There's parent involvement and then there's parent involvement. There's the kind that has parents volunteering their time in schools, making costumes, or organizing and staffing the school carnival fund-raiser. This is helpful activity by any measure--helpful in the service of kids and not to be minimized. But there are other levels of involvement at which parents might have more significant impact than just giving of their time and money. For example, Maryland's Parent Advisory Council has a vision of involvement in which "parents, families, educators, and community members work together as real partners, hold themselves mutually accountable, and have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to succeed at improving the achievement of all students. This article provides information on the Statewide Parent Advisory Council and other state activity.