ABSTRACT
As Congress reconvenes each fall and the school year begins anew, “improving our schools” has become a mantra for both political parties. One side advocates vouchers and local control; the other promotes reducing class size and investing in early education; and both emphasize that children should be ready to learn when they enter first grade. Whatever the differences, one thing that politicians and voters agree on is that our public education system is sorely in need of reform. But absent from most of these conversations is the important role parents play at the community level. This chapter highlights parents' actual and potential roles in the lives of their school-age children, suggesting that new forms of parental involvement are needed and, in fact, are developing.
