• Parental involvement (PI) does affect student achievement. There is abundant evidence that links student achievement and various forms of PI.

• The form of PI is not as important as its very presence: the more ways parents are involved, the more likely students are to achieve at higher levels.

• There is no one prescription for PI in urban schools. Parents are involved in many different ways, some of which can lead to higher levels of student achievement. The key is that the parents are involved in many ways.

• Teachers and involved parents tend to think that parent involvement at home is even more important than parent involvement at school in terms of its impact on student achievement. (When asked which type of parent involvement is most important, school, home, or with teachers, the parents with lower-performing children were significantly less likely to choose the home).

• Forms of parental involvement vary by such demographic characteristics as single or two-parent household, ethnicity, and grade of child in school. Single parents are less often involved in most activities but try to compensate in part by being involved more directly with the teacher through progress reports. African-American parents are involved in different activities than white or Hispanic parents. Parents of elementary age children are involved in very different activities from parents of high school children.
  
• Parents and teachers who participated in this study largely agree on what actions parents should be taking to be involved in their child's education. But there is a gap between what is desired and what goes on among all parents. Involved parents are doing what both teachers and parents think are the best activities. But uninvolved parents are not doing what is thought to be desired. The main culprit is thought to be lack of time, due either to work or to attending to other children.
  
• Unfortunately, another cause cited as prevalent in their school by 59% of the teachers is the attitude of parents who think that education is the responsibility of the teacher. This is not unique, and is commonly found in communities today.

Fortunately, parents strongly favored several suggestions as to how parent involvement could be increased at their schools. These included:

• Schools should offer classes that show parents how to help their child do well in school (42% of all parents responding, and 57% among those parents whose child was not doing well in school); and
  
• Schools should have teachers contact parents personally to get them involved (40% of all parents responding).

Regardless of the level of parent involvement at the schools currently, teachers would almost universally like to see more PI (both at home and at school); most teachers think that they and the students cannot succeed without it. But administrators and teachers must plan strategic steps if they really want more parent involvement; PI will not occur just because it is discussed.
When administrators and teachers do design a strategic plan for parent involvement, they need to do so with a culturally relevant program (since we found that there are demographic and cultural differences in parental approaches to PI, without any necessary difference in grades for their children). Furthermore, if schools intend to develop a PI program, they should first conduct a "needs assessment" of the families in their school.

In sum: parental involvement goes far beyond the PTA and fundraising activities. PTA participation is important, but it only works for some parents. Many parents are involved in their child's education elsewhere at the school, at home, or interacting with their child's teacher. The key is to be involved, in significant ways, in their child's education. The more forms of involvements, the greater the likelihood that the student will do better in school.

Teachers and principals should be aware that all parents are not involved in their child's education in the same ways, nor need they be. We found that students did equally well academically from parents who employed very different involvement techniques. Past assumptions about the perfect prescription for involvement must be set aside, and new and different patterns of involvement must be explored and encouraged.

Parents are seeking directions on how to become involved more productively. Schools have an opportunity to help themselves and their students by being much more proactive in offering instruction to parents so they can become more effectively involved in their child's education. But as schools (principals and teachers) become proactive, they must welcome a variety of forms of involvement. Schools would be well served to do a study of the composition of their parent body before they become overly prescriptive, and then work with parents in designing plans that better fit their specific parent population.