Congratulations to Ray Ankrum who on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, successfully defended his dissertation. The title of Ray’s dissertation is: Black Male Principals’ Engaging Black Parents in Urban Charter Schools: An Interview Study.

Limited research has investigated the experiences of Black male school leaders in urban charter schools. This study explored the experiences of Black male school leaders and how they activated and sustained Black parent engagement in urban charter schools with a majority Black student body. The representation of Black male leadership in schools is not good. The study captured the brilliance of the impact of Black male leaders in urban charter schools with majority Black student populations, which used the experiences of Black men and framed their experiences using Epstein’s (1995) six types of parent involvement and Bass’s (2020) Black male care framework. Black male school leaders are essential in sustaining Black parent engagement in schools with a majority Black student population. The study’s results should be considered by Black men who want to become leaders in the community of the schools they serve.

Committee Co-Chairs:
Dr. Peter Troiano
Dr. Susan Iverson
Dissertation Committee Member:
Dr. Charlene Reid