State and local officials need to do a better job of abiding by the parental involvement sections of the No Child Left Behind Act, according to a national report issued by Appleseed. The publication, titled, "It Takes A Parent: Transforming Education in the Wake of the No Child Left Behind Act" is based on research involving 18 school districts in six states. Other findings: data reports are often confusing and overwhelming, and parents wait months for performance results, often into the next school year; teachers and administrators often lack training in how to engage parents; and parent involvement has fallen to the bottom of the list of NCLB requirements, though it is integral to the success of the law and of students and schools. Current parent involvement provisions of the law are solid and ambitious, but require more faithful implementation and greater enforcement.

Under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, schools must notify parents about the test results of individual students and the schools they attend. In addition, the law obligates local school systems to adopt parent involvement policies and to actively enlist the help of
parents when constructing school-wide improvement plans. The National Center for Children and Families at Teachers College Columbia University and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP played key roles in gathering and assessing information, as well.

This article appeared in the September 27 edition of the U.S. Newswire.

Published Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006