"This inspiring account shows how schools can be transformed and pupil achievement raised when we blend our finest professional development with the excitement of grassroots participatory democracy."

- Dennis Shirley, professor, Lynch School of Education, Boston College

"...shows how immigrant parents can become leaders in their schools and communities."

- Mark R. Warren, associate professor of education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

"Instead of dwelling on dysfunction, she cuts to the core: the need to build trusting relationships and equalize the distribution of power."

Anne T. Henderson, senior consultant, Community Organizing and Engagement, Annenberg Institute for School Reform

How can low-income, non-English-speaking parents become advocates, leaders and role models in their children's schools? A Cord of Three Strands offers a close study of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, a grassroots organization on the northwest side of Chicago, whose work on parent engagement has drawn national attention. The author identifies three elements--induction, integration, and investment--that together capture the dynamic and developmental nature of successful parent engagement. 

Writing with both optimism and urgency, author Soo Hong offers richly detailed portraits of parents' experiences and addresses the complex and sometime conflicting relationships among school, family, and community.