For the most part, Chicago’s elementary school teachers think that they and their schools do a good job of reaching out to parents, according to a survey conducted in 1995 by the Consortium on Chicago School Research. They also believe that most of their colleagues respect parents and community members. This was true regardless of the income or race of the school’s students or the school’s size. Here is a sample of the questions.
| Not at all | A little | Some | To a great extent |
| To what extent do teachers in his school respect students? parents? |
|||
| 1% | 6% | 35% | 58% |
|
Strongly disagree
|
Disagree
|
Agree
|
Strongly agree
|
| Parents are invited to visit classrooms to observe the instructional program. |
|||
| 3% | 10% | 54% | 33% |
| The principal pushes teachers to communicate regularly with parents. | |||
| 3 | 11 | 53 | 33 |
| We encourage feedback from parents and the community. | |||
| 2 | 7 | 55 | 36 |
|
Teachers really try to understand parents’ problems and concerns. |
|||
| 1 | 6 | 58 | 35 |
|
This school regularly communicates with parents about how they can help their children learn. |
|||
| 2 | 12 | 52 | 34 |
|
At this school, it is difficult to overcome the cultural barriers between teachers and parents. |
|||
| 24 | 52 | 18 | 5 |
| There is conflict between parents and teachers at this school. | |||
| 23 | 54 | 19 | 4 |
| Talking with parents helps me understand my students better. | |||
| 1 | 5 | 52 | 42 |