Executive Director Message
Headline, Shared Decision-Making Participatory Practices, children's hands over tablet, educational blocks, PSSSF Logo
ED Message
Shared Decision Making for Our kids
Public education is a necessary institution for equitable educational resources that lead to life-course outcomes, it's beholden on all of us to bring forth solutions to address our most pressing issues. "Together all things are possible" the words from Cesar Chavez whose vision and advocacy for justice lead the people to equity. During a time when public schools need togetherness, let us stand strong and voice what is needed for equitable resources across schools.
PPS-SF strives to ensure that parents have the information, resources, and connections to peers and professionals that they need to successfully raise their children in San Francisco. Our model prioritizes community voice, delivers services in English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin, and utilizes Parent Ambassadors to build supportive familial and community networks, or responsive relationships that reduce social isolation. Our service implementation has always steered closely to community schools which take a ‘whole child approach’ and leverages the expertise and knowledge of family and community members to support and educate students. Applying this framework, we build trust and relationships with individuals and communities through family partnership programs, hiring staff with shared experiences, and implementing a communications strategy that meets the community’s linguistic needs.
Ensuring consistency and adherence to the tenants of community schools involves a multifaceted approach, encompassing training, communication, community engagement, and continuous improvement strategies. As such we believe in and support the California Department of Education principles, Shared Decision Making, Making Participatory Actions. Districts across the state are planning and implementing Community Schools. As a former community school coordinator in SFUSD, I have seen first-hand what the approaches can do for students, families, and the community.
Prioritize Transparency: All people can fully participate when the information is focused in a clear and real manner. A check to the right
Shared Accountability: People are responsive to how information is shared so that the people can fully participate. A child smiling to the left
In fact, right now, we are witnessing decisions being made about a variety of important matters directly related to our schools, such as school closures. I stated in School Closed, published in July 2023, I am concerned that the governance practices that focus on “student outcomes” are resulting in victim shaming. The most problematic in school closure decisions is the way that they “blame and punish the victim.” The problem of underachievement is not the fault of the students who attend these schools. Yet, it is the students who suffer the most from school closure decisions. The impact of school closures is disproportionate and negatively impacts low-income communities of color where families may not be as quick to voice their dissent and/or are unable to galvanize mass support. School closures to address issues of poor academic outcomes overwhelmingly impact students in these communities where low socio-economic status and low academic achievement intersect. When schools in these communities close, families who have the least access to reliable transportation must figure out how to get their children to school on time and may have to travel a considerable distance to do so.” Read, School Closed here https://www.ppssf.org/news/2023/21/7/schoolclosed
The SFUSD guardrail about making decisions, transparency and shared accountability are crucial to the success of our school district with schools across the city. Transparency is a clear and authentic behavior that deepens trust and belonging; has the power to stir an initiative towards a path everyone can engage in and be responsive to accountability.
As an organization we have practiced strategies to demonstrate shared decisions and accountability through participatory action.
Mutual Commitment: A genuine engagement of people with both formal and informal school roles, in the decision making about school values, system of practices, and overall climate and services. A child to the right smiling
Authentic Shared Power: Proactively demonstrating support to all people at every part of the planning and implementation of the community school's plan.
Participatory action is an approach in which parents develop an understanding of the topic area and then collaboratively identify areas of need, frame questions for research, create the research design and methods, and analyze relevant data to craft possible solutions and actions for change. Outcomes may include actions such as attending and/or presenting at a School Board or Board of Supervisors meeting, joining site/district level parent advisory groups, attending parent conferences, or meeting with teachers to address student needs.
Through participatory action, the district and parents can build stronger networks, support systems, and connectedness among our peers. Parents know how power operates within the system. We use their agency and power to understand, navigate, advise the system and productively advocate for change.
Reference:
California Community Schools Framework