Decades of research suggest the home-school connection is a key factor in student success. When talking about these relationships, educators often speak in general terms as if there is only one kind of home-school connection and as if it looks the same for everyone. We have developed a schema for thinking about three of the most common types of home-school connections — involvement, engagement, and empowerment — and how these connections may vary depending on the backgrounds of students and families. In the previous two columns, we wrote about parent involvement and parent engagement. Here, we discuss parent empowerment. With parent involvement and parent engagement, parents are in the position of responding to the school’s needs. Parent empowerment is distinct in that it requires a