ABSTRACT : What do parents think about their children's schools? Two school districts are trying to find out-in ways that will encourage greater home-school connections. Parents in Anchorage, Alaska, and Rochester, New York, have been rating the teachers of their children. Increasingly, parents (and community members) are grading schools and are seeing themselves as customers. Such reports can be a good thing. Educators can make the most of them, getting credit for what they do well and making sure that the report cards help both teachers and parents work together to improve student learning. Questions on these surveys addressed three issues: how how well teachers know and care about teaching, about their children, and about communicating with parents. The author presents strategies teachers can use to meet these challenges.