Rethinking How Organizations Engage Student Parents in Policy Strategies and Initiatives: A Conversation with New America

Recently, Da’Shon Carr, Policy Analyst for Education Policy at New America, sat down with me to discuss how philanthropic, non-profit, and advocacy organizations can revisit their policy and advocacy approaches related to student parents. Our conversation is published as part of New America’s ongoing Student Parent Spotlight Blog Series.

This conversation holds significant meaning for me for a few reasons.

1. I had the opportunity to recognize and honor my parents as I reflected on being a child of a student parent. During our conversation, I admitted that “[a]s a child, I did not realize how much responsibility both my parents took on when my mom enrolled in college. I never thought about how my parents could not afford child care. I never thought about what it was like to primarily live on one salary for our family. I never thought about how my dad never called out sick, even when he was sick. I never thought about the time it took to show up to all my school events. I never thought about the pressure my mom felt not to mess up or, worse, fail. I did not think about how joyful I was as a child. With all their demands, my parents protected and invested in my childhood amid everything.”

2. Da’Shon allowed me to explore some of my theories of change as a strategic policy advisor, including how amplification can be an unintended gatekeeping practice in policy and advocacy efforts because “It can still leave out directly impacted communities from being fully engaged in policy conversations. Advocates become the intermediaries and often the decision-makers for these communities.”

3. Our conversation also focused on making directly impacted communities co-collaborators in policy initiatives. For example, I talked about how student parents “must receive education and training at a nuanced level on how policymaking works. They must also understand how the existing laws and policies have been written, implemented, and enforced. To be more direct, we need to position student parents as key decision-makers in our policy efforts, rather than a go-to resource to enhance certain tactics within a policy strategy.”

Read our entire conversation here.

I want to thank both Sarah Sattelmeyer, Project Director for Education, Opportunity, and Mobility at New America, and Da’Shon Carr for bringing us together in conversation.