Who, exactly, is at fault for poorly performing schools?  Based on what we read and hear and see in the media, there seems to be more than enough blame to go around.  The feds are at fault for high-stakes testing.  The state is at fault for inadequate funding.  School districts are at fault for a host of reasons.  And teachers are to blame for not teaching the right things or understanding the kids or lacking the qualification to lead the classroom.

It isn’t every day that we put the blame on another primary stakeholder in the learning process — the parents.  For decades, we have seen moms and dads wash their hands of what happens behind the schoolhouse doors.  They get their kids to school.  It is up to everyone else to do the teaching and ensure the kids are learning, retaining, and applying.

That’s what makes today’s Washington Post poll so interesting.  There are few that will come to the defense of DC Public Schools in general.  Seven in 10 surveyed believe DC public schools are inadequate.  Surprisingly, 76 percent say that parents are to blame.  See the full story at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/20/AR2008012002386.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2008012100219

Eduflack isn’t one who celebrates the blame game.  But DC residents must be applauded for speaking truth.  DCPS spends more dollars per student than most school districts in this country.  They’ve implemented reform after reform, with few making a lasting impact.  Teachers are run through a grinder, not knowing if they will even be paid month to month. 

Over the weekend, DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee announced a new Saturday tutoring program to help struggling students catch up and succeed in the classroom.  Of course, such programs are not mandatory.  Saturday programs are optional, offering the potential for another great idea to be lost in the execution.

If we are truly going to improve schools like those in DCPS, we need and require increased parental participation.  This means more than getting parents into the schools to complain to teachers and administrators about why their kids can’t do their homework or pass the test.  True parental involvement has mothers, fathers, grandparents, and such involved in the learning process.  They know what’s happening in the classroom.  They ensure their kids are doing their homework.  They identify learning experiences in the home or in the community.  They take responsibility for their kids, and hold them accountable For maximizing their school hours.

Parents are our first teachers and our most consistent ones.  Small kids will pattern their words and actions after what their parents do.  We read because our parents do.  We do our homework because our parents prioritize it.  We bring home good grades because our parents encourage it.  And if they don’t, we don’t care.  

Many of the problems our schools face — rising drop-out rates, limited reading and math skills, truancy, etc. — can all be attributed, in part, to parent apathy.  Eduflack has done a number of focus groups with eighth and ninth graders recently on dropping out.  Student after student said they wouldn’t drop out because their parents won’t let them.  THat’s parental involvement.  It may come in the form of carrot or stick, but it makes a difference.

Parents are key to improving our schools, improving our community, and boosting student achievement.  Thankfully, citizens in our nation’s capital now recognize that.  Identification is the first step.  The challenge now, is for DCPS to take this data and put it into action.  If we ID parent apathy as a root of DCPS problems, what do we do to boost parental involvement?  Once Chancellor Rhee answers that question, she may have a winning strategy for improving the schools, engaging the public and building support and interest for what is happening in each and every schoolhouse in the District.