Where Are Parents in the Equation?

The U.S. Department of Education's new program, Race to the Top, is the talk within education these days. What frustrates me in that discussion and other discussions about education is that the role of parents in education is hardly ever mentioned. To say that a student can arrive at school not ready to learn (lack of housing, improper diet, improperly clothed, etc.) and schools are expected to turn this student into highly performing child is unfair. Why aren't parents being evaluated within this process? Where are the standards of behavior for parental involvement in school? Doesn't a student's home life have a bearing on her school performance? And if so, how does that affect the teacher's/school's performance with the student? I suggest that if teacher performance is tied to student performance, parental involvement should part of the assessment. Moreover, parents should be penalized for failure to be involved in the education of their child.