Black Parents Deserve School Leaders Who Understand Them

Every Black parent should be able to walk into their child’s school and feel like a partner, not a problem to be managed.

That may sound simple, but for too many Black families, it is not the reality. Parents enter schools carrying questions about academics, discipline, safety and whether their child is truly being seen. Too often, parents also wonder whether raising a concern will label them as “difficult” or follow their child back into the classroom.

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This is why who leads our schools matters.

Leadership and Trust

As a former middle school teacher, school board member and now an education advocate, I have seen how much a principal shapes the culture of a building. Principals influence how families are welcomed, how discipline is handled and what expectations are set for every child. Research backs up what educators and parents already know: Strong principals are associated with better student achievement and attendance, stronger teacher retention and healthier school climates.

But leadership is also about trust. For Black families, representation can be an important part of building that trust.

Black students make up roughly 42% of Louisiana’s public school enrollment. Yet the latest federal state-level data on principals found that only 28% of Louisiana public school principals are Black. Nationally, Black educators represented about 10% of public school principals in 2020–21, compared with about 15% of public school students.

Those numbers matter because children notice who holds authority. So do parents.

A Black principal may understand, from lived experience, why a parent is worried that a child is being disciplined more harshly than classmates. They may recognize that a grandmother attending every conference is central to that child’s family structure. They may know that a parent working two jobs who cannot attend a 2 p.m. meeting is not disengaged. Research on Black school leaders has found that cultural understanding, community connections, visibility and open communication can help create the trust that leads to stronger parent engagement.

None of this means a Black principal is automatically a great principal, or that only Black educators can serve Black children well. Effective leadership requires preparation, skill, high expectations and a commitment to every student. But pretending representation does not matter ignores what families tell us and what research continues to show.

Higher Aims

Representation also cannot stop at the principal’s office. Superintendents make decisions that shape entire communities — from which principals are hired and how dollars are spent to the expectations districts set for family engagement, discipline and student achievement.

That distinction is especially important in Louisiana. In New Orleans, Black children make up about seven in 10 public school students. These families deserve school leaders who understand their communities, see their children’s potential and treat parents as experts on their own kids.

This is not only about making families feel welcome. Trust changes what schools can accomplish.

When parents trust the person leading a school, they are more likely to communicate early when something is wrong. Families feel more comfortable asking questions about reading progress, advanced coursework, special education or discipline. A principal and school system leader who knows the community can turn a school from a building families visit when there is a problem into a place where families feel ownership.

To get there, Louisiana school districts and others across the country have to think beyond simply recruiting more Black educators. We need pathways that allow talented Black teachers to become assistant principals, principals and eventually superintendents; meaningful mentorship and preparation; and working conditions that make strong leaders want to stay. Strong leadership cannot depend on finding one heroic individual to carry an entire school.

We also need parents at the table. Ask Black families what makes them trust a school. Ask whether they feel heard before decisions are made about their children. Ask whether school leadership reflects the community it serves. Then do something with the answers.

Welcoming Involvement

For generations, Black parents have been told that getting involved in their children’s education is essential. They already know that. The question schools should be asking is whether they have built a leadership culture that cultivates that involvement.

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Our children deserve principals who see their brilliance. Our families deserve leaders who see them as partners. And our schools will be stronger when the people making decisions reflect, understand and genuinely know the communities walking through their doors every morning.

Tramelle Howard, J.D., is the Louisiana state director for The Education Trust, where he works to advance educational equity and opportunity for students.