This work addresses the issue of public education in Brazil after his process of massification. Assuming that public schools are producing urban segregation, ours aims are: to reflect on the place the institution occupies in the school project of life of families living in slums and popular neighborhoods; and, investigate what degree of participation of practitioners in the process of schooling of their children. For this, it was used a few data from the survey conducted in 2010 with parents and responsible for public school students residing in slums of the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Our findings indicate that the school is an important part in the ordinary life of families who value popular school knowledge and show great interest in participating in school activities. Its importance is noted by parents and responsible not only on the issue of social mobility but also in their size socializing in the formation of citizens so having access to cultural diversity in this city. These findings lead us to reflect on the different aspects that concern the relationship between school and family, and how they have contributed to weaken the institutional role of the school.