According to a recent paper issued by the Department of Education’s National Center on Education Statistics, parental involvement in children’s education is pretty high. According to the report:
Eighty-seven percent of students in kindergarten through grade 12 had parents who reported receiving newsletters, memos, e-mail, or notices addressed to all parents from their child’s school; 57 percent of students had parents who reported receiving notes or email from the school specifically about their child; and 41 percent of students had parents who reported that the school had contacted them by telephone.
The most common school-related activity that parents reported participating in during the school year was attending a general school or a parent-teacher organization or association (PTO/PTA) meeting (87 percent). Seventy-six percent of students had parents who reported attending a regularly scheduled parent-teacher conference; 74 percent had parents who attended a school or class event; 42 percent had parents who volunteered or served on a school committee; 58 percent had parents who participated in school fundraising; and 33 percent had parents who met with a guidance counselor.
Involved parents generally have higher achieving children, though the most effective form of involvement, “working directly with… children on learning activities at home,” is not reflected in this paper.
