When School Was Not Designed for Your Family: A Culturally Responsive High School Parent Engagement Guide

Julia Straszewski, Loyola Marymount University

Abstract

Beginning with a brief historical analysis of how the education system came to be and an analysis of culture, themes came forth demonstrating the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) roots of education no longer align with the diversity of society. Parental engagement in education has been veered as a pillar of overall success; however, it was consistently view through a nonculturally responsive lens and geared toward early childhood and elementary education, leaving out high school as an equally important facet of a child’s development. Synthesizing the themes of cultural responsiveness, parental engagement, and positive relationships, a culturally responsive guide emerges to create a starting point for public high schools to serve their uniquely diverse populations in creation and promotion of parental engagement.