The academic achievement gap has been present in the United States since the start of public education. Different factors have been noted as key contributors to the achievement gap, including the lack of parent involvement. This study investigates the impact that parental involvement has on student achievement, with specific focus on how a parent outreach application, called StarSchool (a pseudonym), impacts involvement. The application utilized was phone/computer based, easy to use, and provided alerts to parents on different class updates. The study examined the barriers that are present, that may be preventing parents from engaging in their child's education. The findings of the study indicate that parent involvement does promote academic success in children, with notable evidence that conversation between the parent and child has a lasting impact on academic achievement. The study further found, however, that methods such as the StarSchool application that was used in this study perpetuated the engagement of parents that were already involved and was not effective in engaging parents of students who were not performing as well academically as their peers who had parents using the application. It is suggested that further research be conducted on building lasting relationships with parents, community members, and other stakeholders. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]