Parents Express Scant Interest in Helping Govern Schools

By Ann Bradley

Neither parents nor teachers are very enthusiastic about parental involvement in school governance, a survey released last week suggests, despite policymakers' continuing interest in the idea.

Instead, parents and teachers are united in believing that the most important action parents can take is to raise respectful, disciplined children who arrive at school ready to learn, the poll found.

Public Agenda, a nonprofit, New York City-based opinion-research group, conducted the study with funding from Kraft Foods. The findings are contained in a report titled "Playing Their Parts: Parents and Teachers Talk About Parental...