GAINESVILLE, Ga. — As part of an effort to increase involvement by parents and families in Georgia public schools, a new statewide advisory panel is being created.

State School Superintendent John Barge recently announced the names of 36 parents who will form the 2013 Parent Advisory Council. The council will meet three times throughout the year, The Times of Gainesville reported. The panel is expected to provide parental feedback and input on new policies, projects and materials that influence students and their families.

“We’re trying to increase student success by actively engaging the parent in the child’s education,” said Robert Smith, a member of the council and the parent of an eighth-grader at South Hall Middle School.

“Some people look at it as making the parent a teacher, and that’s not what it is, because some parents don’t even understand what their child’s doing,” Smith added. “It is engaging the parent into being active. If their child’s struggling, they can bring it to the school’s attention.”

Parents on the panel were nominated by their local school districts at the beginning of the year, and members were chosen by a committee of representatives from the Georgia Department of Education.