Parents are very important in the education of their children. The study investigated the contribution of parental involvement in the academic performance of their children. The study was guided by the following objectives; to identify roles of parents in academic achievement, examine strengths and weaknesses in parental involvement on students‟ academic performance, explore challenges facing parental involvement towards improving students‟ academic performance and strategies to reinforce parental involvement in school activities. The researcher employed mixed cross sectional survey design. The population included students, parents, teachers and DEO‟s. Sampling techniques which were used included simple random and purposive sampling. The sample was 381. The study used questionnaire and interviews to collect data. The qualitative data were analysed through thematic analysis while quantitative data was coded through SPSS program and analysed through descriptive and inferential analysis. The study found that the roles of parents included providing uniforms, guidance and counselling, attending school meetings and monitoring homework. The study also found out that some parents did not understand their roles. The findings indicated that there is minimal parental involvement in education of their children and therefore contributes to poor performance among students. The challenges facing parental involvement in students‟ academic performance are poor communication between parents and teachers, poverty, lack of knowledge, lack of parents‟ confidence and lack of hospitality. The study recommends that parents should be educated on their various roles to enhance effective parental involvement in their children learning in public secondary schools in Ilemela District.