Why is parental involvement important at charters?
First of all, parent involvement is important in all schools. There are many studies that say the more parents are involved, the higher students achieve. What happens is that because charter schools are smaller, parents tend to be more involved. The administration knows the parents, the administration welcomes the parents into the the classroom, and into the schools. Because the schools are small, people tend to know each other. Teachers know parents and welcome them in. By and large, charter schools are very good about engaging parents. There's also another thing, and that is that parents choose to attend charter schools, so already you have a hook, you already have a way to bring the parents in, whereas in a traditional public school choice is limited, and therefore parents sometimes disengage from schools. As a result, charter schools are able to keep parents involved longer, they're able to engage them more, and according to studies that's one of the reasons charter schools may be achieving at higher levels than some of the traditional schools.
