" Through their study of La Familia, the authors present a strategic plan for other Latino families to get organized and help their children succeed later in school and in life. La Familia -- parents of middle school children that had not been performing well in school -- began with small meetings in the homes of parents (conducted entirely in Spanish) and as trust was established among the parents, they created a "working partnership with the school" (Jasis, 2004, p. 38). "Convivencia" means "…the flowing moments of collective creation and solidarity" -- and in the case of La Familia, convivencia also brought a "bonding" that was built from an "…emerging moral quest" to help children become better students, Jasis relates (p. 39). The group began as a "self-affirming" activist assemblage, and moved from there into a "desvelamiento critico" (critical unveiling) of reality (p. 41).

The group avoided "political posturing" during...
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