There is only one answer and things are too far progressed to change now. But to change things you will have to return to the neighborhood schools, where people believe that they have a say in the welfare of their children and their future. This also goes back to the soverngity issue at a local level. It also goes back to reconstituting the family unit and community values. It is better to save some than to lose all.
Why should parents care when a Governmental unit such as a Department of Human Services, or Education have more say in the directing of the lives, health, and welfare of children that the biological parents (IF there are two in the household. Second the teacher has more contact "Family" with these children, in the "modern" home, than these parents with each parent working or a single parent holding down two jobs to make ends meet.
The School system has become the social indoctrinator of the children, If the child wants to have safe sex, the school will facilitate that without the parents involvement. So who is in charge of raising the children? It is certainly not the parents unless they home school their kids.
And by the way Pam, beside me being a elected school board member and President of that Board, which by the way in the State of Arkansas, School Board members do NOT recieve pay, or compensations for their services, My Brother spent 35 years teaching State Inmates Vocational Education. My Brother in law beside being a full time Preacher is a Doctor of Theology and teaches at Bucknell College in Pennsylvania. His son, my Nephew is the Dean of the School of Theology at Union University at Jackson, Tennessee, and his wife is the Dean of Students at the same University. So I am very familiar with the American educational system. And it engenders some interesting family discussions.