The eight-hour shift had ended at the Bayridge Home Care Agency, but Rose-Mary's day wasn't over. Stepping out of the second bus to start another four hours at a different home care, the single mother of three vigorously polished the bottom of her skirt, making it straight and presentable. She briefly wondered about her children at home, though confident they were fine.

"I have to do what can to take care of them and God will help with the rest," Rose Mary said.

Rose Mary is one of thousands of immigrant families in New York City who finds little time to help their children with school work. She is unaware of the Family Parent Association group at her children's Prospect Heights International High School, home to the more than 20 percent of Haitians in the student body.

"In general, attendance is low, but we've gotten no participation from Haitian parents for the eight to ten meetings per year," said Miguel Antunez, Parent Coordinator at the new International High School.

"In my experience with Haitian parents, I realize they don't know the system and that pushes them away," said Regina Dudley, Parent Coordinator at the Brooklyn Global Citizen School.

At Rose-Mary's East Flatbush apartment, Maxime, Barbara, and Noah – respectively in sixth, eight, and tenth grade – reluctantly turn off the big screen TV, after many warnings from Grandma Rosa. Although they know they have to take charge and be responsible for their after school duty, they sometimes neglect to finish homework or to read a new book.

"Their participation is nonexistent compared to American parents. They think since their child is in high school, they shouldn't have to baby sit him or her," says Dudley, the parent of a 16-year-old teenage boy and a six-year-old hearing impaired boy.

Academics, educators, and advocates for higher graduation rates among black students agree that students whose parents are involved – no matter what their income or background – are more likely to earn higher grades and test scores, attend school regularly, pass their classes, be promoted, and graduate.

Although the Department of Education shows a big gain in the 2008 graduation rate among English language learners – from a 25.1 percent graduation rate in 2007 to 35.8 percent in 2008 – alarming numbers show that only 32 percent of black males graduated from high school on schedule in 2006, in contrast to 57 percent of white males.

Other studies show that by 4th grade, Black and Latino students are on average nearly three years behind their white and Asian counterparts. Black and Latino students are two to three times more likely to have underdeveloped skills in reading and math.

Vanessa S. Leung, deputy director for the Coalition for Asian American Children & Families, acknowledges two kinds of parent involvement. One is regarding the child's education and it translates into how they can support their children – checking their homework, knowing what is really going on in their day to day life, etc.

"The other one is a direct involvement addressing school issues not only for their own children, but for the whole school," Leung said.

"Having their input in what needs to be changing at the school is what is important and that does not happen all the time."

PTAs are advocacy groups for children, fundraising organizations, and a means of providing a united voice for parents and teachers.

The PTA's role varies from national to state to local levels. The national and state PTAs focus their efforts on lobbying legislators on issues that involve children. Local level PTAs do this too, but also focus on raising money for extra programs in schools, such as art programs.

In a country like Haiti there are no such organizations, so parents who migrate here find it difficult to comprehend the concept. Besides that, their non-involvement is also a result their lack of understanding the school institutions here in the United States, including the grading system. Most significant though, is their struggle to make ends meet.

Neptune's long work day is essential to the financial well being of the family. She views her effort as a big contribution to the gift of education she is giving her children.

"As a single mother, I have to work more than eight hours to make sure I can feed and dress them," said a tired Neptune, who emigrated 15 years ago from Haiti to the United States. "I don't have time to participate, but I count on the schools to ensure a decent education for my children," she said while setting up the table for diner on a recent night.

Yverose Jean [not her real name], yet another example, has a son among the one third of Haitian students that comprise the Global Citizen School population. She cannot be at the forefront in addressing many school issues her children are facing.

Waiting for her son to take the morning school bus at her Flatbush apartment corner, Jean has only praises for her children's behavior in school. While some parents might be worried after receiving a phone call about not participating at many parent-teachers meetings, Ms. Jean feels at ease because most of the time she is not even home to receive the calls. She considers the PTA an organization for parents that have thee time. She said she goes out of her way to give Reginald and her sister Martine, everything they need to do well in school.

"My children speak better English than I do. I cannot help them, often times they have to translate for me," Jean said. Her education in Haiti is equivalent to that of an eighth grader in the United States.

According to a study titled "Working for a Better Life: A Profile of Immigrants in the New York State Economy," among the 535,000 immigrants in New York City, 374,000 are in the workforce, working longer hours – slightly above one hour per week – than native-born workers.

Parent coordinators, who facilitate PTA meetings and parent-teacher conferences, describe concerns of immigrant involvement in their children's school and interests in issues relating to language barriers, immigration status, after school program and, most pressing, graduation rates and college choice.

Dudley acknowledges that a lot of Haitian children live with an aunt or grandmother while their parents are still in Haiti. When reporting on a child's (bad) grades or making a decision, often times the person answering the school's calls at home does not speak English, resulting in a lack of proper reporting on the child's academic progress.

Dudley recalled a case where a student at the Global Citizen School could not pass the Regents. She called the parents and advised that they should get the child evaluated. Because they weren't familiar with the system, they were upset that they were requesting the child be evaluated. The child was left behind for two points.

"A number one issue is the stigma. They don't know what the system has to offer and they are afraid of asking," Dudley said.

The Department of Education said that they have done their best to help parents with language barriers. A statement by the DOE press office states that the Office of Family Engagement and Advocacy offers translation and interpretation services and also holds native language forums for parents in their native languages (such as Haitian Creole), providing the opportunity for parents to ask questions and receive answers in their native language.

The Office of English Language Learners has provided English language arts and mathematic workshops at parent conferences and at the Parent Leadership Institutes that help parents address the challenges of assisting their children with homework, the statement said.

"Having somebody who can be a voice for immigrant children by raising many issues to teachers like language barriers, bullying, and working for that child to be changed will definitely improve the life for many students at school," Leung said.

"Rather than seeing it as a lack of interest in their kid's school life," says Samuel Barthelemy, a recently retired ESL teacher, "it is a complete belief placed in teachers, a tradition to which many of those Haitian parents are used to."

"Historically, Haitian parents rely on school teachers and principals to make sure their kids are doing well," Barthelemy said at a recent event for his retirement party.

According to the veteran teacher, in Haiti, parental involvement ends at the school steps, where they confide their children to the teacher. Besides having to adjust to the new structure and new way of life in the United States, a lack of English-language skills prevent these parents from understanding why their kids are failing. As well, they are often not home when the children get home from school is another factor.

"The remedy to the situation is for the community to express to the parents the importance of their presence in school," Barthelemy said.

Nicole Rosefort, executive director of the Brooklyn-based Haitian Bilingual/ESL Technical Assistance Center, HABETAC, agrees that not being at the forefront of the school meetings does not mean that Haitian parents have left the children to struggle alone through the system.

"There are many other ways Haitian parents are involved, for example, by looking for help when they can't resolve certain issues," says Rosefort. "In HABETAC our role is to help parents help their children. Parents have to know their right to go to the school and demand programs and services that are necessary to them and their children," Rosefort added.

"Finding time in between my two jobs, cooking, laundry, and going to church is not easy for me," Rose-Mary said.