Schools have been described in this thesis as sociocultural institutions with literacy as a cultural practice. Education transmits cultural, political and socioeconomic values. Classrooms are dynamic and interactive places where political forces impinge on the teacher's decision making. The role of the school is to bring one generation into the next, with the teacher's job being that of organizing and guiding students so they may acquire skills, beliefs, values and knowledge. Parkview School administrators make efforts to regularly hold fun activities in an attempt to bring parents to their school in a comfortable, non–threatening event. They hope that this will be a first step towards helping to put the parents at ease while teaching them how to become more involved in their child's education.

Curriculum

In looking at the social organization of the school, Knuth and Jones (1991) address the areas of curriculum, environment and teaching methodology. They advocate for curricular approaches that teach reading as thinking, but are quick to add that these need time to develop. They point out that teachers also need to be granted sufficient time to espouse new beliefs, to try the research–based methods being promoted, and to perfect their new teaching practices. They recognize the need for ongoing staff development programs which would provide mentoring and coaching, and supportive environments that allow risk–taking and experimenting.

Second, Knuth and Jones (1991) stress that performance in reading is enhanced when "schools have semipermeable boundaries" (p. 5). By this, they mean that both parents and others in the community are involved as helpers in the school such as tutors, aides, or reading role models. Students and teachers have opportunities for learning out of school and community members participate in the process of redesigning the programs.