Leave No Parent Behind

Negotiating the New World of Data, Mandates, and Options

By Denis P. Doyle & William J. Slotnik

The national mandate to leave no child behind has gotten the lion’s share of the attention in education. So far. Embedded in the No Child Left Behind law, however, are provisions designed to inform and involve parents that should emerge as “No Parent Left Behind.” Indeed, NPLB should be as sweeping in its implications as AYP, the widely known and talked-about “adequate yearly progress” provisions of the federal legislation. By itself, AYP is as likely to cause friction as not; NPLB enlarges the promise of the law by making schools and parents true partners.

The No Child Left Behind Act holds school districts accountable for meeting high standards of student achievement and engaging the parent community. Specifically, it provides parents with unprecedented rights to gain access to student and school performance data and teacher-quality information. Parents also are given options to act when schools are underperforming. Simply put, the educational law of the land provides new opportunities and responsibilities to involve parents as rightful partners in school and district improvement.

Such involvement is being strengthened by the cultural shift resulting from greatly increased access to technology and the World Wide Web. Today’s consumers expect to have massive amounts of information available with the click of a mouse. Witness the explosive growth of Amazon.com and eBay, as well as the transformation of the news media brought about by blogging and podcasting. Particularly as “parent portals” roll out, or are demanded, schools and districts...