Federal Report Examines Racial Differences in Parent Involvement in K-12 School Activities

The United States Department of Education has released the most recent edition of their Parent and Family Involvement in Education report. The study outlines racial differences in parents’ involvement in children’s activities and school meetings, their satisfaction with school characteristics, and their communication with teachers and school officials throughout the 2022-2023 academic year. Among the findings included in the report are: Nearly half of parents with Black children received school-initiated phone calls about their children at some point during the school year, compared to only 36 percent of parents with White children. The overall mean number of school meetings attended by parents of Black children was 5, compared to a mean of 7 for parents of White children. Parents of Black children and parents of White children attended general PTA meetings and class events at roughly the same rate, but parents of Black children were less likely to participate in school fundraising or volunteer events. Some 37 percent of parents of Black children attended meetings with school guidance counselors, compared to only 26 percent of parents with White children. While the majority of all parents were satisfied with their children’s school characteristics, parents of Black children were less likely than...