"Above all they [teachers] should work in close cooperation with the parents." (Declaration on Christian Education, 1965, #8)

"...a 'parent component' must be part of many different church-sponsored educational programs. Where appropriate, Catholic schools can offer courses for parents. School-related parent organizations should provide opportunities for adults to learn more about child development and pedagogical method." (To Teach as Jesus Did, 1972, #59)

"The benefits of home and school partnership are so evident that all parents should be made aware of their duty to be full partners with the school." (Teach Them, 1976, p. 7)

"The school administrator who does not recognize the importance of this cooperation [between home and school] may be depriving pupils of one of the unique advantages of Catholic schooling." (Teach Them, 1976, p. 7)

"In this cooperation [between home and school] there is a kind of reciprocal accountability, of school to parent and parent to school." (Teach Them, 1976, p. 7)

"Today's Catholic school is more than a means for safeguarding faith and virtue; it is a center in which parents and teachers, guided by the Holy Spirit, collaborate in giving children a complete Catholic education." (Teach Them, 1976, p. 7)

"Education, broadly defined, includes the entire process by which culture is transmitted from one generation to the next. Educational research supports the view that the home is the critical educational institution. Study after study identifies home and family as vital forces strongly affecting school achievement. Throughout the world the home is the crucial factor in determining children's overall performance." (Sharing the Light of Faith, 1979, #25).

"And the school should keep the families informed about the ways in which the educational philosophy is being applied or improved on, about formation, about administration, and, in certain cases, about the management." (Lay Catholics in Schools: Witnesses to Faith, 1982, #80)

"Partnership between a Catholic school and the families of the students must continue and be strengthened: not simply to be able to deal with academic problems that may arise, but rather so that the educational goals of the school can be achieved." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #42)

"Close cooperation with the family is especially important when treating sensitive issues such as religious, moral, or sexual education, orientation toward a profession, or a choice of one's vocation in life. It is not a question of convenience, but a partnership based on faith." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #42)

"The first and primary educators of children are their parents. The school is aware of this fact but, unfortunately, the same is not always true of the families themselves; it is the school's responsibility to give them this awareness." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #43)

"In addition, the school should try to involve the family as much as possible in the educational aims of the school - both in helping to plan these goals and in helping to achieve them. Experience shows that parents who were once totally unaware of their role can be transformed into excellent partners." (The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School, 1988, #43)

"In union with the Holy Father, we have consistently taught that parents are the first and foremost educators of their children." (In Support of Catholic Schools, 1990, pp. 7-8)

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