Parent Power: Why Parent Voice Is Minnesota's Most Underutilized Education Resource
In the launch of her new monthly column, Parent Power, Khulia F. Pringle, founder of S.T.A.N.D. Up Minnesota Parents United, argues that Minnesota schools routinely treat families as an afterthought rather than a resource. Drawing on years of advocacy work, Pringle makes the case that Black, immigrant, multilingual and disability families in particular deserve a real seat in decision-making, not just a survey after the fact, and that meaningful family engagement means shared power, not just participation.
When conversations about education happen, parents are often invited to the table last.
School districts hire consultants, convene advisory committees, analyze data and develop strategic plans. Community meetings are scheduled, surveys are distributed and listening sessions are held. Yet too often, the families most impacted by educational decisions are asked for their input only after the decisions have already been made.
As a parent advocate and founder of S.T.A.N.D. Up Minnesota Parents United, I have spent years working alongside families navigating Minnesota’s education system. I have sat with parents concerned about their child struggling to read. I have helped families understand special education processes, navigate school discipline issues, and advocate for services their children need. I have witnessed parents fight for their children while feeling unheard, dismissed or excluded from decisions that directly affect their families.
What I have learned is simple: parents are not the problem. In fact, parents are one of the most valuable resources our education system has.
Families are their children’s first teachers. They know their children’s strengths, challenges, interests, fears and dreams. They see what happens after the school day ends. They know when their child suddenly stops wanting to go to school, when homework becomes a struggle, or when confidence begins to disappear.
Yet our education systems often treat parents as spectators rather than partners.
Too often, family engagement is reduced to attending conferences, volunteering at events or responding to surveys. While those activities have value, true family engagement must go beyond participation. It must include partnership, shared decision-making and leadership.
Parents should not have to wait for a crisis to have their voices heard.
Across Minnesota, families are raising important concerns about literacy, school climate, discipline practices, special education services, staffing shortages, school closures and educational equity. These concerns are not obstacles to progress. They are opportunities to better understand what students need to succeed.
When schools genuinely partner with families, outcomes improve. Research consistently shows that students perform better academically, attend school more regularly, and experience stronger social and emotional well-being when families are actively engaged in their education. But meaningful engagement requires more than asking parents what they think. It requires institutions to share power and act on what families say.
This is especially important for Black families, immigrant families, multilingual families and families of students with disabilities. Historically, many of these communities have experienced educational systems that have not always valued their expertise or reflected their lived experiences. As a result, trust has often been damaged.
Rebuilding that trust requires a different approach.
It means recognizing parents as experts in their children’s lives. It means creating opportunities for families to help shape policies rather than simply react to them. It means ensuring that family voices are represented wherever decisions about education are being made, from local school councils and district committees to school boards and state policymaking bodies.
The reality is that many of the solutions we seek already exist within our communities.
Families know what barriers their children face. They know what supports are working. They know what resources are missing. They know when schools are building relationships and when they are not. Their experiences provide critical information that data alone cannot capture.
As Minnesota continues to address persistent disparities in educational outcomes, we must move beyond viewing families as stakeholders and begin recognizing them as leaders.
That is one of the reasons I founded S.T.A.N.D. Up Minnesota Parents United. Our mission is rooted in the belief that families deserve not only a voice but also the knowledge, tools and opportunities to influence decisions that affect their children. When families are informed, organized and empowered, they become powerful advocates for educational change.
The future of education cannot be built for families. It must be built with families.
If we are serious about improving outcomes for all students, then parent voice cannot be treated as an afterthought. It must become a cornerstone of how we design policies, allocate resources and measure success.
Parents are not simply participants in education. They are partners. They are leaders. And they are one of Minnesota’s most underutilized resources for creating schools where every child can thrive.
The question is not whether families have something valuable to contribute. The question is whether our educational institutions are ready to fully embrace the power families already possess.
Khulia F. Pringle, M.A., is founder and executive director of S.T.A.N.D. Up Minnesota Parents United, commissioner on the Saint Paul Recovery Act Commission on Reparations, and co-chair of the Minnesota Literacy Coalition. You can reach her directly at khuliapringle@standupmpu.org.
