I was speaking to someone who just moved to the United States about what to expect from the public school system.

It was insightful to learn that while this person had visited the United States a lot over the past 10-years and even attended university in the states, their idea of how schools are run and parents' role in the way things are done at schools was surprising to her. 

Overall, she was impressed that while parents have a lot of power in telling the schools what they like or don't like, they mostly DON'T exercise that right.

This conversation made me realize that the reason so many parents don't get involved in decision-making processes at their children's schools is not that they do not care. It's because of a lack of knowledge.

So, I decided to share a few things you should know if you would like to take more control of your child's education in public or private schools.

  Parents and community members can request the minutes of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA),...