Schools must systematically involve families, the community, and the private sector in education. This book provides practical, tactical, and strategic assistance to educational leaders who want to involve their constituencies in the education process. The book presents the successful techniques used by practicing administrators, including state Principals of the Year and principals of Blue Ribbon Schools, for involving constituencies in their schools. Chapter 1 provides background information on home and community involvement with the schools and describes the attitudes of educators and parents toward it. Chapter 2 examines changing social demographics and offers strategies for involving different types of families. Suggestions for keeping parents and families involved are offered in the third chapter. The fourth chapter presents ideas from some nationally recognized schools for improving parents' at-home and in-school engagement. Ways to communicate effectively with various stakeholders are described in chapter 5. Chapters 6 and 7 discuss components of community-involvement programs and school-business partnerships that work. Strategies for dealing with difficult parents are offered in chapter 8. Each chapter contains evaluation worksheets and notes. (LMI)