"During my time in the field there was a consistent narrative among black and white administrators and teachers that low-income families, who were predominantly black, did not participate in school matters, despite outreach. While I did observe notable differences in attendance at school-wide events, I did not find consistent evidence that school staff were actively pursuing, igniting, or rekindling relationships between poorer communities and the school. Instead, accumulated experiences as well as tales of disconnection discouraged continued pursuit of low-income and racial-minority families by school staff"
"In interviews, parents said that parental networks were largely homogeneous, both racially and economically, and I noted the same thing in my observations. Thus the flow of information and support was also stratified by race and class. Parents organized and lobbied in ways that highlight how race- and class-stratified parental networks blocked access to equal educational opportunities"