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Citation:

Lopez, M. E. (2003). Transforming schools through community organizing: A research review. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project; Harvard Graduate School of Education. http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/resources/research/lopez.html

Annotation:
This report provides a review of the current literature examining community organizing for school reform. The data indicated that community organizing differs from parent involvement in the areas of goals, roles, relationships, and locus of power. It was found that community organizing for school reform could be characterized by creating alliances, building a large member base, and working towards equity among all students. In addition, community organizing engaged parents through basing their efforts on areas of parent concern, developing parent leadership, building social capital, and mobilizing collective power. The research reviewed indicated that community organizing accomplishes policy changes, creates home-school connections, transforms school climate, and promotes student success through policy and school system reform. This research suggests that community organizing can affect school reform in positive ways, but it is important to note that it is only one of several methods that can lead to reform.