“Other parents explained that their work schedules made it impossible to spend time at their children’s schools…Furthermore, Donna wondered whether her limited proficiency in English caused teachers to perceive her as less savvy, even though they treated her politely…An unintended consequence of the distance parents maintained was that they lacked the insider knowledge necessary to navigate the complex, and often oppositional, waters of public education.” Doucet, (Re) Constructing Home and School: Immigrant Parents, Agency, and the (Un) Desirability of Bridging Multiple Worlds

I can concur that pretty much all of the above applied to my non-Haitian but still immigrant parents. Because your parents may maintain their distance, it may become all that much harder for an immigrant child to fit in at school. All the moms of my friends volunteered on school trips, school bake sales, and the like. All of the parents knew each other. And my parents were usually nowhere to be found because of working during the day and because of their low self-esteem with their language barriers. And it’s sad that even if parents might want to get involved in their child’s school, their fear of not being accepted even further distances them from the school. All of the ways that their children were already behind, be it in social status, race, economic class, etc. parents not getting involved in schooling and thus not having the insider knowledge to better their child’s experience at the public school, may leave their children even further behind. It is necessary for teachers to understand that parents and students come from all different backgrounds and English might not be their first language. It’s even more important for them to show the more language-shy parents that they aren’t secretly talking about them behind their backs despite being polite. If parents feel that language doesn’t have to be a boundary, they may take more chances in getting involved in school. Also, technology these days makes it possible for parents to be involved even if their work schedule does not permit them to come into the school. Parents can be involved through technology. My brother’s teacher sent out pictures of the class after they completed an art project to all of the parents. This made us all feel like they were sharing with us the vital moments that we may not be able to see while working. This also shows the parents what their students are working on.