Parents and Communities

Rural School Basics
It sounds so simple, so traditional, and so old-fashioned. But it also makes perfect sense. Successful schools engage parents and the public to build community support. Schools need to put high-quality teachers in classrooms. They need to review academic data and pay attention to each student’s individual needs.
May 2012

Educationa Vital Signs: Parents & Communities
Education Vital Signs collection of reports on Parents & Communities.

Balancing the Booster Clubs
Dealing effectively with booster clubs requires more than simply accepting their hard-earned donations and doing what they ask. If districts don’t approach the question of booster club support with well-considered policies, they could open themselves to a host of potential problems, including negligence suits, Title IX violations, and even embezzlement and fraud.
August 2011

How Schools Can Engage Their Community
While communication is important in building strong relationships and support between families and schools, these conversations are often intermittent, one-way, and focused on problems. Social media have made it easier for districts to “connect” with communities, but some districts are more willing than others to venture into this new territory.
January 2011

"What Went Right in School?" Readers Tell Us
Recently, NBC’s “Today Show” asked viewers to write in with stories of what went wrong in school. We decided to go in a different direction and ask about what was right. Here is an edited sample from the more than 40 responses we received.
December 2010

Education Goes to the Movies
Filmmakers have turned their cameras toward the nation’s schools, with at least eight documentaries that examine the challenges of educating America’s children released in the past year. They have a hard-hitting message to share: There are bad public schools out there. And charter schools are the future of school reform.
November 2010