Poor and wealthier families get involved at school differently, according to new data from the 2016 federal Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey, a nationally representative study of 14,000 parents of children in K-12 public, private, or home schools.
Parents in poverty were 20 percentage points or more less likely to participate in class fundraising, volunteer or serve on a school committee, or attend class events such as field trips, which can help families build more social supports for their children and leverage within a school. However, a higher percentage of children in poverty always had an adult check that their homework was completed, 72 percent versus 65 percent of children who were not poor.
