Description

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cDrawing on a six-year national study, Community Organizing for Stronger Schools offers a richly textured analysis of community organizing for school reform. The authors examine the role of organizing in building social and political capital and improving educational outcomes for students in some of the nation's most challenged school districts.
In cities across America, community organizations are taking up the cause of public school reform. Their efforts are radically transforming the role of young people, parents, and community members in public education. As the results of their campaigns become more visible, community groups are igniting interest and gaining support among education reform advocates, policy makers, and private foundations.

The authors delineate the strategic choices and organizational characteristics that foster successful initiatives and consider how community organizing can support increased civic engagement and sustained educational reform. Finally, they discuss the challenges facing this burgeoning field in a new era of American politics.

About the Author

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Kavitha Mediratta, was principal investigator for Brown University's Annenberg Institute forSchool Reform's six-year study of the impact of community organizing on public school reform. She has worked extensively with youth and community organizing groups in New York City, and has taught in public and private schools. She was the primary author of several studies by New York University's Institute for Education and Social Policy, including Constituents of Change, the initial report from this study. She holds an MEd from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is currently a program officer at the New York Community Trust. Seema Shah, director of the community organizing study, has worked extensively with public schools and nonprofit organizations as an evaluator and researcher. She has a PhD in clinical-community psychology from DePaul University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Yale University. Sara McAlister is a research associate at the Annenberg Institute. She taught for four years at a dual-language elementary school in the Bronx and holds an MA in public administration from New York University's Wagner School.