I Know What They Think of Me is the title of a guest post by school Superintendent Steven Constantino. Here’s an excerpt:

No matter to what lengths we try and go to garner engagement, without a real relationship built on trust and honesty, the efforts will probably fall short. If you do not honor all families and convey true appreciation for what they can bring to the partnership, regardless of their station in life, then the efforts to engage them will always be seen through a lens of skepticism. Actions, attitudes, assumptions, beliefs and values must all work together in order to build engagement with every family. And most importantly, when working with the disengaged, it is almost working with one family at a time. Daunting? Yes. Impossible? No.

We cannot fix socio-economic disparities, but we can convince those families that they have value and are truly needed to complete the circle of people that will successfully educate their children.