Index
academic achievement: in flatlands schools vs. hills schools, 9
Academic Performance Index (API) ranking, 15, 225n.5
Action for New Small Schools, 7
activist research, 199–208, 227n.1
challenges of, 200
competing loyalties in, 200, 201–2
continuum from least to most direct involvement in political action, 203
cultural critique compared to, 201–2, 205–6
defined, 201
as exercise in solidarity, 221
feminist critique of, 203–4
need to recognize structures of social inequality within social movements, 215
participatory research as distinct from other models of, 201–8
policy-oriented model of, 201, 205, 217
social change defined as policy change in, 201
Adam Bede (Eliot), 155
admissions in new small school: anxieties over, 86–87
the chosen and the excluded, 99–107, 209
debate over fair admissions policy, 81–82
diversity issue, 86
negotiating, 79–107
parents’ perspective on, 99–106
questions prepared by Madres Unidas for teachers to discuss about, 223
teachers and, 100–101, 102, 106–7
African Americans. See black people agency: denial of intellectual, to Latino parents, 70
planning of focus groups and interviews and experience of own, 152–54
professionals’ denial of Madres’ legitimacy in their own right, 168. See also change agents, immigrant parents as
Alexander, Natasha, 157
Alinsky, Saul, 11
American Anthropological Association journal: “Public Anthropology Reviews” section of, 199
anger: affirmed by Madres Unidas as healthy alternative to self-blame, 156–57
censorship of, 110, 114–15, 167–68
controlling image of angry parent, 131, 132, 133, 138
as first step toward transformative action, 157
at inequities, as basis for public actions, 128–30, 132, 138
anti-immigrant discourse: connecting mothers’ personal experiences with statewide, 189–91
Anyon, Jean, 227n.9
Apple, Michael W., 115, 226n.4
Arnold, Allen, 7
authentic form of caring: Latino concept of educación and, 92
autonomy: deconstructing, in new small autonomous schools, 208, 211–14
teachers’ resentment at lack of, 126–28
use of “autonomous school” against parents’ rights, 113, 117
Avila, Ernestine, 147
Avila, Inés Hernández, 159
Barrera, Mario, 73
barriers to parental “involvement,” 2–3, 193
Ofelia’s analysis of, 123–24
Bay Area Center for Educational Equity (BACEE), 7, 9, 128, 131–32
annual Small Schools Conference sponsored by OCCA and, 164
as brains of small schools movement, 130
coaching agenda of school change facilitators, 169–74, 176, 220, 227n.3
Incubator session for design teams, 59–62, 130–31
opposition of staff to Madres Unidas, 216
partnership with OCCA, 10–11, 13–14
political importance of Madres presentation of findings to, 164
representative at first parent-teacher design team meeting, 49
role of, 13–14
“Support Providers Team” meeting with principal, 169
Bell, Lee Anne, 73
Bickham Mendez, Jennifer, 204, 215
bilingual education, 74, 86, 89–90, 117, 216–17
lottery for, 98
policy about switching from English program to, 113, 136
bilingual teachers: focus group with, 37, 39, 43–44
black people: controlling images of black women, 110–11
“hidden transcripts” vs. “public transcript” of slaves in antebellum South, 155
“safe spaces” drawn on by black women, 147
Bradbury, Hilary, 205
Brown, Jerry, 7
Brown, Wendy, 204
budget cuts, protesting proposed state, 189–91
bureaucracy: parent meetings run in bureaucratic format, 82, 87, 93, 94
parents’ experiences in unresponsive, 34, 44, 85, 94. See also Oakland Unified School District
principal of United Community School
California: demographics of teachers in, 17
number of immigrant children in public schools, Proposition 187 and, 191
California Department of Education, 15
caring: competing definitions of Latino youth and non-Latino teachers, 92
Carrillo, Rosario, 154
censorship of anger, 110, 114–15, 167–68
change agents, immigrant parents as, 200
difficulties in earning legitimacy for, 27–28
trained inability of professionals to recognize, 3, 163, 193–95
Chapa, Jorge, 225n.3
charismatic acts, 155–56
Checker, Melissa, 227n.1
Chicago: visiting small schools in, 54, 57–58
Chicanas/Mexicanas: everyday resistance strategies of, 26
child care: for meetings, 52, 58, 131, 169
participation at school meetings as part of, 147
children, of Madres Unidas, 1, 54–55, 83, 139, 143–145, 180, 181, 184
concern for all, 51, 93–94, 145
as reason for Madres’ work, 22–23, 44–46, 55, 57, 147, 150–51, 211
Citizens Foundation, 84
civic education, 75
coaching agendas of BACEE and OCCA: for Madres’ presentation to staff, 169–74, 220, 227n.3
collaboration, teacher, 38–39, 40, 42
collective suffering: community identity shaped by, 85
Collins, Patricia Hill, 2, 5, 109–11, 116, 147
colonial relations: continuity of, reproduced in internal neocolonialism, 72–73
education in United States in context of, 60–61
communication: between parents and administration, 44, 45, 58–59
parents’ right to be informed and participate, 70–71, 74
community, 52
aesthetic or technical definitions of, 92
Baudelia’s vision for, 65, 75–76
collective suffering shaping identity, 85
competing visions of, 27, 81, 82, 107
creating, in Ofelia’s kitchen, 140, 146–59
deconstructing, in new small autonomous schools, 208, 209
ethic of collaboration and, at core of teachers’ vision, 85–86
linking of social justice to, 84, 94
mothers’ ways of building, 25
mutuality of roles and egalitarian relationships in Baudelia’s vision of school, 65
parents’ dedication to new small school as part of their desire to help their, 93–94
parents’ ways of being in, 154, 155, 194, 217
parent workshops and sense of, 187–88
rights and responsibilities of membership in, 75–76
teachers’ views of role of, in origins of reform, 42, 43–44
teachers’ vs. parents’ understanding of, 107
community service, 78
nurturing need for, 151–54
confianza (trust), 22, 27, 140, 155, 217
building, 157–58
clear-eyed and honest discussion of reality made possible by, 157
creating, in Ofelia’s kitchen, 146–59
creating conditions necessary for growth and change at school, 194–95
function of parent center to build, between parents and teachers, 191–93
as key to mothers’ maintaining control of presentation to staff, 172–73, 175–76, 177, 194–95
learning new skills and, 153–54
parent workshops building, 187
testimonio made possible by, 140, 148–51, 154, 156, 187
conscientization (conscientização): critical thinking as fundamental human right, 207
consciousness: coming to, 158–59
double, 219
false, 206
split, 206
controlling images, 3, 5, 109–38
of angry and impatient parent, 131, 132, 133, 138
of angry and impatient parent, presentation to staff and, 167
of black womanhood, 110–11
contesting, 2, 27, 140, 145–46, 169, 195, 208, 214, 219–20
counterstorytelling to disrupt, 156, 157
critical analysis of, 189, 193
defined, 110
to justify and rationalize domination, 110–11
lack of awareness of institutionally produced patterns of parent behavior, 133
of Latina mothers/parents, 2, 3, 5, 27, 145–46, 163, 169, 189, 195, 208
lines of gender and, 180–81, 182
Madres Unidas’ public challenge of, presentation of participatory research and, 163
methodological decisions based on desire to illuminate and disrupt, 119–20
objectification process and, 110
parent exclusion based on, 111–20
of passive and submissive Latino parent, 131–32, 133
“safe spaces” used to strengthen resistance to, 147
as sources of mobilization, 2
staff use of, to censor Baudelia’s critique of School Site Council, 135, 137
teachers’ limited view of parents’ role in new school and, 124–28
unlearning, 219
convivencia (living/being together), 22, 25, 27, 92, 152, 154, 155
Oakland renaissance and, 15–16
urgency behind small schools movement and, 34
Council on Anthropology and Education, 200, 227n.3
counterspace: ability to collectively dissect controlling images of one’s group and fashion alternative selves in, 189
created by participatory research, 5–6
Madres Unidas as, for cultural critique, 207, 214
parent center as mujerista-inspired, 188
counterspace for resistance, Ofelia’s kitchen as, 27, 139–59
creating community and confianza, 140, 146–59
mujerista or Latina womanist space, 140, 147
Ofelia’s background, 140–46
planning of focus groups and interviews, 152–54
process of politicization and coming to consciousness, 158–59
transformative effects of, 157
use of, Madres’ response to Baudelia’s experience on School Site Council illustrating, 156–57
counterstorytelling, 4, 156, 157
Crawford, Jim, 217
critical agents: transformation of mothers into, 154–59
critical analysis: of controlling images of Latina mothers, 189, 193
critical thinking as fundamental human right, 207
social change and, 205
critical consciousness, 205, 206
developing, 209
process of conscientization and, 158, 189, 205
critical ethnography, 6
critical race theory, 4, 156, 157
Crozier, Gill, 115
cultural critique, 201–2, 205–6, 208
as act of survival on margins of society, 206
as key element of Madres Unidas’ transformation and intervention, 207–8
Davis, Gray, 190
de-colonial theory, 206
decolonizing pedagogy: social justice in enacting, 72, 73
“deficit theories” about Latino families, 225n.2
Delgado-Bernal, Dolores, 26, 148, 155, 226n.10
Delgado-Gaitán, Concha, 226n.5
deliberation, governing of, 92
“democracy and equity” principle, 14
democratic leadership model, 75
democratic research process in participatory research, 201
design team for United Community School, 7, 22
desire for integration and tension within, 86, 89–90
ethnographer’s role as translator on, 19
final meeting, 77–78
first meeting, 49–52
fourth meeting, 66–71
Incubator as primary vehicle for providing coaching and technical assistance to, 59–62, 130–31
lack of parent participation on, 131–32
second meeting, 52–54
teachers forming, 17
third meeting, 62–66
Deyhle, Donna, 225n.2
discipline: parents views on, 67–68, 76
discrimination: complaints of, attributed to “angry” parents, 115
dissent: regulating of, 92
district. See Oakland Unified School District
diversity, issue of, 86, 89–90
hand-picking non-Latino students before lottery, 98–99
domésticas: mothers working as, 146–47
domestic violence prevention: workshop on, 183, 188–89
domination: confronting inequality and relations of, within social movements, 4, 200, 214–21
controlling images to justify and rationalize, 110–11
possibility of false consciousness of the oppressed under, 206
double consciousness, 219
Douglass, Frederick, 128
“dreaming”: language of, 17, 225n.7
dropout rates, 225n.3
educación: Latino cultural concept of, 27, 92, 226n.5
education: barriers to, in Fruitvale neighborhood, 84
in context of colonial relations, 60–61
of immigrant mothers, 180–82, 183, 184–85
educational philosophy: teachers’ statement of, 63–64, 65
educators: as allies vs. gatekeepers, 193–95. See also teachers
Elenes, C. Alejandra, 148, 155
eleventh commandment, 128
Eliot, George, 155
Emihovich, Catherine, 227n.2
English: parents’ difficulties in learning, 95
English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC): UCS, 122–23, 183, 218
English program: policy about switching from bilingual program to, 113, 136
equity: small schools movement as movement for, 9
teachers’ commitment to, 17–18, 39–40. See also inequities; social justice
Espinoza, Manuel, 60, 72–73, 76
ethnography, critical, 6
everyday life: importance of in Latina feminist thought, 25–26
as starting point for all research and action for change, 204–5
fairness: teachers’ decisions based on abstract principles of, 93–94
faith-based organizing, 11, 225n.4
Fals-Borda, Orlando, 205
false consciousness, 206
Faltis, Christian, 217
family expectations of wife/mother, traditional, 57–58
favoritism, in admissions, 98, 102, 111, 122
feminism: exclusion of black women from feminist movement by white liberal women, 61
feminist critique of activist anthropology for public policy, 203–4
Latina, 25–26, 27, 147, 201, 207, 217
race-based, 147
of U.S. third-world feminist theorists, 5, 145, 163, 205–7
festivals: parents called on only to organize, 117, 118
Fine, Michelle, 10, 115, 157, 227n.2, 227n.3
flexibility, 145
Flores, Barbara, 225n.2
focus groups, 25
parent, 46, 99–102, 120–24, 166, 212–13, 226n.2
planning of, excitement over, 152–54
student, 210–11
teacher, 37–44, 106–7, 124–28, 213
Foley, Douglas, 6, 202–3, 227n.2
Forman, Tyrone A., 226n.6
admissions anomalies and, 102, 103–6
branded “angry” or “problem parents,” 112–15, 119–20, 138
disenchanted and disillusioned about prospects for parent participation, 122–24
image of overworked, 134
Freire, Paulo, 158, 189, 193, 205, 206, 207
challenges faced by, 83–84
population of, 83
as port-of-entry neighborhood, 83
Fruitvale Senior Center, 84
Fuller, Bruce, 226n.5
Genao, Emily, 157
gender: controlling images and lines of, 180–81, 182
Gilroy, Paul, 69–70
González, Norma, 25, 227n.2, 228n.5
good parent/bad parent binary, 109–38
censorship of anger, 110, 114–15
“good parent” image manipulated to extend staff’s agenda, 115–19
identity politics used to neutralize parent activism, 115
interpreted as new parent/founding parent conflict, 114
patterns of parent exclusion based on, 111–20
“problem parents,” branding of, 111–15, 119–20
teacher images of “the good parent,” 109–10
governing of deliberation, 92
Grossi, Francisco Vio, 205
group evaluation process, 213
“guerrilla warfare” as way of life for women of color, 54
Gutierrez, Kris, 60, 72–73, 76
Hale, Charles R., 6, 199–200, 201–2, 203, 205, 207, 208, 227n.1, 228n.4–5
Halley, Janet, 204
Harlem: small school in, 9–10, 12–13, 42–43, 98
Head Start, 84
Hernández-Castillo, R. Aída, 200, 204–5
historical amnesia, 73
home: as base for community change, 27
immigrants’ nostalgia and melancholy for country of origin, 142, 180, 181, 184
parent center as second home for parents, 178–179, 192
as a site of healing and resistance, 26, 27, 139–59
subversive value of, 146
womanist humor of the, 154–55
Hondagneu-Sotelo, Pierrette, 146
hooks, bell, 5, 28, 61, 62, 65, 66, 72, 139, 145, 146, 149, 158–59, 163, 189, 206, 215, 217, 228n.6
Horvat, Erin McNamara, 115
Hudelson, Sarah, 217
Hughes, Langston, 128
humor as source of healing, 154–55
Hurtig, Janise, 6, 180, 193, 225n.2
idealism of teachers, 17–18, 30, 81, 86, 94
identity: “duality” of the oppressed, 206
to neutralize parent activism, 115
immigrants, 1–2
California’s growing population of, 191
Fruitvale as port-of-entry neighborhood for, 83
statewide anti-immigrant discourse, 189–91
telling of personal story as cathartic experience for, 180–88. See also Latina mothers
Incubator, 59–62;
absence of parents from meetings of, 130, 131
as primary vehicle for providing coaching and technical assistance to design teams, 130–31
purpose of, 59
worrying about parents in, 59–60
inequality: educational, participatory research on, 157
within social movements, confronting relations of domination and, 4, 200, 214–21
womanist humor of the home as way of transgressing relations of, 154–55
inequities: anger at, as basis for public actions, 128–30, 132, 138
BACEE’s focus on addressing, 14
between hills schools and flatland schools, 39–40
institutionalized racism, 15
integration in teachers’ vision for community school, 86, 89–90, 107
intellectual agency: denial to Latino parents of, 70
intellectual development: nurturing need for, 151–54
internal neocolonialism, 72–73
interviews: Carmen’s interviews with principals in El Salvador, 182
of parents of children excluded from new school, 209
planning of, excitement over, 152–54
with principal of new school (Marie), 35–36, 119–20
isolation: importance of Madres Unidas as support network countering, 151–52
Just Schools Network (JSN), 14
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 210, 211
knowledge production: in activist research, 202, 203
in participa-tory research, 204
Kozol, Jonathan, 225n.3
land: struggle for, 41–42, 79, 80–81
language barrier, 44, 45, 49, 56–57, 95, 97
language of “dreaming,” 17, 225n.7
Lashaw, Amanda, 225n.7
Latina feminist framework, 25–26, 201
key concepts from, 27
personal healing as integral to struggle for social change, 217
sobrevivencia and transformation merged in struggle for full humanization, 207
wholeness in, 147, 154, 158, 159, 193, 217
Latina Feminist Group, 148, 149, 156, 225n.1
Latina mothers, 1–2
controlling images of, 2, 3, 5, 27, 131–32, 145–46, 163, 169, 189, 195, 208
as domésticas, 146–47
friction of everyday interactions behind public drama of reform, 3
home-towns of, 1
isolation of, Madres Unidas as counter to, 151–52
telling of personal story as cathartic experience for, 180–88
transformation into critical agents, 154–59. See also parent participation; parents; parents’ rights
Latina womanist space. See mujerista
Latino Legal Counsel Center, 84
Latino students: segregation of, 225n.3
Baudelia’s background, 54–59
Baudelia’s interaction with other parents, 56
Baudelia’s model of, 74–75
democratic leadership model, 75
expanded, after research ended, 217–18
the Incubator and, 59–62
meetings arranged by Baudelia, 49–54
negotiating right to speak at Whitman, 66–71
parents’ trust for Baudelia as parent leader, 70
silencing parent voice at Whitman Elementary, 62–66
on social justice, 71–77. See also Madres Unidas
Leadership Team. See School Site Council
Lee, Chungmei, 225n.3
legalism of activist research: feminist critique of focus on, 204
lessons for professional educators and reformers, 192–97
to be allies rather than gatekeepers, 193
lessons revealed about research products, 163
listening to parents, 174–78, 194–95
parent center as space for change, 188–93
parents’ quest for wholeness and social change, 192–93
Levinson, Bradley A., 6
Lewis, Amanda E., 226n.6
Lipman, Pauline, 200, 202, 227n.2, 228n.5
living together. See convivencia (living/being together)
Lopez, Gerardo, 225n.2
lottery for United Community School, 90, 98–99
the chosen and the excluded, 99–107, 209
inconsistencies and mistakes in, 101, 103–6, 111
loyalty(ies): in activist research, 200, 201–2
in cultural critique, 201
of handpicked newcomer parents vs. Madres Unidas, 122
Luykx, Aurolyn, 155
McCormick, J., 157
Madres Unidas (Mothers United), 1–3, 4, 5, 20–26
Amelia, background of, 23, 184–88
anxiety over taking controversial findings public, 164–65
Baudelia, background of, 54–59
betrayal by school staff, teachers’ resentment around lack of autonomy seen as parallel to, 127
Carmen, background of, 23, 180–83
Carolina, background of, 23–24
creating community and confianza, 140, 146–59
creation of unique mujerista, 140, 147
cultural critique as key element of transformation and intervention, use of, 207–8
deconstructing community, social justice, and autonomy in new small autonomous schools, 208–14
example of meeting of, 20–22
leader of, 22
meeting with BACEE school change facilitators and OCCA representative, 169–74
as model and forum for engaging honestly, 177
as model of nurturing community outside of school, 194
mothers’ expanded leadership roles in school after research ended, 217–18
naming of, 225n.8
Ofelia, background of, 22–23, 140–46
Ofelia’s kitchen as counterspace for, 27, 139–59
opposition from organizational leaders in small schools movement, 173, 214–21
personal experience privileged as foundation of, 147–52
presentation to teachers at end of school year, 166, 167–78
purpose of undertaking research for, 166
relationships built through, 25
resistance to controlling images, 2, 27, 140, 145–46, 169, 195, 208, 214, 219–20
roles carved out for parents in new small schools by, 218
as support network, 151, 153–54
transformation of members, 154–59, 181–83, 185–88, 207–8, 218
two main action items intended to change teacher-parent relationship at school, 166–67. See also focus groups; presentations of participatory research
Madres Unidas: Parents Researching for Change (video documentary), 25
majoritarian stories, 4
Marcus, George E.
marginality, 1
activist research methodologies in service of marginalized groups, 201, 202
cultural critique by marginalized groups, 206
“outsider/within” status, 5, 77
parents marginalized by teachers, 26
participatory research team formed to counter, 4
political skills and strategies for change nurtured by experience of, 5, 65, 77, 206–7, 219–20
shared hidden transcripts and, 155
matriarch image, 110
Meier, Deborah, 9–10, 42–43, 98
Menjívar, Cecilia, 151
mobilization: controlling images as sources of, 2
multiple identities as resource for, 54
mold contamination at Whitman, 34
Moll, Luis, 60
motivations for new small schools: of parents, 44–47
of principal, 35–36
of teachers, 30–31, 37–40, 42–43
mujerista (Latina womanist space), 140, 147
approach to learning and community, 177
creation by Madres Unidas of, 140, 147
parent center as mujerista-inspired counterspace, 188
values of confianza, convivencia, and testimonio, 140, 155
vision of participatory research, 28
ways of being in community, 154, 155, 217
wholeness concept, 147, 154, 177, 217
womanist humor of the home, 154–55
multiage classrooms, 97, 107, 111
teachers’ view of, 68–69
multitrack year-round schedules, 29, 32–34, 35
Murillo, Enrique G., 61–62
Nabudere, Dani Wadada, 204, 205, 219
Naples, Nancy, 215
negative intentions: professionals’ assumption of Madres’, 114, 135, 168, 216
neocolonialism/neocolonial relations, 26–27
internal, 72–73
between white professionals and parents of color, 50
newcomer parents, 121–22
“New Small Autonomous Schools” policy, 7, 16, 18
deconstructing autonomy, 211–14
New York City’s East Harlem: creation of small alternative schools in, 9–10, 98
differences between Oakland’s small schools reforms and, 12–13
as source of expertise and inspiration for reform for teachers, 42–43
Nuñez-Janes, Mariela, 225n.1
Oakland Coalition for Community Action (OCCA), 6–7, 11–15
annual Small Schools Conference sponsored by BACEE and, 128, 164
censorship of anger by, 167–68
citywide actions, 12
coaching for Madres’ presentation, 169–74, 220–21
concerns about Madres Unidas, 167–68, 173
as engine of small schools movement, 130
founding of, 11
means to organize for change offered by, 46
opposition of staff to Madres Unidas, 216
organizing agenda, 168–69, 173, 177–78
organizing method, 11–12
parents’ anger encouraged in preparation for public actions, 128–30
partnership with BACEE, 9–10, 13–14
political importance of Madres’ presentation of findings to, 164–65
push to end multitrack year-round schedules in all Oakland public schools, 32–33
representative at first parent-teacher design team meeting, 49
role of, 12–13
role of, teachers’ views of, 43–44
as source of support in struggle for parent voice, 77
struggle for new school land and, 42
visit to small schools in New York, 43
Oakland Public Schools: small schools movement to reverse inequities in, 1
Oakland renaissance, 15–16
Oakland School Board, 211
Oakland Unified School District, 15
demographics of teachers in, 17
political pressure on, parents’ role in, 125, 128–30
protesting proposed state budget cuts, 189–91
objectification: process of, 110
objectivity: BACEE coach’s emphasis on, 171–72
OCCA. See Oakland Coalition for Community Action
Open Court, 127
oppressed, the: “duality” of, 206
survival tools as best tools in struggle for social transformation, 206–7. See also social justice
Orfield, Gary, 225n.3
organizational interests: professional commitment to defending, 168–69. See also Bay Area Center for Educational Equity
Oakland Coalition for Community Action
“Other”: constructed as diametrically opposed to desirable traits of dominant group, 110
construction of Latino parents as, 61–62
cultural systems of knowledge and representation constructing inferior, as basis for domination, 73. See also marginality
outreach: challenges of conducting, 106, 107
overcrowding, 9, 29, 32–33, 44–45
Pacific Institute for Community Organizations (PICO), 11, 225n.4
Pardo, Mary S., 85
parent center, 167, 178–80, 194, 218
functions of, 189–93
goals for, 179
grant application for, 180
impact on the school, 188–93
making space for change, 188–93
as mujerista-inspired counter-space, 188
organizational leaders’ opposition to Madres’ opening, 216
social construction of, 192
support and services offered, 179, 183, 192
volunteers running, 179–80, 183, 185–88
“Parent Experience, The” (workshop session at Small Schools Conference), 164–66
parent focus groups, 46, 166, 226n.2
confusion around meaning of autonomy, 212–13
on parent involvement in new school, 120–24
on selection process for new school, 99–102
parent governance committee, 112
parent meetings: authoritarian leadership style shutting down parent voice in, 91–92, 94
bureaucratic format of, 82, 87, 93, 94
enrollment criteria, discussion of, 88–90, 93
lack of opportunities for personal sharing, 88, 91, 92
at Ofelia’s home, 95–98
at Ofelia’s home, with teachers, 96–98
parent volunteers to help plan and facilitate larger, 87, 88
parent participation: “angry parents” as engine of reform in small schools movement, 128–33
as “different kinds of partners,” 132–33
discrepancy between school’s vision and mission and reality of, 109
lack of, as direct response to school’s failure to incorporate parent voice, 123–24
Morales’s eleventh commandment and, 128
parent focus groups on experience with, 120–24
patterns of exclusion in new school, 111–20
on small school design teams, rationales for lack of, 131–32
teachers’ attempt to manage, 52, 62
teachers’ expectations of, 124–28
parent participation contract, 91
parent representatives on hiring committee, 182, 218
parents: claiming space for, in school design, 49–78
conflict among, 94–96
founding, 102, 103–6, 109, 112–15, 119–20, 122–24, 134, 138
Incubator meetings and, 59–62, 130–31
with multiple children, multitrack schedule and, 34
newcomer, 121–22
principal difference in perspective between teachers and, 93–95, 107
as problem for education reformers in small schools movement, 61–62
reasons for becoming involved in new small school, 44–47
seen through lens of deficit, 2
silencing of, at Whitman Elementary, 62–66
small school as necessity for, 47
social justice, understanding of, 73–77
teachers’ views of role of, 42, 43–44, 124–26. See also Latina mothers; leadership, parent
parents’ rights: to be kept informed by the school, 70–71, 74
meaning of “autonomy” as platform for claiming and contesting ownership of school, 113, 117
negotiating right to speak at Whitman, 66–71
newcomer parents unfamiliar with, 121
OCCA as support in legitimating, 77
respect for, 45, 63, 64, 70, 74
responsibilities accompanying, 74, 75–76
violations of, 73, 113, 117, 119
parent voice: questions prepared by Madres Unidas for teachers to discuss about, 223–24
participatory research: anxiety over taking controversial findings public, 164–65
BACEE/OCCA coaching agendas for Madres’ presentation of, 169–74, 220, 227n.3
benefits and skills gained by participants, 152, 153, 172, 179, 181–83, 185–88, 218
confronting relations of domination and inequality within social movements, 200, 214–21
counterspace created by, 5–6
cultural critique practiced in, 205–6
deconstructing community, social justice, and autonomy in new small autonomous schools, 208–14
democratic research process in, 201
as distinct from other models of activist research, 201–8
on educational inequality, 157
formation of team, as way to counter marginality, 4
Friday debriefing sessions as key element of, 119–20, 139–40, 148–52
goal of social change, 205
insights into social change, 219
interview with principal, 35–36, 119–20
knowledge production in, 204
legitimacy of critique, methodologies and tools for analysis and, 207–8
mujerista vision of, 28
natural basis for, 22–23
as “nuisance,” 219
OCCA’s organizing agenda in contrast to, 168–69, 173, 177–78
origins of, 204–5
parent focus groups, 46, 99–102, 120–24, 166, 212–13, 226n.2
planning focus groups and interviews, 152–54
processes of conscientization and, 205
purpose of research, for Madres Unidas, 166
research activity emerging organically from mothers’ unique social location, 209
research problem chosen, 24
response to critiques of activist research, 204
risk of conflicting with powerful institutional players, 200
teacher focus groups, 37–44, 106–7, 124–28, 213
theoretical and practical challenges of, 28
from third-world feminist perspective, 205–7
value of, as form of activist ethnography, 28. See also presentations of participatory research; research products
passive and submissive Latino parent: controlling image of, 131–32, 133
Pastor, J., 157
people of color in flatlands schools vs. hills schools, 9
Perata, Don, 7
personal experiences: biographies of Madres members, 54–59, 140–46, 180–88
connecting to larger social structures shaping, 189–91, 193
as foundation of Madres Unidas, 147–52
as less valid than “objective” data, positivist paradigm on, 171
Madres’ personal reflections in presentation to teachers, 175–76
of marginality, as privileged starting point for both analysis of and action against injustice, 5, 65, 206–7, 219–20
PICO (Pacific Institute for Community Organizations), 11, 225n.4
policy-oriented model of activist research, 201, 205, 217
political skills nurtured by experience of marginality, 5, 206–7
politicization: process of, 158–59, 189
Pollock, Mica, 115
Popular Education and Participatory Research conference, 162–63
positivist paradigm holding personal experiences less valid than “objective” data, 171
positivist research methodologies in service of marginalized groups, 202
Power of Their Ideas, The (Meier), 9–10, 42–43
power relations within social movements: confronting inequality and, 4, 200, 214–21
presentations of participatory research: at annual Small Schools Conference, teachers’ failure to attend, 164–66
coaching by BACEE and OCCA representatives, 169–74, 220, 227n.3
lessons revealed about research products, 163
at Popular Education and Participatory Research conference, 162–63
to teachers at end of school year, 174–78, 194–95, 221
to teachers at end of school year, planning, 166, 167–74
to teachers at end of school year, questions to discuss, 223–24
principal at Whitman: difficulties with, 44, 45, 58–59
principal of United Community School (Marie), 88–92
BACEE coach’s defense of, 171
BACEE Support Providers Team and, 169
branding of “problem parents,” 111–15, 119–20
fear of another “tostada meeting,” 173
lack of awareness of community’s struggle in creation of school, 36–37
lack of vision, 36
Madres’ interview with, as parents’ first formal research activity at school, 35–36, 119–20
manipulation of “good parents,” 116–18
motivation for involvement in small schools reform, 35–36
newcomer parents loyal to, 122
pre-presentation meeting with Madres, 173–74, 220–21
response to Baudelia as chair of School Site Council, 155–56
response to Madres’ presentation to staff, 177
“problem parents”: branding of, 111–15, 119–20. See also controlling images
professional experts/expertise: cultural value system prioritizing expertise over relationship building, 87–95, 107
denial of Madres’ legitimacy in their own right, 168
privileging of, over experience in community, 110
questioning right and ability of uncredentialed actors to enact change, 216, 220–21
responses to Madres Unidas research, 168–69
role in transformation of immigrant parents, 163
small school as opportunity to develop and implement, 36, 37–39, 40, 42, 47
teachers’ commitment to, 30
teachers’ interpretations of right to “autonomy” based on their, 126–27
trained inability to recognize immigrant parents as change agents, 193–95
“Public Anthropology Reviews” section of American Anthropological Association journal, 199
Pueblo Unido School. See United Community School
racial discrimination: educators’ fear of insinuation of, 115
racism, 70
deep paternalism underlying many progressive change efforts initiated by whites, 61–62
historical amnesia and, 73
homeplace as place of healing against, 146
institutionalized, 15
Rahman, Mohammed A., 205
Reason, Peter, 205
reform: assumptions about motivations and precursors to participation in, 2
friction of everyday interactions behind public drama of, 3
Madres’ critique seen as threat to success of, 216
stories told about, 3–4. See also small schools movement
regulating of dissent, 92
Request for Proposals (RFPs) for New Small Schools, 16, 59, 60, 226n.1
as gatekeeper, 60
meeting, 7–8
questions and answers from, 62, 63, 64–66
research. See activist research; participatory research
researcher: in activist research, 202, 203
in participatory research, 204, 205
research methodologies and tools for analysis: legitimacy of Madres’ critique and use of, 207–8
methodological decisions based on desire to illuminate and disrupt controlling images of “problem parents,” 119–20. See also focus groups; interviews
research process as important arena for making change, 203
research products: in activist research, 202
parent center, 27, 167, 178–80, 188–93, 194, 216, 218
public presentation to teachers, 27, 166, 167–78, 194–95, 221
counter-spaces for nurturing, 157
resistance: act of speaking up transformed from experience of shame to act of, 149–50
collective research transforming individual fears and self-doubts into, 154–59
to controlling images, “safe spaces” used to strengthen, 147
creating community and confianza, 140, 146–59
everyday strategies of Chicanas/Mexicanas, 26
informal, private, and “hidden” expressions of, 154–55, 215
as much about personal healing and wholeness as about transforming structures of domination, 149–50, 158, 159
negotiating the right to speak at Whitman, 66–71
Ofelia’s kitchen as counterspace for, 27, 139–59
participation in Madres Unidas and, 138
shared hidden transcripts nurturing public acts of, 155–56
resource for change: new relationships with parents as creative, 195
respect: building confianza and, 157, 158
of immigrants for elders and teachers, 142–43
for parents’ rights, 45, 63, 64, 70, 74
principal’s lack of, for Baudelia, 156
showing parents, 194
RFP. See Request for Proposals (RFPs) for New Small Schools
right(s) and responsibilities: as member of community, 75–76
negotiating right to speak, 66–71
school design and school change as, 65, 74. See also parents’ rights
rights-based activism: feminist critique of, 204
Robledo, Andrea, 225n.1
roving system and multitrack school schedule, 29, 32–34, 35, 44
Ruiz, Richard, 60
sacrificing for family: theme of, 180–81, 184–85
of African American women, 147
St. Isabel Catholic Church, 55
Local Organizing Committee at, 80, 84
Sandoval, Chela, 5, 77, 145, 206, 227n.1
San Francisco Examiner, 15
Scheper-Hughes, Nancy, 200
school change facilitators: BACEE, 169–74, 176, 220, 227n.3
School Site Council, 114, 118, 125–26, 156, 217, 220
Baudelia as chair of, 112, 155–56
Baudelia’s critique of, 134, 135, 137
Baudelia’s resignation from, 133–38
Baudelia’s resignation from, as form of “counter storytelling,” 156, 157
Norma, cochair of, 112, 116–17, 122, 133, 135
response of Madres Unidas to Baudelia’s experience on, 155–56
segregation of Latino students, 225n.3
self-definition: need for, 158–59
self-governance, 51
self-realization: journey toward, 193, 195
service to the community, 74, 78, 151–54
Sheltered English classrooms, 86, 89–90
lottery for, 98–99
Sheltered English teachers: focus group for, 37, 38, 40–42, 44, 213
Shirley, Dennis
Siegel, Dan, 15
sincerity: building confianza and, 157, 158
slaves in antebellum South: “hidden transcripts” vs. “public transcript” of, 155
Small Schools Conference, annual, 128, 164
Madres Unidas presentation at, teachers’ failure to attend, 164–66
small schools movement, 1
angry parents as the “engine” of reform, 128–30, 132, 138
BACEE and OCCA partnership, 10–11, 13–14
conditions in Whitman Elementary mobilizing, 29, 30, 31, 33–34, 44, 46
contrast between ideals and intentions of educators and realities of parent participation, 18
deconstructing community, social justice, and autonomy in, 208–14
ethnographer and, 18–20
goals of, 24
history of, 6–10
intended to be counter story, 4
Latino parents as problem for education reformers in, 61–62
Madres Unidas and, 20–26
Morales’s eleventh commandment and construction by educators of parents and community in, 128
as movement for equity, 9
in Oakland, as politically not instructionally motivated, 128–30
Oakland renaissance and, 15–16
OCCA and, 11–15
phenomenon of dreaming and, 17, 225n.7
power relations and hierarchies within, 4, 214–21
reasons for joining, 30
teachers in, 16–18
tensions surrounding meaning of “community” and “participation” highlighted by, 8–9
two potentially conflicting goals in, 8
urgency behind, 34–35
Washington moms and, 9–10
working group’s meetings, 31–32
sobrevivencia (survival and beyond), 25, 26
double consciousness and, 219
merged with transformation in struggle for full humanization, 207
social change: critical analysis and, 205
defined as policy change in activist research, 201
insights of participatory research into, 219
personal healing as integral to struggle for, 217
resilience and flexibility as product of life lived on margins and unique resource for, 145
unlearning lessons about roles and journey toward, 193
social critique: collective research transforming individual fears and self-doubts into, 154–59. See also participatory research
anthropological research used for, 199–200
Baudelia’s understanding of, 72, 73–74
Baudelia’s vision statement and, 65
deconstructing, in new small autonomous schools, 208, 210–11
enacting decolonizing pedagogy and, 72, 73
faith-based organizing for, 11, 225n.4
hopeful Americanism as ideology pervading liberal notions of, 72
internal neocolonialism and, 72–73
parents’ sense of betrayal regarding, 127
parents’ understandings of justice, 73–76
student focus groups discussing, 210–11
students with special needs and, 90, 93
teachers’ commitment to, 17–18, 30–31, 76
teachers’ vision statement on, 50, 71, 72, 82
social movements: confronting relations of domination and inequality within, 4, 200, 214–21
Social Science Research Council, 199–200
activist research as exercise in, 221
Solorzano, Daniel, 4, 156–57, 189, 225n.2, 227n.2
Somerville, Janis, 10
space for change: lessons for educators in providing, 195
parent center and, 188–93
special-needs students, 90, 93, 97, 107
Speed, Shannon, 200, 204, 227n.1
split consciousness: concept of, 206
stereotypes. See controlling images student focus groups, 210–11
students of color: importance of counterspaces in nurturing resilience of, 157
“Summary of Our New, Small, Autonomous School Proposal, A,” 77–78
support network: Madres Unidas as, 151, 153–54
Support Providers Team, BACEE, 169
teacher appreciation luncheon, 191–92
teacher collaboration, 38–39, 40, 42
teacher focus groups, 37–44, 124–28
on admissions process, 106–7
on role of parents in new school, 124–28
teachers: activism over state budget cuts, 189–91
admissions to new school and, 100–101, 102, 106–7
aesthetic or technical definition of caring, 92
attempts to implement “social-justice” pedagogy without including minority parents with experience in social injustice, 73
barriers to parental involvement seen by, 2–3
belief that parents were happy with UCS, 125–26
with children enrolled in Oakland public schools, 17
confronting controlling images held by, 146
Costas’s special affinity with, 16
demographics of, 16–17
denial of intellectual agency to Latino parents, 70
on design of new small school, 49
on design team for new school, 17
equity, commitment to, 17–18, 39–40
esteem for Deborah Meier and Power of Their Ideas, 42–43
ethic of community and collaboration at core of vision of, 85–86
expectations of parent behavior, 131–32
failure to attend Madres presentation at annual Small Schools Conference, 164–66
failure to recognize parent experience as resources, 26–27
idealism of, 17–18, 30, 81, 86, 94
immigrants’ respect for, 142–43
at Incubator meetings, 59–62, 130–31
integrated school, vision of, 86, 89–90, 107
lack of plan for new small school, 37, 39, 41
Madres’ presentation at end of school year to, 174–78
Madres’ presentation at end of school year to, planning, 166, 167–74
motivations to start new small school, 30–31, 37–40, 42–43
in New York small schools reform, 12–13
parent center to build confianza between parents and, 191–93
parent meetings run in bureaucratic format, 82, 87, 93
parent participation encouraged by, to accomplish teachers’ goals, 118, 125
parent-teacher design team agenda taken over by, 62–66
power-neutral language used in describing parent involvement, 127
practice of roving from perspective of, 33
principal difference in perspective between parents and, 93–95, 107
questions for parents about small schools, 51–52, 53
questions written by, as “parents’ component of proposal,” 66–67
respect and support earned by Madres’ approach, 175, 176–77
small school as option for, 47
small school reform effort as professional development opportunity for, 36, 37–39, 40, 42, 47
social justice, commitment to, 17–18, 30–31, 76
social justice, vision of, 50, 71, 72, 76, 82
on special-needs students, admission of, 90, 93, 107
struggle for land and, 41–42
understanding of role of parents and community in origins of reform, 42, 43–44
views on role of parents in new school, 124–28
team-teaching: parent questioning of, 97; See also multiage classrooms
testimonio (testimony), 4, 6, 27, 225n.1
Baudelia giving testimony, 55
made possible by confianza, 140, 148–51, 154, 156, 187
opportunity to share experience of exclusion as form of, 209
personal and collective goals of, 148
testimonies of the mothers, 175, 192
as tool to theorize oppression, resistance, and subjectivity, 156
theory: United Community School principal’s motivation based on, 35–36
Thich Nhat Hahn, 158
third-world feminism, U.S., 5, 145, 205–7
insight regarding need to transform selves in order to transform social structures, 163
third site in, 206
Torre, María Elena, 157
“tostada meeting” between parents and teachers, 97–98, 168, 192
principal’s fear of another, 173
transformation: anger as first step toward transformative action, 157
of Latina mothers into critical agents, 154–59
of Madres Unidas, cultural critique as key element of, 207–8
through participatory research, 181–83, 185–88
presentation at Popular Education and Participatory Research conference as transformative, 162–63
professionals’ supportive role in parents’, 194
Trinidad Galván, Ruth, 140, 147, 177, 207
troublemakers: mothers framed as, 111, 216
trust. See confianza
“12 Ideas for Designing New Small Schools” (BACEE), 130–31
UCS. See United Community School
uniform policy, 67, 75, 76, 111, 112, 113, 136
United Community School: charter document, 109
the chosen and the excluded in, 99–107, 209
discussion of autonomy of, 213–14
English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC), 122–23, 183, 218
enrollment criteria for, 88–90, 93
location of, 82–83
naming, 82
negotiating admissions in, 79–107
opening celebration, 79–81
parent representatives on hiring committee at, 182, 218
parents’ view of role in, 120–24
patterns of parent exclusion present in, 111–20
perceptions of, 81
as product of community struggle, 46–47
struggle for land for, 41–42, 79, 80–81
student population, 227n.4
teachers’ feeling of lack of autonomy at, 126–28
teachers’ views of parents’ role in, 124–28
tragic accident in first year of, 84–85. See also design team for United Community School; principal of United Community School
U.S. third-world feminist theory, 145
central insight of, 5
participatory research from perspective of, 205–7
Unity Council, 84
Valdés, Guadalupe, 226n.5
Valencia, Richard, 225n.2
Valenzuela, Angela, 6, 60, 92, 203, 226n.5, 227n.2
video documentary, 25, 37, 161, 167, 176, 213
Villenas, Sofia, 26, 140, 148, 150, 155, 156, 195, 207, 225n.2
Vine, David, 227n.1
violence: domestic violence prevention workshops, 183, 188–89
in schools, 46
Virgen de Guadalupe, La, 140–41, 227n.5
vision statement of teachers, 50
Wali, Alaka, 227n.1
Washington Elementary School, 9, 43
Weis, Lois, 227n.2
Whitman Elementary School, 20, 22, 26, 29, 209
conditions in, 29, 30, 31, 33–34, 44, 46
effect of new small school on, parents’ concern about, 50–51, 94
mold contamination at, 34
multitrack schedule and roving system used in, 29, 32–34, 35, 44
negotiating the right to speak at, 66–71
silencing parent voice at, 62–66
state of permanent transience in, 31, 34
teachers’ amb ivalence about leaving, 39
teachers’ comparison of parent involvement in UCS vs., 125–26
wholeness: Latina womanist value of, 147, 154, 177, 217, 218
quest for, 193
recovering one’s, as essence of resistance, 149–50, 158, 159
Willis, Paul
womanist space, Latina. See mujerista
women of color: marginal status nurturing political skills and strategies for change, 5. See also black people; Latina mothers
Wood, Richard L., 11, 225n.4, 226n.1, 227n.2, 227n.5
workshops, parent center, 179, 183, 186–89
writing, act of: as act of resistance for women who have been silenced, 65, 66
Baudelia’s response to RFP, 64–66
as helping Amelia see herself in a new way, 152
Madres’ autobiographies as cathartic, 180–88