Think about this: If your kid’s teacher was going to grade you on your involvement in your kid’s education, how would you do? One lawmaker wants to find out. Kelli Stargel is a state representative in Florida and a mother of five kids. She says parental involvement is the key to good education and some parents just don’t realize that they’re not stacking up. So Stargel introduced a bill that would make it mandatory for kindergarten through third grade teachers to add a grade for parents on their child’s report card. She say students are held accountable for school work, and new laws make teachers and schools accountable for how well they’re doing. So why not parents? Stargel’s bill would grade parents in three areas:

• First, is their kid at school on time and did they get a good breakfast and a good night’s sleep?
• Second, is their homework done and are they prepared for tests?
• Third, does the parent regularly communicate with the teacher?

Stargel says these three things are critical for a quality education. Most teachers agree: They’d love it if parents got more involved. However, most of them think grading parents wouldn’t make much of a difference. Sharon Francis teaches first grade in Florida. She says the parents who don’t show up for parent-teacher meetings, and send their kids to school late and hungry, aren’t going to care if they get an unsatisfactory grade.