In 2004, Miami-Dade County Public Schools began the planning process for creating the Parent Academy, a new district-wide initiative to increase family engagement in schools. This case discusses the planning and implementation for this major initiative, and describes how the initiative changed when a new superintendent entered the system in 2008. It delves into the theory behind the initiative, the challenges and benefits of this approach to addressing family engagement, and presents the dilemma of whether and how to sustain the program into the future.

Supplements the (A) case.

In 2005, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) leadership decided to take a hard look at issues of race and institutional barriers impeding the progress of African American and Hispanic students. Examines how a large, urban public school district attempts to systemically address and eliminate the district's minority student achievement gap. The (A) case gives an overview of MCPS' past efforts to address the district's minority student achievement gap leading up to July 2005. It shows how a school district with a long history of dealing with racial issues and the minority achievement gap continues to grapple with many of the same issues related to access, equity and belief systems. Picking up where the (A) case ends, the (B) case examines MCPS' new approach and specific efforts to narrow the district's achievement gap through data utilization, accountability mechanisms, and professional development after July 2005. The (B) case also details the leadership team's challenges in communicating about race. It is accompanied by a video supplement of MCPS Superintendent Jerry Weast speaking explicitly about race and the achievement gap to MCPS administrators.