For All Parents' involvement is crucial to children's success in school. After all, most children are in the classroom for only eight of 24 hours a day, five of seven days a week, nine of 12 months a year. Children need help from their parents or guardians to do their homework well. They need help figuring out how to make use of their free time. They need to see consistency between the values and lessons taught at school and those practiced at home.
Parents have quite a task on their hands.
Many schools are trying to get parents more involved in their children's schools, while at the same time doing what they can to make parenting easier. The traditional PTA meeting has, in some schools, evolved into a real decision-making partnership. Teacher-training programs are now more likely to include training on collaboration with parents or understanding the varieties of modern family life. Schools serving low-income families in particular are realizing they need to make a concerted effort to help families become involved. Some schools now offer parenting classes.