The principal and staff need to feel professional, ready to share some turf, as long as the children emerge as the winners . If educators want to improve parent involvement at home, they must first involve them in appropriate collaboration and decision-making at school. Establishing a building advisory committee is essential, according to many principals. Principals report using parent collaboration committees to set goals and objectives and to review process and progress. There is also a need to form ad hoc committees for specific activities, investigations and projects.
Principals participate as needed.
For example, Adlai E. Stevenson School has many collaborative committees composed of teachers, parents and administrator to clarify educational goals and district philosophy. When Euclid School created a Parent Curriculum Handbook to serve as a comprehensive guide for parents, the teachers and principal developed it but the parents reviewed and critiqued it. The handbook defines philosophy, goals and objectives, units of study and student outcomes. This handbook is a great help to parents as they guide and supervise homework. Parents and teachers at Memorial School collaborated to write the Parent Handbook.