Democratic Engagement in District Reform - The Evolving Role of Parents in the Los Angeles Public School Choice Initiative

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dabgoudw

This article examines parent engagement in a Los Angeles portfolio district reform. Using data from a three-year study, it applies democratic theory to analyze how mechanisms intended to solicit parent input were designed and implemented during plan selection for low-performing focus schools and newly built relief schools. Although efforts shifted toward a more deliberative model, the process often stayed interest-based, shaped by structural constraints, limited information access, and mistrust. The work ends with implications for policy, practice, and research.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages34

Reading Time1 h 26 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Keywords

Parent Engagement and Democratic Theory

Los Angeles Public School Choice Initiative (PSCI) Background

Research Methods Framework

Findings and Implications

Democratic Engagement in District Reform: The Evolving Role of Parents in the Los Angeles Public School Choice Initiative Educational Policy 2015, Vol. 29(1) 51–84 © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: [sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav](sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav)[ ](sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav)[DOI: 10.1177/0895904814563204](DOI: 10.1177/0895904814563204) [epx.sagepub.com](epx.sagepub.com) Julie A. Marsh 1, Katharine O. Strunk 1, Susan C. Bush-Mecenas 1, and Alice Huguet 1 Abstract This article examines parent engagement in a Los Angeles portfolio district reform. Based on data from a 3-year study, we use the lens of democratic theory to examine the design and implementation of mechanisms seeking parent input in the selection of plans to operate low-performing and new schools. We find that despite significant efforts to move toward a more deliberative model over time, the process remained primarily interest-based in most cases, due in large part to structural constraints, limited access to information, and mistrust. The article concludes with implications for policy, practice, and research. Keywords education reform, policy implementation, parent involvement, democratic theory, district reform, portfolio district, school turnaround Increasingly, policymakers are recognizing the important roles parents play in children’s schooling (Epstein & Dauber, 1991; Lareau, 1987; B. Schneider 1 University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA Corresponding Author: Julie A. Marsh, University of Southern California, Rossier School of Education 3470 Trousdale Parkway, WPH, 904C Los Angeles, CA 90089-4039. Email: [julieama@usc.edu](julieama@usc.edu) & Coleman, 1993) and school improvement (Bryk, 2010; Furstenberg, 1999), and have attempted to engage them in multiple ways. Although many of these efforts focus at the school level (e.g., including parents onsite governance committees, encouraging parent volunteerism, educating parents on how tobe more active in their children’s education), others involve parents substantively in district-level reform and decision making. Consistent with policymakers’beliefs, deliberative and participatory democratic theories assert that substantive engagement of citizens in decision making generates a host of positive outcomes, including more impartial, legitimate, and effective decisions; greater motivation to implement the decisions; enhanced social justice and equity; greater acceptance of collective decisions; increased sense of belonging to a community; the development of civic skills; and improved democracy overall (Cohen, 1997; Fung & Wright, 2003; Gambetta, 1998; Gutmann & Thompson, 1996; McDonnell & Weatherford, 2000). Although studies have attempted to measure the realization of these democratic principles and outcomes in real-world settings (e.g., Fishkin & Luskin, 2005; Luskin, Fishkin, & Jowell, 2002), few have examined their enactment in schools and districts (for exceptions, see Bryk, Sebring, Kerbow, Rollow, & Easton, 1998; Fung, 2001; Fung & Wright, 2003; Marsh, 2007; McDonnell & Weatherford, 2000) . Given recent trends toward greater parent participation in school reform, it behooves researchers to further attend to this issue (Gold, Simon, & Brown, 2002; Warren, 2011) . This article extends the previous literature on parent engagement 1 in school reform by examining the ways in which democratic principles played out in a district reform effort, the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Public School Choice Initiative (PSCI) . Adopted in 2009, PSCI allowed teams of internal and external stakeholders to compete to turn around the district’s lowest performing “focus” schools (selected by LAUSD administrators based on a diverse set of performance indicators) and to operate newly constructed “relief” schools designated to ease overcrowding. One of more than 25 urban districts nationwide adopting the “portfolio” strategy, Los

FAQs

What is the central focus of the article?

The article investigates how parent engagement operated within a Los Angeles portfolio district reform, using democratic theory to examine participation mechanisms and their outcomes.

How is the study grounded and what data does it rely on?

The analysis is based on data from a three-year study, evaluating the design and implementation of parent input mechanisms over time.

Why did the engagement process remain largely interest-based?

The article attributes this largely to structural constraints, limited access to information, and mistrust, which constrained a shift toward a more deliberative model.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dabgoudw