Engaging parents and families in their children's lives is pivotal to youth's success in school and life. When families are engaged, youth obtain higher grades, attend school more frequently, perform better on high-stakes testing, display improved behavior and are more likely to graduate from school (Emerson et al., 2012; Goodall & Montgomery, 2014). Although parental engagement in schools is paramount in the area of student attainment, there are several barriers that frequently hinder parental involvement and engagement: work schedules, time, cultural and language barriers, lack of transportation, and lack of effective communication. Where cultural or linguistic barriers occur, the difficulties can be intensified, unless a thorough strategy is introduced. Some school districts attempt various ways to engage parents and the community, some parents and educators still mistakenly associate parental involvement with parental engagement. In spite of this evidence, some schools attempt to cultivate substantial and effective parental engagement strategies.

The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was twofold: (1) to explore parents' and teachers' understanding of parental involvement and parental engagement in an urban K-8 environment and, (2) to describe potential strategies for transitioning urban K-8 parents and teachers from parental involvement to parental engagement based on Joyce Epstein's (2009) six typologies for parental involvement as a conceptual framework. Via interviews and conversations this study examined the perceptions and experiences of parents and teachers on home-school relationship and explored recommendations on how to move from parental involvement to parental engagement. Implementation of these recommendations and strategies may enhance the relationships between parents and teachers, while fostering the capacity for parents to be thoroughly engaged in their children's learning as well as invested in the school community.

The participant population was comprised of nine parents and nine teachers. All parents were asked the same 20 questions during semi-structured interviews. All teachers were asked the same 15 questions during semi-structured interviews. Data analysis entailed organizing data, immersing in the data, identifying common themes, coding data, writing analytic memos, and offering interpretations. The following themes emerged out of this study: communication, respect, and collaboration/partnership. The perspectives and experiences of parents and teachers indicated that communication, respect, and partnership are essential as it relates to fostering parental engagement.