The president has yet to propose major legislation to achieve his goals, with members of his cabinet and
senior staff members divided over key elements of tax and health plans, and congressional Republicans split on how to structure them.
Karen L. Mapp, a
senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a consultant on family engagement to the federal Department of Education, said that besides training parents to be more active in schools, it was equally important to train school
staff members how to communicate with parents, especially across racial and socioeconomic
divides.