Operating with Integrity: Shifting Power to Build Stronger Public Schools
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Part 3 of a 3 part-series: Operating with Integrity: Shifting Power to Build Stronger Public Schools
Dr. Vanessa Marrero, Ed.D.
At Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco (PPS-SF), we believe that words like "diversity" and "community building" mean nothing if they are used to avoid hard truths. We are committed to operating with integrity—which means changing how parent advocacy works so that it no longer benefits a privileged few at the expense of everyone else.
In his classic book Bowling Alone, researcher Robert Putnam (2000) showed that a child’s future is deeply shaped by the strength of the community around them:
Child development is powerfully shaped by social capital. A considerable body of research dating back at least fifty years has demonstrated that trust, networks, and norms of reciprocity within a child’s family, school, peer group, and larger community have wide-ranging effects on the child’s opportunities and choices, and, hence, on his behavior and development. (p. 296)
In everyday terms, social capital is the power of who you know, the trust you share, and how easily you can get things done together. Putnam (2000) pointed out that strong networks can either turn inward—keeping resources inside one tight-knit group—or reach outward to build bridges across different neighborhoods and backgrounds.
In San Francisco, access to social, economic, and political power is deeply unequal. Families in wealthier neighborhoods often have well-connected networks, private PTA fundraising power, and direct access to City Hall and Board of Education decision-makers. Meanwhile, Black, Brown, Indigenous, and working-class families—especially in historically underserved neighborhoods—have been shut out of those same halls of power, even though they are the very families holding our public schools together every day.
True equity cannot be about privileged parents dropping into diverse schools to feel good about themselves, or treating public schools as experiments for middle-class comfort. Instead, we have to flip the script on how power works in our school district:
Follow the Leadership of Impacted Families: Privileged parents cannot enter diverse public schools expecting to take over or "save" them. True partnership means stepping back, listening deeply, and following the lead of Black, Brown, and Indigenous families, educators, and community members who have sustained these schools through decades of underfunding.
Share Power and Resources, Don’t Hoard Them (Including PPS-SF): In an unequal city, strong parent networks, institutional platforms, and private wealth too often steer school board votes, enrollment rules, and school site councils toward the loudest or wealthiest voices. Real equity means that those of us with institutional access—including PPS-SF itself—must use whatever influence, connections, or resources we hold to demand full funding and real transformation for every neighborhood public school, especially in communities that have been overlooked for generations. Our schools and our children are not commodities.
Honor Our History and Break the Cycle: We can look squarely at PPS’s own roots in Mississippi alongside our reality in San Francisco today and choose to do better. Bringing communities together cannot mean asking students of color to fit into spaces designed only for white, middle-class norms—or acting like a school only has value once privileged families enroll. It means building genuine solidarity across race and class to win a public school system worthy of every child.
Why This Matters for Your Family
As Harvard family engagement researcher Dr. Karen Mapp reminds us, families don't need to be "saved" or given permission to lead—they already hold deep wisdom and strength: "Families are already empowered. They just need that power to be activated" (Mapp & Bergman, 2019).
In a city where enrollment rules, budgets, and school resources are constantly shifting, how parent power is organized and activated directly shapes your child’s daily school experience:
It breaks the "zero-sum" trap: For decades, SFUSD policies have made families feel like they must compete over a handful of schools or rely on private PTA fundraising for essentials like art, librarians, and social workers. When parents unite across neighborhoods instead of competing, everyone wins stronger baseline resources.
It protects schools from top-down surprises: Whether it’s sudden changes to elementary school assignment or program cuts, major district decisions too often reflect only the most politically connected voices. Cross-community solidarity ensures the district listens to directly impacted families before acting.
It builds real belonging: When caregivers step outside familiar cliques to build trust across race, language, and income, children grow up in stronger, more welcoming school communities—and families gain a deeper support network.
It keeps public education strong for the long haul: A divided parent base makes it easier to shrink or underfund public schools. A united, representative parent movement—and a Board of Education that reflects all of San Francisco—is how we keep public education vibrant for every child.
The tension in our city is real, and families' skepticism is earned. What we want is for public education to thrive in San Francisco, and for our Board of Education to truly represent all peoples across our city. Good intentions alone won't get us there. We have to prove—through how we show up, how we advocate, and how we share power—that we are building a just future, not repeating the mistakes of our past.
Over the next several weeks, we will host Day Break sessions—a live virtual conversation series where parents and community members can listen in and ask questions directly leaders (elected and community) about the future of public education and equity in our region.
References
Mapp, K. L., & Bergman, E. (2019). Dual capacity-building framework for family-school partnerships (Version 2). Dual Capacity. https://www.dualcapacity.org/
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster.