Phase One of Mark Zuckerberg's cool $100 million grant to Newark Public Schools has commenced?and it's taking place outside the schools. Volunteers and paid canvassers are hitting the streets (and the phones) to find out parents' opinions on what does and doesn't work for their children's education.
The goal is [to] get parents more involved in the educational process.
Kudos to Booker, Zuckerberg, and Newark for understanding the impact of out-of-school factors on student success.
But, a couple questions arise from this article. If parents have been absent from the education reform conversation to date, how effective will this canvassing be at winning their hearts and minds? And, potentially more troublesome, has the district honestly never before thought to ask parents what they believe needs fixing in their children's schools?
?Daniela Fairchild
