Parents of metro Atlanta schoolchildren can expect to have as much homework as their kids. There's a lot parents need to know to keep up with what's going on in a child's education: No Child Left Behind, A+ Education Reform Act, CRCT, ESOL, school councils, ability grouping, inclusion and balanced calendar.

Public education keeps changing as more state and federal laws get enacted, local boards adopt new policies, trends take root and the metro area's population grows more diverse.

Quality, size and atmosphere vary from district to district, neighborhood to neighborhood.

For example, the Buford city district's high school has about 600 students. At Gwinnett County's Collins Hill High School just 12 miles away, enrollment is about 4,000.

Often what separates a great school from a good school is a visionary principal or a unique approach to science instruction, an active PTA or a school philosophy about how art should be integrated into every subject.

Yet schools are bound by legal issues, funding limits and state and federal regulations like never before, leaving parents frustrated when they try to bring special programs or innovative approaches to their schools.

Yes, the bureaucracy is enough to leave parents exasperated, said Angela Palm, executive director of the Georgia School Council Institutes, which trains members of school councils and policy-level advisory committees at every public school.

Yet it's essential that parents learn the ABCs of how public education works.

"Parents need to be involved with the policy level of the school," Palm said. "Don't get caught up in the fund-raising activities. It has its place, but there are many policy decisions to be made at the school level."

She advises parents to do thorough research before settling on a school. Don't rely on rumors and neighbors' perceptions, she said. Test scores also do not tell the whole story. Visit a prospective school, talk to the principal and get a feel for the atmosphere. "Every school has a culture, its own climate," Palm said.

One way to stay involved is through school councils. Each is made up of the school principal, two teachers, two parents and two members of the business community. It chimes in on issues such as student achievement, curriculum and board policies.