Education plays a huge role in our lives and in the lives of our children. It shapes our thinking and prepares the next generation for future leadership roles. As part of SchoolBook's news coverage, we would like to do a better job at understanding what is really going on in our school system and how parents, educators and students are being affected.

SchoolBook merges education-related stories from WNYC Radio and The New York Times. It will also provide parents, teachers and educators resources and a place for discussion.

In addition to SchoolBook's public discussions, we're connecting people with our journalists through the Public Insight Network. By providing insights about their lives, work and personal experiences, Public Insight participants help make the news coverage on SchoolBook richer, more relevant and more diverse.

We invite you to join the Public Insight Network by filling out the form below. Your comments may appear on SchoolBook, and we might reach out to you occasionally by email or text messaging -- no more than once or twice a month -- to get your insight on specific stories we're working on. Click here to learn more about the Public Insight Network, or email Walyce Almeida, WNYC's Public Insight Analyst, at publicinsight@wnyc.org.