Teachers who feel overburdened with their teaching load may not have the time to reach out to parents. They need to be given the necessary time to contact and meet with parents. Sometimes parents are frustrated because schools do not seem to know much about their children. Educators and parents should aim to increase the percentage of parents involved in at least some ways. Although most educators and parents say they support parent involvement in schools, many parents appear to support a wider range of involvement opportunities than do educators.
Educators sometimes are reluctant to have parents involved in decision-making roles with the school.
Some universities appear to believe that training teachers and administrators how to work with parents is not especially important. Sandra Getner, Outreach Coordinator Institute for Responsive Education 605 Commonwealth Ave. This Critical Issue was researched and written by Joe Nathan, a senior fellow at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. He directs the Institute's Center for School Change. Development and production of this Critical Issue was a collaborative effort of the Appalachia Educational Laboratory and the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.