Background/Context Parent involvement in education is widely recognized as important, yet it remains weak in many communities. One important reason for this weakness is that urban schools have grown increasingly isolated from the families and communities they serve. Many of the same neighborhoods with families who are disconnected from public schools, however, often contain strong community-based organizations (CBOs) with deep roots in the lives of families. Many CBOs are beginning to collaborate with public schools, and these collaborations might potentially offer effective strategies to engage families more broadly and deeply in schools. Purpose This article presents a community-based relational approach to fostering parent engagement in schools. We investigated the efforts of CBOs to engage parents in schools in low-income urban communities. We argue that when CBOs are authentically rooted in community life, they can bring to schools a better understanding of the culture and assets of families, as well as resources that schools may lack. As go-betweens, they can build relational bridges between educators and parents and act as catalysts for change. Research Design Using case study methodology, we studied three notable school-community collaborations: the Logan Square Neighborhood Association in Chicago, Illinois; the Camino Nuevo Charter Academy in Los Angeles, California; and the Quitman Street Community School in Newark, New Jersey. Each case represents one of three types of collaboration identified in previous research: community service, community development and community organizing. Findings Although differences in context mattered, we found three common dimensions of parent engagement work across the cases. The three core elements of this community-based relational approach are (1) an emphasis on relationship building among parents and between parents and educators, (2) a focus on the leadership development of parents, and (3) an effort to bridge the gap in culture and power between parents and educators. We contrast this community-based approach with more traditional, school-centric, and individualistic approaches to parent involvement. Conclusions There are a number of lessons from this study for educators interested in broadening and deepening parent participation in schools. First, educators can benefit from taking a patient approach, building relationships over time. Second, schools may not be able to do parent engagement work alone; they can profit from the social capital expertise of community-based organizations. Finally, educators would benefit from understanding that communities bring different needs, aspirations, and desires to their children's education. If educators collaborate with community partners and help to develop parent leadership, they can form initiatives that meet the interests, values, and capacities of any particular school community.

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This study discusses the college and career readiness among full-time Southeast Asian American college students in a 4-year public university in New England. Our study consisted of surveys (n ¼ 58) and focus groups (n ¼ 35), of secondgeneration (born in the United States) or 1.5-generation (immigrated as a youth) college students. While our participants were fairly strong academically, they still struggled to navigate college and many did not feel prepared for careers. We found some variability by majors in the correlation of academic major and career preparedness, and our findings also suggest that Southeast Asian American students shared a number of concerns, such as lack of finances, inconsistent academic advising, and need for more career preparation. Nevertheless, across this heterogeneity, students agreed that peer mentors and effective faculty mentors are invaluable resources and that more such mentors and programs are needed.

Over the past 40 years, the U.S. has accepted over 2.5 million refugee and immigrants from Southeast Asian (SEA) countries of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Unfortunately after 4 decades of resettlement and assimilation, the SEA community has the lowest levels of educational attainment when compared to other Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Only 34.3% of Laotian, 38.5% of Cambodian, and 39.6% of Hmong adults over the age of 25 do not have a high school diploma or equivalent. Moreover, 65.8% of Cambodian, 66.5% of Laotian, 63.2% of Hmong, and 51.1% of Vietnamese Americans have not attended college (SEARAC, 2011).

The American Community Survey (ACS) is designed to provide the U.S. government with demographic, social, economic, and housing data to inform their decisions on policies, programs, and services to the community. Unlike the national Census data, the ACS is only a subset of the U.S. population. The American Community Survey utilizes three data collection methods: direct mailing, telephone interviews, and house visits. This response essay will talk about the ACS data on the Southeast Asian (SEA) community and its relevance to K-12 education. It will conclude with a discussion about how the ACS can be used to mitigate the challenges that the SEA community faces in education. The ACS data collected on population, income, educational attainment, and linguistic isolation has significant relevance to K-12 educators. Since their initial refugee resettlement, the Southeast Asian community has made many strides in these areas. When compared to the 2000 Census data, the ACS documents slight to dramatic increases in the Southeast Asian populations. We saw a 20% increase in the Vietnamese population, 15% increase in the Khmer population, 5% increase in the Lao population, and 1% increase in the Hmong population. These various percentage gains can be seen distributed geographically in the Western, Midwestern and Southern states. The population growth of the Southeast Asian community poses new challenges for school systems (i.e., different language needs, different parental expectations, and different cultural norms). The Southeast Asians, along with other Asian and Latino student populations have been increasing in numbers inside the classroom (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002). U.S. schools are struggling to serve the educational needs of this rapidly changing and complex student body