This past spring, my husband got the chance to chaperone the 2nd grade field trip to the Shedd Aquarium. It was a wonderful experience both for him and our daughter who was overjoyed to have her father with her.

To my daughter's classmates, however, my husband's presence came as a bit of a shock. Upon his arrival, many of them exclaimed, "where's your mom?" Not exactly the warm welcome he might have hoped for!

While this was not my husband's first school appearance, I'm the one these wonderfully direct 2nd graders have come to know. They see me in the classroom where I've helped out on numerous occasions and at the PTA-run bookstore where I volunteer each month. They see me at school recitals and celebrations. And, I've chaperoned nearly every field trip since our daughter started kindergarten.

Parent involvement in schools has historically been a "mommy thing," but change is on the horizon. Like my husband, more and more dads are taking an active role, doing everything from teaching a classroom of six-year-olds how to make applesauce from scratch to participating in workshops on the importance of writing in one's career. And, at our daughter's school, there's even a dad president of the PTA!

Yet, most parents still face tremendous obstacles to participating in school-related activities. Few have the ability to take an entire day off of work to go on a field trip or punch out for a couple of hours to attend a function planned for noon. And, even those who do have this flexibility are hesitant to use it for fear that it might jeopardize their jobs or that they may need the time for more urgent needs such as an unexpected illness.

Of course, there are other important ways to be involved in our children's education, like helping with homework or curling up to read a bedtime story. But one only needs to see the joy on a child's face when their parent comes into the classroom or the sadness in their eyes when mom or dad can't be there to know that something needs to be done.

Just like moms, dads deserve family-friendly policies that encourage and support them in being involved in their children's lives. Thanks go out to those who are leading the way - in the halls of our schools, workplaces and government - and to all whose voices can still make a difference.