Douglas Wood, executive director of TC's National Academy for Excellent Teaching, believes that parents are a critical part of student success.  As an executive with the Tennessee Board of Education, Wood helped establish statewide standards that schools must use to promote parental involvement.  "There's a general sense of urgency and, in some cases, frustration that parents are not as involved as they ought to be," he said.

Some schools have employed various tactics to address this challenge of parental participation in their children's education, including having them sign contracts and attend parenting classes if they have children on long-term suspension.

The article, entitled "Parent Involvement Required in These Schools," appeared in the September 27 edition of The Associated Press.

Published Tuesday, Sep. 28, 2004