A Birmingham City Schools graduate, Tondra Loder-Jackson, Ph.D., wants nothing more than to see Birmingham children experience success in the classroom.  However, communication gaps between parents and educators — combined with school closing proposals and turmoil in the superintendent’s office — have created turbulence in recent years that may hinder it.

Assistant Professor Tondra Loder-Jackson speaks with Birmingham City Schools’ parents about ways to improve their communication with school administrators.

“Morale is probably low in some of the communities,” says Loder-Jackson, assistant professor of education. “It’s important that the communication lines are opened and honest dialogue is taking place.”

Loder-Jackson, in partnership with the Birmingham City Schools Family Involvement Program, is working to foster better communication between parents, teachers and administrators at urban schools through the Community and Schools Together (CAST) project. The goal of the project, which is housed within the UAB Center for Urban Education, is simple: increase parent involvement at urban schools and enhance academic achievement of students.

“Our task is to find ways to strengthen the relationship between the schools and their communities, specifically the relationship between the schools and the parents,” Loder-Jackson says. “CAST is especially important now given some of the things going on in the school district.”

Acting out
Loder-Jackson, the principal investigator for CAST, and two colleagues presented a Reader’s Theater skit about parent participation in schools at the school district’s Parent Camp.

Loder-Jackson, Tonya Perry, Ph.D., and Michael Brooks, Ph.D., wrote their skit using actual statements made anonymously by parents during focus groups, and they performed it for more than 80 parents and district staff. The comments reflected many communication issues parents identified, ranging from the inability to get a teacher to return repeated messages to perceived mistreatment by support staff in the front office. The skit also noted parents’ positive experiences with their schools.

“This project gives a voice to parents, and that’s important because their primary concern is their child’s education,” Perry says. “And from UAB’s standpoint, one of the great things about the project is that the university conducted the research and is bringing the results of it back into the community. The schools, parents and students all should benefit.”

Proactive program, proactive parents
Brooks, a professor in the Department of Human Studies, says schools, parents and students can benefit mutually through collaborative efforts. Failure to work together creates problems, he says.

Brooks likes that the program is proactive, and he says that as an African-American he feels obligated to help the urban community improve school and community relations.

“There’s not much research being done that brings out the voice of the urban community,” Brooks says. “Because of UAB’s involvement in community and its commitment to diversity, this project is a good fit.”

Mechelle Rice-Fields, coordinator of the Family Involvement Program for Birmingham City Schools, says UAB is aiding the school system’s effort to empower parents with information. That, she says, makes parents more proactive in their child’s education and increases the chances of success.

“UAB is giving parents a needed forum to express their concerns and build a bridge with the city schools to improve communication,” Rice-Fields says. “The parents are concerned about the education of their children. UAB is introducing them to other available resources that will strengthen education in the community as a whole.”