Self-Assessment

My experiences in this class have definitely expanded my thinking. I entered the class with the impression that there was not much more to know about inner city education; I couldn't comprehend anything other than what I saw and heard. I pictured the inner city environment to be a dangerous and scary place and inner city schools to be run-down and full of disobedient students. While these things do exist, they do not represent all situations. I've been able to replace these stereotypes with the idea that urban communities are simply composed of normal people who differ economically. Before this class, I never quite realized the severity and the "ripple-effect" caused by this difference in class. I always wondered why low-income families couldn't simply put in more hours, save up, and refrain from non-essential spending. Through the readings, class discussion, and my inquiry project, I now understand how little inner-city families have, that they have "no bootstraps to pull themselves up by."

I think the most important knowledge I attained from this course was that of the parent-teacher relationship in terms of its importance and with regard to social class. I learned 1. how important it is for there to be open communication between teachers and parents and 2. of the issues that prevent parents from reaching out to teachers. If I end up teaching in an urban school, I feel as though I will have the insight to welcome parents and create a comfortable relationship that with provide me with a better understanding of my students.

Project Findings

If the failing inner city environment of America is to improve and prosper, a joint effort between schools and their communities must be present. Through this research, we found that thousands of partnerships between schools and communities are taking full advantage of this symbiotic relationship and finding unparallel success. Whether it is through a community school model, as seen in the Quitman Community School, or a community-based organization, like the Harlem Children’s Zone or Logan Square Neighborhood Association, inner city community builders are developing solutions to better the lives of their residents. The shared theme of all these initiatives is empowerment. It is not enough to provide residents with quality services and programs; Members of the community and education system must all have a hand in reform to ensure long-lasting success. Cooperation is the key to the game. Financial providers, community builders, and school administration must include and empower all local residents, especially parents, so that they gain the confidence and self-respect to enact change in all that is keeping them down. So many low-income people feel the weight of the world bearing down upon them with no end in sight. The programs and strategies mentioned above instill hope in those where there was once none.
When initiating this collaboration, we found that the parents are the keystone because of their personal ties to both education and the community. Parents have the ability to rally the support of friends, relatives, and neighbors and create a trusting environment. One of the reasons residents stay away from the public school system is because they see schools as outsiders. Parents, their residential counterparts, are seen as safe and personable. When support is established and community members are involved in the planning and implementation of programs, the community develops a sense of personal importance with regards to the success of the local children. Without this connection, there is no guarantee that a program will find the support to be successful.
In addition to community builders and school members coming together, financial support is an essential factor in the outcome of inner city revitalization. Both nonprofit and for-profit, local and national, organizations are reaching out to aid these projects, but much more support is required if changes are to be seen on a large scale. There is a shared responsibility of communities and school systems to come together and make an effort to reach out to these supporters. Only when they let their voices be heard will school-community prosperity be seen on a larger scale.

Abstract

The purpose of our paper is to investigate the possible benefits of the interaction between inner city schools and their surrounding communities. We examined the literature on these relationships with the goal of identifying community attributes which have the greatest impact on schools. Additionally, we looked at community partnerships with schools that have been beneficial to both school and community. We found that reform efforts in either sphere benefit the other, but for broad, lasting change to take root, both areas should be developed simultaneously. Schools and communities across the nation have taken advantage of this opportunity, and their success is apparent. Organizational efforts have provided residents and schools with services, knowledge, and opportunities that were previously unavailable to them, resulting in well-informed, politically-active, empowered communities and well-funded schools with more effective classrooms.