Parents

Education news, analysis, and opinion about how parents and other family members interact with schools and their children’s education
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Families & the Community Letter to the Editor Be Careful About What You Publish
A letter to the editor pushes back against a recent opinion essay.
April 16, 2024
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1 min read
Workflow, Teamwork, Education concept. Team, people, colleagues in company, organization, administrative community. Corporate work, partnership and study.
Paper Trident/iStock
School & District Management Opinion 3 Steps for Culturally Competent Education Outside the Classroom
It’s not just all on teachers; the front office staff has a role to play in making schools more equitable.
Allyson Taylor, April 15, 2024
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5 min read
Photo of distracted high school students in class.
E+ / Getty
Teaching Student Apathy Is a Big Classroom Challenge, Teachers Say. Cellphones Aren’t Helping
The distractions of cellphones compound a general lack of interest in learning, a new national survey of teachers shows.
Madeline Will, April 4, 2024
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6 min read
Photo from behind of a mother with her arms around her son and daughter who are both wearing school bookbags.
E+
Families & the Community Chronic Absenteeism Is a Crisis. Do Parents Get It?
Survey data suggests many parents of students with high rates of absences are not concerned.
Evie Blad, March 29, 2024
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3 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Families & the Community Opinion How Teachers Can Make Stronger Connections With Students' Caregivers
A new book explores what true collaboration between educators and student families looks like.
Larry Ferlazzo, March 14, 2024
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6 min read
Two women look at each other from across a large chasm.
Mary Long/iStock + Education Week
Families & the Community Opinion Why Educators Often Have It Wrong About Right-Leaning Parents
Stereotypes and misunderstandings keep educators from engaging constructively with conservative parents, write Rick Hess and Michael McShane.
Rick Hess & Michael McShane, March 4, 2024
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5 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Teaching Opinion Try These Simple Shifts in Teaching for a Big Payoff
A complimentary call at week's end to a student's family strengthens relationships and reminds teachers of the good in every week.
Larry Ferlazzo, March 1, 2024
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11 min read
Student walking down the stairs at her school.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Student Well-Being Parents Worried About Their Kids' Mental Health See the Fix in New Schooling Options
Parents who say they are considering a change to their children's education identify mental health as a driving factor, a new report shows.
Arianna Prothero, February 22, 2024
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5 min read
A group of parents look at a book, another parent blocks a child's access to the book
Camilla Sucre for Education Week
Social Studies Opinion What Black Parents Think About How Black History Is Taught
The preferences of Black parents are rarely the focus in debates over Black history instruction. Here’s what these survey respondents had to say.
LaGarrett J. King , February 22, 2024
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3 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Families & the Community Opinion Chronic Absenteeism Has Exploded. What Can Schools Do?
The key to addressing this issue is rebuilding the relationship between families and schools.
Rick Hess, February 15, 2024
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8 min read
Sharon Bradley, director of student, family and community services for Plano ISD, listens to members of the Character, Attendance, and Restorative Education (CARE) team discuss their current projects in Plano, Texas, on Dec. 14, 2023. The CARE department focuses on equipping students and adults with the tools, strategies, and resources that support a safe, engaging, and collaborative learning environment through character education, attendance recovery, and restorative practices.
Sharon Bradley, the director of student, family, and community services for the Plano, Texas, school district listens to staff members on a special team that focuses on helping students and their families address a range of challenges that may get in the way of regular attendance and engagement at school.
Shelby Tauber for Education Week
Families & the Community Leader To Learn From Absenteeism Was a Big Problem in This District. A New Strategy Is Getting Results
Sharon Bradley remembers how it felt to miss school for reasons outside her control.
Madeline Will, February 5, 2024
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11 min read
Ana Pasarella, the director of family and community engagement for Alvin ISD, oversees an activity as Micaela Leon, 3, a student in Alvin ISD’s READy Program, draws on a piece of paper on Alvin ISD’s STEM bus in Manvel, Texas, on Dec. 8, 2023.
Ana Pasarella, the director of family and community engagement for the Alvin Independent school district in Texas, oversees an activity as Micaela Leon, 3, a student in the district's READy Program, draws on a piece of paper inside the district's STEM bus in Manvel, Texas.
Callaghan O’Hare for Education Week
Families & the Community Leader To Learn From A Former Teacher Turns Classroom Prowess Into Partnerships With Families
Ana Pasarella maximizes her community's assets to put students first.
Ileana Najarro, February 5, 2024
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8 min read
Sharon Bradley, director of student, family and community services for Plano ISD, stands for a portrait outside the Plano ISD Cox Building in Plano, Texas, on Dec. 14, 2023.
Sharon Bradley is the director of student, family, and community services for the Plano school district in Plano, Texas, where leads a major effort to identify the root causes of student absenteeism and find supports and solutions that get chronically absent students back on track.
Shelby Tauber for Education Week
School & District Management Q&A This Leader Takes a Compassionate Approach to Truancy. It's Transforming Students' Lives
Sharon Bradley on how the Plano Attendance Review Board works and what it means to adopt a less punitive approach to absenteeism.
Madeline Will, February 5, 2024
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5 min read
Books sit in a cart and on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023.
Books sit in a cart and on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023.
Hakim Wright Sr./AP
Families & the Community Parents Trust School Librarians to Select Books, But There's a Catch
A new survey shows what parents think of school libraries and librarians following efforts throughout the country to remove books.
Libby Stanford, January 16, 2024
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5 min read
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