As I recall from my short-but-memorable teaching days, parental involvement is a bit of a double-edged sword.  Sure, it's great to have parents who make sure their children do their homework and who are willing to pitch in when necessary in the classroom or on field trips. But let's be honest--some parents are, well, kind of a pain in the butt.  They call and call--I guess now they email and email--and their concerns are often, "Why isn't my child getting an A in your class?" regardless of whether the student deserves an A. 

I taught in a Catholic school in New York City, and some of our students would miss a period of class on occasion because they were altar servers at the daily mass at the parish church.  I had an angry parent call me once because her daughter did not do well on a quiz, and it turned out she had not gotten the notes from the class before the quiz when she was at mass.  The mother told me, "She will never serve mass again!"  How about asking your 7th grader to be responsible for her own work and ask for the notes from the teacher or a classmate?

Then again, it all depends on where you sit.  I also recall grading papers with my Teach for America friends, and they would complain about parents in their school who never picked up their children's report cards.  In that case, a little more parental involvement would be nice.

And for those teachers who might be looking for ways to involve Latino parents, check out these resources from Colorin Colorado.  The AFT has played a large role in the development of the resources for educators on this valuable Web site.