Many schools every year work to find ways to increase parent involvement. Whether your school has an active PTA/Parent Association or your school has work to do to develop a bigger parent presence, there are definitely things schools should consider before starting a plan of action to get parents more involved throughout the school year. The question of how best to build solid partnerships with parents is such a growing question that there have been several studies recently probing what helps and what does not when getting parents involved at school. Check out the Education Lab Blog on the seattletimes.com for more about these studies. tlb