acknowledge the emotional and psychological burden that Iranian, Iraqi and other Middle Eastern students are carrying, and to stand […]
New Book: Just Schools by Dr. Ishimaru
Just Schools, by Dr. Ann Ishimaru, examines the challenges and possibilities for building more equitable forms of collaboration among nondominant families, communities, and schools. The text explores how equitable collaboration entails ongoing processes that begin with families and communities, transform power, build reciprocity and agency, and foster collective capacity through collective inquiry. These processes offer […]
Tips for Collaborating with Other Families for Racial Justice
In this article from Embrace Race, Dr. Ann Ishimaru hares some of what she’s learned from her work as an educational researcher and organizer. These 5 guidelines offer starting points for families working to lead change in schools to foster racial and educational justice. Collaborating across lines of race, class, language, and other identities is […]
Re-Imagining and Humanizing Parent-Teacher Conversations and Interactions through Role-Play
Hundreds of parents in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) shared their stories of experiencing negative interactions with teachers and administrators in schools, often times feeling disregarded and marginalized due to racial stereotypes and anti-Black and Latino racism, particularly when they pushed back on the ways in which their children were being disciplined. Historically, these […]
Transforming the Field of Family Engagement
This booklet, originally created for the annual meeting of the Institute for Educational Leadership, lays out the background of FLDC, shares our co-design approach, and highlights four of our local site partners. Each case study includes specific co-design practices that can be translated across contexts. This booklet offers a concise and handy introduction to FLDC. […]
Video: Cultivating Community Wellbeing and Educational Justice
In this video, put out by the University of Washington College of Education, FLDC members share how they are looking to radically change the old model of education by redesigning family engagement.
Strong Families, Strong Nations
“Families are the heart of Indigenous nations and communities.” We are excited to share a new publication on Indigenous family engagement from FLDC’s Dr. Megan Bang, Charlene Montaño Nolan, and Nikki McDaid-Morgan! This chapter, published in the Handbook of Indigenous Education (editors Elizabeth Ann McKinley & Linda Tuhiwai Smith), argues for amplifying and renewing Indigenous family leadership and engagement in […]
Racialized Formations of Learning In and Across Contexts
This research brief, written by Ezekiel Dixón-Roman, provides a way of understanding what racializations are, discusses some of the important research literature on the impact of racializations in education, and highlights the potential of comprehensive education policy. “To address the concerns of racialized formations of learning in and across context, policymakers need to consider social […]
Circling To Move Ahead: Building Asian American Community Power For Educational Justice
FLDC Phase 2 Partner Southeast Seattle Education Coalition (SESEC) has written a series of blog posts that attend to the resiliency and agency of the Asian American community in Southeast Seattle. Together with the Chinese Information Service Center (CISC), SESEC shares in the first blog post an overview of their design process with a group […]
Re-imagining Turnaround: Families and Communities Leading Educational Justice
We are thrilled to share this publication from FLDC’s Ann Ishimaru on families and communities leading towards educational justice, published in the Journal of Educational Administration (JEA) in a special issue edited by Karen Seashore Louis and Muhammad Khalifa at the University of Minnesota. The purpose of this paper is to deepen the understanding of how minoritized […]
FLDC Phase 2 Convening Synthesis
On February 7-9, 2019, FLDC held our third convening where we invited a group of people that are deeply invested in learning and humanizing our way towards community-defined educational justice and wellbeing. Across these multiple contexts, participants shared their efforts to disrupt inequitable dynamics in schools and catalyze educational possibilities that build on families’ histories, […]
Fostering Family-Educator Collaboration for Parent Power in Salt Lake City
The goal of the Family-School Collaboration Design Research Project, the local FLDC site in Utah, is to design spaces where families have real, collective impact on school-site decision making. The central focus has been on redesigning School Community Councils (SCCs), Utah’s forum for shared governance between families and schools. SCC’s are failing — perhaps designed […]
Building Community & Organizational Capacity for Racial Equity in Southeast Seattle
In the local FLDC site in Seattle, co-design was led by the Southeast Seattle Education Coalition (SESEC), in partnership with the University of Washington. SESEC is a coalition of Community Based Organizations (CBOs), schools, educators, community leaders, parents and caregivers, and concerned SE Seattle residents working to improve education for all children, especially those in […]
Leveraging Family and Community Expertise to Strengthen Native Early Childhood Education
This research-practice brief, written by Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, offers insights into family and community engagement in early childhood education practice and research, rooted in the knowledge and capacity of native communities. “Traditionally and historically, “family,” in relation to the child in school, denotes immediate or nuclear family, primarily the parent(s) or guardian(s) of the child. In Native […]
Recasting Families and Communities as Codesigners of Education in Tumultuous Times
In a national moment of political tumult and violence directed at people of color, immigrants and other marginalized groups, our education systems need new strategies for meaningfully engaging families and communities in ensuring equitable learning for our youth. Not only do families and communities bring historical and lived knowledge in how to persist through these […]
Bending the River: Cultivating Indigenous Wellbeing in Chicago
The Chicago Global Indigeneity Project is working to cultivate intergenerational learning opportunities to support Indigenous knowledge, identities, and practices. This project utilizes co-design to identify community-desired learning opportunities, design youth and family programs, and measure learning and change in the community. A central design goal has been the creation of intentional spaces to connect elders, […]
Re-imagining Black and Brown Solidarities in Los Angeles
The goal of co-design in South LA is to interrupt and shift power dynamics between school staff and low-income parents of color. It is centered on the work of CADRE, a parent-led community organization, in partnership with UCLA faculty. CADRE was founded in response to Black South LA parents who wanted to take on anti-Black […]
Promoting Culturally Responsive Leadership Practices
Don’t miss this engaging new article from FLDC member Muhammad Khalifa: Promoting Culturally Responsive Leadership Practices: Shining a light on marginalized children with humanistic practices and data scrutiny. Excerpt: As a younger man, I worked as a teacher in Detroit, Mich., in a school with mostly black and brown children, some refugees and some white […]
Equity and Equality in Education: SESEC Summary Report
This summary report, submitted by emily warren & Jondou Chen, documents Phase 2 of the Equity and Equality in Education (EEE) Project led by the Southeast Seattle Education Coalition (SESEC). Over a two year period from Fall 2017 to Summer 2019, the Southeast Seattle Education Coalition (SESEC) convened the Equity and Equality in Education (EEE) […]
Centering Ancestral Knowledges
In this research brief, FLDC member Muhammad Khalifa highlights some of the research related to the importance of Ancestral knowledge in all schools, and particularly those that serve Indigenous and other Minoritized youth. Khalifa highlights the importance of wholly accepting Indigenous youth as Ancestral (inheriting, adapting/adding to, and conveying knowledge) as well as intergenerational (gaining […]
Federal Education Policy: A Promise Neighborhood Case Study
This dissertation by FLDC member Derrick Lopez offers a case study that explicates the construct of “policy implementation process tools” as integral to the work of implementing the Promise Neighborhood Initiative. Policy implementation process tools reify and fortify the relationships necessary for local implementation of federal policy among collaborative partners. This dissertation proposes three classes […]
