Synopses & Reviews
In recent decades a growing number of middle-class parents have considered sending their children toand#151;and often end up becoming active inand#151;urban public schools. Their presence can bring long-needed material resources to such schools, but, as Linn Posey-Maddox shows in this study, it can also introduce new class and race tensions, and even exacerbate inequalities. Sensitively navigating the pros and cons of middle-class transformation,
When Middle-Class Parents Choose Urban Schools asks whether it is possible for our urban public schools to have both financial security and equitable diversity.
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Drawing on in-depth research at an urban elementary school, Posey-Maddox examines parentsand#8217; efforts to support the school through their outreach, marketing, and volunteerism. She shows that when middle-class parents engage in urban school communities, they can bring a host of positive benefits, including new educational opportunities and greater diversity. But their involvement can also unintentionally marginalize less-affluent parents and diminish low-income studentsand#8217; access to the improving schools. In response, Posey-Maddox argues that school reform efforts, which usually equate improvement with rising test scores and increased enrollment, need to have more equity-focused policies in place to ensure that low-income families also benefit fromand#151;and participate inand#151;school change.and#160;
Review
and#8220;Posey-Maddoxand#8217;s book makes an original contribution that is important to current conversations about urban schools. The question of what role middle-class families can/should play in urban school reform is a pressing one, and her research raises a series of questions that I have not seen raised elsewhere as clearly or directly. It captures key dimensions of how cities are changing and the impact those changes are having on our most important institutions.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;In this important new book, readers will find an insightful analysis of how a small but growing number of urban schools are being affected by the process of gentrification. and#160;While racial integration in schools has long been seen as a desirable social and political goal, relatively little attention has been given to how schools respond to the needs of different children and their parents as changes in the demographic composition of schools occur.and#160;Posey-Maddox reminds us that creating a school that succeeds in serving all children well is an extremely complex undertaking, especially when imbalances in power and privilege are significant. and#160;For those who want to understand the contemporary challenges posed by integration, this book will be an invaluable resource.and#8221;
Synopsis
Recent trends indicate that changing social, political, and economic contexts are prompting greater numbers of middle- and upper middle-class families to consider urban public schools. For proponents of economic integration, this could be read as a positive turn in urban education, based on the assumption that middle-class parents bring with them various forms of capital that can benefit schools with low-income student populations. Little is known, however, about the consequences of middle-class enrollment and engagement in these settings.
Transforming Urban Schools demonstrates how the engagement of middle- and upper middle-class parents can both mitigate and exacerbate educational inequalities in urban public schools. Drawing from two years of qualitative research, the book shows the power of active” and engaged middle- and upper middle-class parents to bring important resources and educational opportunities to urban public schools. Yet it also shows the limitations of their engagement in the absence of policies and practices to counter ongoing patterns of segregation and exclusion linked to race, class, and residence in schools and districts.
About the Author
Linn Posey-Maddox is assistant professor of educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations and Tables
Acknowledgments
One / Middle-Class Parents and City School Transformation
Two / Reconceptualizing the and#8220;Urbanand#8221;: Examining Race, Class, and Demographic Change in Cities and Their Public Schools
Three / Building a and#8220;Critical Massand#8221;: Neighborhood Parent Group Action for School Change
Four / The (Re)Making of a and#8220;Goodand#8221; Public School: Parent and Teacher Views of a Changing School Community
Five / Professionalizing the MPTO: Race, Class, and Shifting Norms for and#8220;Activeand#8221; Parents
Six / Morningside Revisited
Seven / Maintaining a and#8220;Commitment to Everyoneand#8221;: Toward a Vision of Equitable Development in Urban Public Schooling
Appendix A / Social Class Categories
Appendix B / Methodological Approach
Notes
References
Index