IntroductionThe active involvement of parents in the educational process of their child is priceless. Together, parents and teachers can share knowledge and resources that will ensure the student's individual needs are met in the best learning environment. Collaborative efforts between parents, educators and the school ensure a positive and rewarding experience for the student. Parents should in no way feel excluded from educational decisions; therefore, educators have an obligation to encourage parental participation. Furthermore, promoting a collaborative working relationship between schools and parents has been shown to reduce the achievement gap, especially between diverse students. Parental participation has been shown to be positively related to student academic performance (McWayne, Hampton, Fantuzzo, Cohen, & Sekino, 2004) and, according to Eamon (2002), can mediate the effects of poverty, parental education level and race/ethnicity. on the results. As educators begin to understand the various culturally diverse backgrounds that make up the public school system in the United States, they are gaining knowledge about individual perceptions and effective ways to develop relationships while meeting the diverse needs of each student and their families. The purpose of this article is to reflect on the importance of including parents, families and guardians from different cultural backgrounds in the educational process of their children. I will include successful practices that I and administrators have implemented to foster parent-school partnerships and discuss some reasons why I believe some parents still do not feel comfortable participating in the school environment. Also, ...... half of the paper ...... n, MK (2002). Effects of poverty on the mathematics and reading achievement of young adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescent, 22, 49–74. Hoover-Dempsey, K., Walker, J., Sandler, H., Whetsel, D., Green, C., Wilkins, A., & Closson, K. (2005 ). Why do parents get involved? Results and implications of the research. The Elementary School Journal, 106(2), 105–130. Manning, L. & Baruth. L. (2009). Multicultural education of children and adolescents (5th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.McWayne, C., Hampton, V., Fantuzzo, J., Cohen, H.L., & Sekino, Y. (2004). A multivariate examination of parental involvement and social and academic skills of urban preschool children. Psychology in Schools, 41, 363–377. Wright, K., Stegelin, D. A., & Hartle, L. (2007). Building family, school, and community partnerships (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.