References to "parent" may be interpreted broadly to include parents/guardians/legal custodians, the adults who play a primary role in the responsibility for a child’s education and well-being.

"Non-parental adult involvement with students can be a viable alternative or addition to parental involvement in children's learning activities at home. Community partnerships and involvement are an important source of support for both students and principals.".

Citation:

Carr, Ruth Ann. A Study of the Concerns and the Actions Which Aid or Impede the Resolution of those Concerns for Middle Lovel Principals Facilitating a Parent Involvement Program. Dissertation. University of Oklahoma, 1996. p. 226.

"If every parent of a child age 1 through 9 spent one hour reading or working on schoolwork with the child 5 days a week, American parents would annually devote at least 8.7 billion hours to suppporting their children's reading. In money terms, if the child's teacher spent the same one-on-one time, the cost to the American taxpayer would be around $230 billion--about the same as what the American public pays yearly for the entire American K-12 public education enterprise (U.S. Department of Education 1994a)."

Citation:

U. S. Department of Education. Strong Families, Strong Schools: Building Community Partnerships for Learning. U. S. Department of Education, Washington, D. C. 20202, September 1994. p. v. For copies of this publication, call 1-800-USA-LEARN Available for checkout at the Norman Professional Development Center.

The Parent Committee of the Norman Public School' Citizen Advisory Committee recommends that a four to five page booklet be developed, published, and distributed to all parents setting forth briefly:

1. The importance of education and regular attendance in school.
2. The role of the parents, their actions, and lifestyles on developing a child's school attendance habits and attitude toward education.
3. The legal requirements for school attendance and the consequences for the student and the parent for violating the law.
4. List of resources available to help parents.

Source:

Norman Public Schools, Citizen Advisory Council, 1997-98, Final Report on Student Attendance, Presented to the Norman Public Schools Board of Education, March 2, 1998.

The degree of parental and community interest in quality education is a critical factor in explaining the impact of the high school environment on the achievement and educational aspirations of students (McDill, 1969).

Source:

Effective Schools Research Abstracts. Vol. 7, No. 9 Henderson, Anne. Parent participation-Student Achievement: An annotated Bibliography, National Committee for Citizens in Education, Occasional Paper, NCCE, 1981.

"For partnerships to work, there must be mutual trust and respect, an ongoing exchange of information, agreement on goals and strategies, and a sharing of rights and responsibilities."

Citation:

U. S. Department of Education. Strong Families, Strong Schools: Building Community Partnerships for Learning. U.S.D.E., Washington, D. C. 20202, September 1994., p. 15 Available for checkout at the Norman Professional Development Center.

"Parent, teachers, schools, and communities all want to know more about how they can help students succeed in school and in life...Research confirms what many parents and educaitonal experts identify as critical for school improvement and student successs:

• Shared responsibility for student learning and high achievement;
• Shared responsibility for effective, frequent communication between school and home; and
• Shared responsibility for building capacity for the family-school-community partnership through volunteering and training.

  An effective partnership recognizes that a team can accomplish together what each partner could not accomplish alone.

Citation:

U. S. Department of Education. A Compact for Learning: An Action Handbook for Family-School-Community Partnerships. U.S.D.E., Washington, D. C. 20202, December, 1997, p. 11 Available for checkout at the Norman Professional Development Center.

"Over 30 years' research has proven beyond dispute the positive connection between parent involvement and student success. Effectively engaging parents and families in the education of their children has the potential to be far more transformational than any other type of education reform."

National PTA Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs

Standard I:	Communicating
Standard II:	Parenting
Standard III:	Student Learning
Standard IV:	Volunteering
Standard V:	School Decision Making and Advocacy
Standard VI:	Collaborating with Community

Source:	National PTA. National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs. National PTA, 330 N. Wabash Ave., Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60611-3690, (1997).
Citation:	U.S. Department of Education. A Compact for Learning: An Action Handbook for Family-School-Community Partnerships. U.S.D.E., Washington, D.C. 20202. December, 1997. p. 13 Available for checkout at the Norman Professional Development Center.

Roles Parent/Citizens Can Play in Education

1. AS PARTNERS
   Performing basic obligations for their child's education and social development.
2. AS COLLABORATORS AND PROBLEM SOLVERS
   Work with the school to help resolve problems which may arise in the school experiences of their own children.
3. AS AUDIENCE
   Attend school functions.
4. AS SUPPORTERS
   Volunteering to work at school functions, accompanying students on field trips, working in the office or school library, serving on parent organization committees, or working for the passage of bond or millage campaigns.
5. AS ADVISORS AND CO-DECISION MAKERS
   Participate in district-wide or school-based advisory committees.

"Safe Schools and a disciplined classroom setting are preconditions for learning. Concern for these issues is overwhelming. Parents and the general public rate the growth of fighting, violence and gangs, and poor discipline as the biggest problems facing American schools in 1994 (Elam, Lowell, & Gallup"

Citation:

U. S. Department of Education. Strong Families, Strong Schools: Building Community Partnerships for Learning. U.S.D.E., Washington, D. C. 20202, September 1994., p. 15 Available for checkout at the Norman Professional Development Center.