Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to explore school-related problems and concerns encountered by African American custodial grandparents of grandchildren attending Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) elementary schools located in lower socioeconomic communities. A second purpose was to delineate effective school intervention techniques meant to assist custodial grandparents with becoming successful academic and behavioral support systems for their grandchildren.

Methodology: A mixed-method design was utilized for this study. The researcher used quantitative and qualitative data to collect information from 20 African American full-time custodial grandparents of grandchildren attending 2 LAUSD elementary schools. Both an in-depth interview and survey instrument were utilized to accumulate data.

Findings: The researcher’s findings and the literature review both demonstrate that there are perceived problems and concerns for custodial grandparents raising elementary school-aged grandchildren. As is the case, the researcher believes schools that are willing to incorporate the interventions suggested by custodial grandparents will improve custodial grandparent participation and lessen the stressors carried by many custodial grandparents.

Conclusions: Although it was found that African American custodial grandparents perceive themselves has having to deal with school-related problems and concerns, the 2 schools represented in the study have in place some effective interventions to help offset a few of their challenges. However, many more specific interventions are needed. Despite their needs and issues, the researcher concluded that African American custodial grandparents are resilient and resourceful, and they love their children.

Recommendations for Future Research: The researcher recommends that further research be conducted to include different socioeconomic statuses, ethnic groups, and school districts to establish if the findings are reliable. In addition, the researcher suggests the study be replicated with a larger African American custodial grandparenting sample.