The President's Call to Action provides an excellent focus for needed changes in education, while encouraging family and community involvement to ensure that our children are given the best possible education. This is true whether a family is rich or poor, whether parents finished high school or not, or whether children are in preschool or in the upper grades. For example, family members can improve the reading ability of a child in their family by reading and writing with the child for 30 minutes a day. School practices to involve families are more important than family characteristics. For example, the reading achievement of fourth-graders whose families are involved in their school is greater than for those whose families are not involved in their school.
Community groups can provide expertise and resources and facilitate family-school exchanges.
For example, businesses that provide leave time for family members to volunteer in their child's school positively impact a child's achievement in school. The U.S. Department of Education has put parental and family involvement at the head of the class for education reform efforts. Studies show public support for family involvement in education is significant. Forty percent of parents believe they are not devoting enough time to their children's education. Teachers believe strengthening parents' roles in their children's learning must be the top issue in education policy.