As a researcher in parent engagement in school and former parent activist, the author shares three lessons for sparking more authentic partnerships between schools and immigrant families. First, schools need to move away from deficit thinking and validate families' cultures. In the case of Latino immigrant families, this entails understanding…

When educators seek ways to connect with families and communities, they typically begin by looking outward. They attend to the barriers, challenges, and conditions that exist out there--families living in poverty, differing levels of parental education, and discrepant access to resources. Pushor proposes that educators begin instead by looking…

In 2004, immigrant-rich Annandale High School in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., launched a focused effort to bring more parents of students from immigrant families into school leadership. Nearly half of the parents of Annandale High students are immigrants to the United States--and they come from more than 80 different countries.…