“It Takes a Parent: Transforming Education in the Wake of the No Child Left Behind Act” is posted by Appleseed.
Although the No Child Left Behind Act stresses parent involvement in their children’s education as an important route to improved student achievement, many schools and school districts have given short shrift to the federal law’s requirements related to parents, a report concludes.
Drawing on parent focus groups and interviews in 18 school districts in six states, the report—from Appleseed, a Washington-based network of public-interest law centers—found that parents often don’t have the information or help they need to exercise choices provided by the law. The report recommends that states, districts, and schools improve the quality of information they provide to parents, use multiple ways to communicate with parents, make better use of community organizations, give teachers and administrators training in engaging parents, and set strategic goals for effective parent involvement.
