This project, funded by the Spencer Foundation, explores how children learn and thrive when their parents and family members belong to parent leadership and organizing groups. The goal is to illustrate how parents of color contribute to their children’s learning and thriving in ways that go beyond traditional ideas of family engagement. The project involves two phases. Phase I involves conducting a field scan to identify all parent leadership and organizing groups throughout the U.S. that focus on social, economic, and racial justice. Phase 2 involves purposefully selecting six of these groups for in-depth case study research, prioritizing diversity in geography, demographics, and issue area. Case studies will highlight how parent leadership and organizing shapes children’s confidence, knowledge, and skills to also fight for social, economic, and racial justice; their pride in their racial identity, immigration history, and languages; and overall socioemotional health and academic well-being.

Please contact Joanna Geller at Joanna.geller@nyu.edu with questions about the study.
Principal Investigator: Joanna Geller, PhD
Co-PIs: Jennifer Cossyleon, PhD and Fabienne Doucet, PhD
Funding amount: $1 million
Timeframe: July 1, 2021 – December 31, 2024