Parenting Academy for Academic Success (PAAS) is a parent organized and operated parental involvement intervention program for academic achievement at Round Valley Elementary School, located in Covelo, California. Academy, as used in the organizations name, implies a society of parents, community members, and educators dedicated to the promotion of knowledge and cultural relevance in education. The purpose of PAAS is to meet the specific needs of concerned parents who want: success for their children community involvement in the education of all children and support for school activities and programs a positive and effective working relationship with administrators and teachers at Round Valley Elementary School

PAAS is different from a school-site council (California Education Code 52012) or other school improvement teams found in Title 1 schools. School-site councils are under the direction of a school principal and other school staff and are primarily concerned with expenditure of funds for capital expenses, textbooks, and academic programs. Parents are included on school-site councils when possible and are limited in their input about safety, academic rigor, counselor accessibility, and classroom management issue, which are usually of more concern to parents and family members.

PAAS families and community members will not be constrained by the directives of school administrators, but will enhance the work of teachers and administrators by identifying specific needs at the school and accounting for and taking responsibility for planning and conducting family and community involvement activities (Epstein et al., 2002, p. 99) that will aid in improving academic achievement for all students. Moreover, PAAS serves to address the issue of parental and community involvement as mandated for persistently low-achieving Title 1 schools in program improvement (California Department of Education, 2009).

PAAS will be operated with the help and support of the tribal Department of Education, which currently operates an education program for adult learners and a Head Start program. The goal of the first workshop is to (a) introduce the concept of family, community, and school partnerships, (b) to recruit parent leaders who will serve as the first officers and members-at-large of the PAAS Leadership Committee, and (c) to schedule the first meeting of PAAS. Details about the family, community, and school partnerships concept are presented in the literature review.