Although the nature of parent involvement changes as children get older and varies from family to family, junior high school teachers and the families they serve recognize the value of parent involvement in young adolescents' education. Teachers, parents, and students, however, are often uncertain about how to initiate parent involvement in their schools. The results of this case study suggest that one difficulty in the initiation of parent involvement is that teachers and parents perceive communicative efforts differently. While teachers tend to employ institutional communicative methods, parents prefer more personal, individual invitations for involvement. Consequently, teachers and parents become discouraged by the mismatch of communication preferences. Teachers' and parents' perceptions of communicative methods are explored and suggestions for improving communication between schools and families are given.