School Counselors Collaborating with African American Parents

Parent participation has been strongly linked to student success. Yet, in urban schools, African American parents often are uninvolved. This article presents eight strategies that school counselors can use to better collaborate with African American parents. ********** The changing demographics of students in public schools have been a catalyst for reexamining the role of school counselors in the 21st century. Many writers have acknowledged that in order to effectively attend to the needs of students of color, school counselors need to be culturally competent and culturally responsive (e.g., Evans & Carter, 1997; Holcomb-McCoy & Myers, 1999; Paisley & McMahon, 2001). It is important to note, however, that the role of a school counselor is not just to work with students. School counselors also must be multiculturally competent to work with parents for the benefit of students' academic and developmental success. Many studies have strongly linked parent participation to improved student achievement, accountability, and attendance (Samaras & Wilson, 1999; U.S. Department of Education, 1994, 1995). Yet, in urban schools, African American parents often are uninvolved (Gardner & Miranda, 2001; Troutman, 2001). Moreover, Abrams and Gibbs (2002), in their study of parent- school relationships, found that African American parents often are more alienated from public school institutions than are White American parents. Further, several studies have revealed that African American parents who question or challenge the authority of teachers and administrators or who do not mirror White middleclass norms often are made to feel unwelcome within the educational system (Harry, Rueda, & Kalyanpur, 1999; Samaras & Wilson, 1999). Although "moments of inclusion" occur when African American parents are encouraged to participate in school activities such as parent/teacher conferences and athletic events, interaction with African American parents often does not occur outside of these traditional invitations. Gardner and Miranda (2001) have contended that this break in communication between schools and parents prevents the two stakeholders from understanding the requirements and expectations of the two environments (home and school) where the student must function. Numerous scholars (Harry et al., 1999; House & Martin, 1998; Troutman, 2001) have posited that African American parent involvement also may be inhibited by the fact that many school personnel, who are mainly White American, middle-class women, receive limited or virtually no pre-service training with African American families. For example, the wide adoption of multicultural counseling as a critical component of school counselor preparation is fairly recent, and the effectiveness of its training efforts has yet to be evaluated (Holcomb-McCoy & Myers, 1999; Paisley & McMahon, 2001). Moreover, Bradley and Fiorini (1999), in their study of counseling programs accredited by the Council on the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, found that the majority of programs did not require multicultural training before practicum and only 18% of counseling programs required students to counsel clients from ethnic minority populations. It is important to note that researchers (Abrams & Gibbs, 2002; Denby & Alford, 1996; Gardner & Miranda, 2001; Troutman, 2001) have found that African American parents value the educational success of their children. Because educators have found parental involvement to be a predictor of academic achievement, African American parents have become recognized "actors" in narrowing the achievement gap associated with African American children. School counselors are ethically bound to make the academic environment more accessible to families and communities (American School Counselor Association, 2000). Yet, a review of articles published in Professional School Counseling revealed virtually no information on the interaction between school counselors and African American parents. …