As a result, policymakers and advocates began to think of parent involvement as more of a two-way street. Not only should parents help the school, they realized, but the school should help make children's home environments more supportive and more conducive to learning. From Parents to Partners Researcher Karen Mapp believes that the Patrick O'Hearn School has been successful, in part, because a wide variety of involvement options are offered to parents. It can start with something as simple as planting tulips in front of the building, or reading a story to children. That kind of thing gets parents acclimated.
Parents have a lot to offer schools too.
They can motivate their children to work harder. They can become educational resources. For example, an immigrant parent could visit their child's class and describe life in their native country, therefore helping a teacher provide a living social studies lesson. And parents can recruit other parents. Bringing in new families has to be a constant effort if the program is to remain stable.