Family involvement has emerged as an essential component of education with the expectation that school leaders strive to engage families in their children's learning effectively. Yet traditional models of "involvement" often fail families in minority, lower socio-economic status (SES) communities. This qualitative case study documents perceived barriers to involvement and identifies gaps in understanding between two groups of stakeholders -- school leadership and personnel and parents and caregivers in a lower SES, minority, urban school district. Data collected in individual interviews and focus groups revealed systemic patterns that have created two closed and sometimes conflicting communities inhabiting the same physical space.