K-12 Parents and the Public
In this blog, Education Week explored the substantive role parents play in helping set the course of their children’s education and the direction of America’s public schools. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: families & the community.
Education Funding
Parent-Driven Group Raises Private Support for Public Schools
A San Francisco nonprofit, edMatch, asks private companies to match every dollar raised by parents at local schools. Last year, edMatch raised about $6 million.
Families & the Community
College Trains Bronx Parents to Be Education Partners
Mercy College opened the Bronx Parent Center in 2012 to improve student achievement by teaching and training parents to become education advocates and partners in their children's schooling.
Equity & Diversity
Parents Use Online Petitions to Gain Support for School Causes
From dreadlocks to school name changes, parents passionate about school-related issues are using online petitions to gain support and media attention for their causes.
Families & the Community
Los Angeles Mothers Get Eye-Opening School Lesson
A new networking group for working Los Angeles mothers held a meeting recently to empower parents to make informed decisions about choosing schools for their children.
Families & the Community
Survey Finds Half of Parents Struggle With Their Children's Homework
A new survey finds almost 50 percent of parents struggle to help their children with their homework.
Recruitment & Retention
N.J. Poll: Parent Involvement, Not Vouchers, Key to School Reform
New Jersey voters cite parent involvement as the most crucial factor in resolving the state's public school problems, according to a survey released this week.
Families & the Community
Parent-Trigger Guidance Approved by L.A. School Board
Parents, schools, and staff get guidance around parent-trigger efforts in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Families & the Community
Critic Says Parent Donations Widen School Funding Gap
With private education foundations raising big money for local schools, Rob Reich, an associate professor of political science at Stanford, criticizes the phenomenon in a The New York Times opinion piece.
Law & Courts
Report Links Parent Power to States' School Choice Laws
States with charter schools, parent trigger laws, and school vouchers get high marks on the Center for Education Reform's (CER) latest Parent Power Index released today.
Families & the Community
Federal Survey Examines Parent Engagement in Education
Most parents say they attend conferences, get school notes and e-mails, and help with homework. But family income and other factors complicate the parent-engagement picture.
School Climate & Safety
Parents' School Safety Fears Remain Unchanged Since Newtown
The tragic Newtown, Conn., school shooting may still be on the minds of parents as they send their children back to school this fall, according to a new Gallup poll released today. The poll found that 33 percent of American parents of school-aged children say they fear for their oldest child's safety at school.
Equity & Diversity
Parents Favor 'Niche' Schools, Fordham Institute Market Study Finds
A study released by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found that parents have educational preferences that fall into what it terms "niche" markets ranging from vocational education to multiculturalism.
Equity & Diversity
Kellogg Foundation to Invest $5 million in Family Engagement Efforts
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation plans to invest $5 million to enhance and develop family engagement efforts to support the education of children from birth to age 8 living in low-income and or minority communities.
Families & the Community
Polls Gauge Americans' View of Public Schools
In a new poll by Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup, the majority of public school parents give their children's schools an encouraging A or B, in sharp contrast with the solid C the overall public gives to nation's public schools.