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.

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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. Hence, the purpose of this article is to provide school counselors with nine strategies to better collaborate with African American families. These strategies are derived from techniques often used by culturally responsive teachers and from the collective counseling experiences of the authors of this article. It also is hoped that such strategies will identify and eliminate some of the institutionalized barriers that prevent these families from participating in schools.

NINE PRACTICAL STRATEGIES

1. Explore Your Own Attitudes About African American Families and Their Children

Well-intentioned school counselors may be under the impression that collaborating with African American parents from a "missionary" perspective is effective. According to Kunjufu (2002), educators who share a "missionary" perspective often believe that African Americans should be protected because they are culturally deprived. As a result, school counselors who embrace this notion may consciously or unconsciously have the attitude of either "White superiority" or pity for African Americans.

To circumvent this tendency, school counselors can read narratives by White American educators and counselors who share their own personal journeys toward cultural awareness and acceptance. For example, Weiner (1999), a White American, middleclass, female teacher who grew up in a predominately White American community, shared how she changed from perceiving African American children as "problem" youth to becoming a successful and responsive teacher in an inner-city school district. Moreover, D'Andrea (1999), a White American counselor educator, explained in his narrative on White racism that the process of reflecting on his own racist attitudes concerning African Americans was an important step in his understanding the impact of racism on the lives of African Americans.

School counselors can expand on what they learn from these narratives by becoming active participants in the African American community. Joining organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or attending African American religious institutions can provide a backdrop for deeper introspection and cultural and racial development among school counselors.

2. Obtain an Accurate and Well-Balanced Perspective of African American Family Life

African American families often are portrayed in the media as crisis-ridden with multiple problems. For example, Arnold (2002) has contended that the focus of counseling researchers has been on the minority of African American families who are female-headed, poor, and on welfare, and it depicts them as representing the majority of African American parents. This unbalanced, deficit-oriented approach obscures the broader picture of African Americans and creates "narrow, flat images" of African American family life (Arnold, 1994).

School counselors must be intentional in maintaining a comprehensive perspective of African American families. This may be accomplished by an expansion of knowledge through reading about various aspects of African American culture. For instance, books and articles by Giddings (1985) and Hill (1998) provide insight into the historical and current experiences of African Americans. Popular magazines such as Ebony, Essence, and Black Enterprise, which feature African Americans doing average and extraordinary things, also can assist school counselors in obtaining a realistic perspective of African American families.

3. Establish Rapport

School counselors should initiate contact with African American parents before problems arise. Additionally, communication with African American mothers and fathers should not be limited to the negative aspects of their children (Gardner & Miranda, 2001; Troutman, 2001). School counselors can utilize proactive strategies such as contacting parents at the beginning of the school year and asking them what types of educational goals they would like their children to achieve for the academic year. School counselors also could contact families during the middle of the school year via phone, letter, or e-mail to reaffirm the counselor's commitment in attending to the educational concerns of the parent. These strategies may eliminate the negative connotation that many African American parents have toward schools, especially if they perceive that school personnel only contact them with negative news (Troutman, 2001).

4. Make Flexible Meeting Times

Many African American family members work and find it difficult to attend meetings at school (Morris, 2002). Bernak and Comely (2002) have suggested that school counselors advocate for institutionalized changes that include establishing early morning or evening meetings. According to Bernak and Comely, this flexibility in the meeting times would allow families to become more involved in their children's education and would better include marginalized families. In addition, making such changes in the schedule of meeting times sends a strong message to parents that the school is willing to accommodate the time constraints experienced by many families.

5. Establish Community Relationships

Evans and Carter (1997) have stated that it is important that school counselors capitalize on the common interest that communities, families, and schools share in order to better serve students. One way of making such community collaborations is by tapping into community resources. For instance, a central part of the African American community is the church. Specifically, African American ministers have been recognized as major leaders in their communities and often are sought out by African American parents for assistance when their children are experiencing behavioral and academic problems. Adolescent African Americans in particular often rely on African American clergy for emotional support for achieving higher education and career goals (Lipford-Sanders, 2002).

Because the church plays such a significant role within the fives of African Americans, it would behoove school counselors to get to know the pastor and officials of the community church. This connection with the community also may increase a school counselor's ability to establish responsive relationships with African American young adults and their parents.

6. Perceive African American Students as "at Promise"

School counselors often are bombarded with negative images of African American children in general and African American young males in particular. Information disseminated via the media and/or educational literature frequently focuses on the African American male's problems with crime, drugs, and poor academic achievement. These negative messages could encourage school counselors to perceive African American males as "at risk" as opposed to "at promise." It is important to note that researchers (Denby & Alford, 1996; Hrabowski, Maton, & Greif, 1998) have found that African American parents who perceive school personnel to be disinterested or have low expectations for African American children are more likely to disengage with the educational system.

To this end, setting high expectations for academic achievement for African American youth and understanding African American culture and history can be the catalyst for school counselors establishing meaningful and responsive relationships with African American parents. Several writers (Abrams & Gibbs, 2002; Kunjufu, 2002; Weiner, 1999) have asserted, however, that formulating productive relationships with African American parents takes time. What may appear to be resistance on behalf of African American parents may in turn be their reluctance to convince yet another teacher that their child has potential.

7. Establish Parent Groups

School counselors also could formulate parent groups for African American families to discuss their children's education and their concerns regarding school personnel and resources (Bernak & Cornely, 2002). Through the sharing of experiences and ideas, African American parents can become empowered to collaborate with school officials in implementing change at the local, state, and national levels for African American children. In addition, by attending these meetings, school counselors could better understand the common issues and challenges that confront African American parents. To encourage attendance, special attention would need to be given to child care availability and alternative meeting times such as Saturday mornings or weekday evenings with dinner provided for the parents and their children (Gardner & Miranda, 2001).

8. Advocate on Behalf of African American Parents and Children

According to House and Martin (1998), the role of the school counselor also includes social advocacy. Therefore, school counselors should speak up when their colleagues and other school personnel have not considered the cultural aspects of working with African American families (Lipford-Sanders, 2002). For example, they could challenge the questionable placements of African American children in special education and/or the underrepresentation of African American children in gifted and talented courses (Harry et al., 1999). It is important to note that history has shown that advocacy efforts are effective. The desegregation of public schools, seating on public transportation, equitable housing, and college entrance were all changed because a diverse group of people advocated on behalf of African Americans.

9. Appreciate the Strengths of African American Families

A growing body of literature supports the importance of school counselors understanding and appreciating the unique strengths and contributions of African American mothers and fathers. Unlike White American parents, African American parents have the difficult role of orienting their children toward an environment that is restrictive and often hostile toward African Americans. This particular childrearing practice also is known as racial socialization. Stevenson (1995) defines racial socialization as the "process of communicating messages and behaviors to children to bolster their sense of identity given the possibility and reality that their life experiences may include racially hostile encounters" (p. 51).

Researchers have documented that African American children whose parents provided positive protective, proactive, and corrective messages about the effects of race were better able to deter negative societal imagery (Sanders-Thompson, 1991), were better able to develop a healthy sense of self (Lipford-Sanders, 2002), and were better prepared academically than were African American children who had not received positive messages (Bowman & Howard, 1985).

CONCLUSION

The new vision for school counseling mandates that counselors remove systemic barriers that impede the academic success of poor and ethnic minority children (House & Martin, 1998). This requires school counselors to become proactive in changing the status of parent involvement in urban schools. Facilitating systemic change such as encouraging teachers and administrators to embrace and apply these nine strategies in their interactions with African American families is one way school counselors can maximize the potential for African American parent involvement. African American parents can play an effective role in schools and their presence can enhance the levels of success that school counselors can experience with African American students.

References

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Carla Bradley is an associate professor, Phillip Johnson is an assistant professor, and Glenda Rawls is a doctoral student in the Department of Counselor Education & Counseling Psychology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo. E-mail:[e-mail]

Arlana Dodson-Sims is a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.