The principal’s role is not just to ensure the positive outcomes of the children who attend the school under his or her leadership, but to provide a very necessary support system for teachers and parents alike. The impact of parent involvement on a child’s education has been well documented as vital to a child’s learning and principals must step in to help encourage that participation by supporting the efforts of teachers to reach out and engage with parents. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, whether the parent wishes to physically interact within the classroom, chooses to help from home, or elects to combine both in some manner.

Communication is the primary component regardless of the extent of parental involvement in the child’s educational development and it falls to the principal of the school to enable teachers to incorporate parents effectively into the process. That means creating a two way street, so to speak, for parents to have the ability to engage with educators at their discretion while providing useful information to parents so they are fully apprised of the progress that the children are making every step of the way. If there are areas for improvement, it’s important that parents are also informed of this fact so they may intervene to help the child correct the problems and seek further help if necessary. Keeping an open line of communication between the school and the home makes parents feel assured that they can get in contact with educators anytime they wish by way of a “door is always open” approach. But above all, the principal and teachers must always impress upon parents the value of their input and that any involvement is welcome and helpful. Some parents just don’t have the ability to interact with the school due to their work schedules or other conflicts that prevent them from coming to the classroom for face to face meetings. The principal must work around such obstacles to get the parent engaged in any way possible for the benefit of the student.

The role of the principal goes beyond creating methods and means of communication, it also incorporates an active leadership role to define the culture of the school and the attitudes towards learning that everyone from teachers to the students are expected to adopt. The principal must lead from the front, setting the tone for education and while parent involvement is an essential element of that leadership, the principal must also work to support teachers on a teamwork basis. Everyone has a stake in the success of each student in attendance at the school and when there are weaknesses and barriers to achievement it falls to the principal to identify those shortcomings and work with every educator under his or her leadership to strengthen these areas and find ways to eliminate them. This includes creating a culture of accountability, peer observation, and building a collaborative effort throughout the school for teachers to work together to improve the minds and behaviors of all the children in every grade and classroom.