A national survey conducted by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (and supported by research done by Steinberg, Brown and Dornbusch published in 1997) estimates that between 25% to 30% of parents are substantially disengaged from their children’s education. This disengagement translates into failure to motivate children to do well in school, lack of knowledge about how children are progressing in school, and lack of effective discipline. The disengagement of parents is a very good predictor of poor student achievement and behavior problems. At secondary school level, these behavior problems often include drug/alcohol abuse, delinquency, and early sexual activity.

 

• An even larger number of parents who do want to support the education of their children and have good intentions sometimes have difficulty translating those intentions into action. They may have the right goals but not enough information or resources to take the steps to help their children grow up healthy and succeed in school.

 

• A recent article in the New York Times Magazine, "What No School Can Do," by James Traub, predicts that even massive school reform efforts will not be enough to reverse low achievement because reforming classrooms and schools is only part of the solution. It asserts that conditions of students’ lives outside the school have as much or more impact on students’ school performance and social development than what goes on inside schools. If this is true, then it would follow that parents and children need to be clear that the primary activity of childhood and adolescence should be helping children grow into healthy, well-developed individuals who can achieve in school.

 

• Most parents, regardless of income, say they want their children to do well in school. Enough is known about the basics of good parenting and what parents can do to support student achievement to design and organize an ongoing system of opportunities for parents to learn how to help their children. The design and organization should be informed by data collected from parents and teachers in order to determine specific needs and interests and ensure that class offerings are appropriate and meet their needs.