Recognizing the importance of having parents involved in their children’s education, Fall River formed the Parent Academy, a joint effort between the city’s Director of Early Childhood and Parent and Community Engagement, and the School District’s Superintendent. More than 60 people from 32 organizations came together to raise the necessary funds and design the initiative, among them businesspeople, school representatives, local officials and community members. The academy planning committee surveyed parents to determine what classes would be of interest and how they wanted the academy to fun, and received more than 750 responses in a variety of languages.