The authors address the "whys" and "hows" of encouraging independent reading at home. Practical tips that teachers can give to parents are provided.

Learning to be PROactive, as the title of this article suggests, means Pooling one's knowledge, Reflecting respect, and Opening oneself to action. It recognizes early childhood educators' promises to their field of practice, based on widely held beliefs and principles. Educators can apply professional ethics to everyday problem solving and their…

Background/Context: There is much rhetoric regarding "parents and teachers as partners" despite little evidence that such partnerships, as described in the early childhood education literature, actually develop. The literature on parent-teacher partnerships does not examine parents' and teachers' interactions or what those interactions mean to…

This research brief provides highlights from the full report (published separately) that describes the ninth annual High School Exit Survey in AISD. The survey was administered online to seniors in every AISD high school during Spring 2011. In total, 3,793 seniors completed the survey, for an adjusted response rate of 87.3 percent.

Purpose: Teachers trusting other groups of actors in their school enhances a school's functioning. Research relating teacher trust to school context has proven scarce, however. This study explores the extent to which teachers from a same school share a level of trust. Organizational value culture, size, and group composition are associated with…

The relationship of professionals with families of children and adults with intellectual disabilities is a key component in the planning and delivery of effective and enduring support services. Yet, the history of such relationships is not well understood. After briefly describing the context for these relationships in the early 20th century, a…

Students in a pre-service teacher education course, an overview of special education, were required to interview a parent of a special needs child, as well as a special education teacher as a course assignment. Because most educators have little or no training in family involvement and pre-service teacher training in this area is at best limited,…

Many classroom teachers across the United States feel unprepared to work with students and families who speak limited or no English. Knowing that schools are accountable for the achievement results of these students, teachers increasingly seek help. This article describes a professional development project designed to introduce K-12 teachers to…

The Government is urging teachers to engage more closely with families and is promoting the concept of the "extended" school. This article reports on the literacy strand of the Home School Knowledge Exchange (HSKE) project, directed by Professor Martin Hughes at the University of Bristol. A selection of literacy activities developed…

In this book, parents will find ways to help teachers nurture important emerging math skills, from sorting and division of materials to early counting. Basic ideas and tools, including classroom-tested activities, will help support their child's math learning, both at home and in child care. Following an introduction, the book contains three…

Immigration is having a tremendous impact on U.S. schools, even in places like Dodge City, Kansas, where nearly a third of public school students are from new immigrant families. Ginsberg suggests that through engaging in visits to the homes of recent immigrants, the school community learns of the strengths, expertise, and "funds of…

The present study is the first to utilize twin modeling to examine whether parent-teacher disagreement for ADHD ratings is due to parent or teacher bias, or due to raters observing different but valid ADHD behaviors. A joint analysis was conducted with 106 twin pairs, including twins selected for ADHD and control twin pairs. Total ADHD scores were…

This narrative case study of a Black female middle grades mathematics teacher in an urban school provides an in-depth look at one teacher's life story, resilience, and teaching practices in a racialized environment. The study gives particular attention to the factors that contributed to her strength and resilience: family and faith. This view of…

School-based approaches to addressing aggression in the early grades have focused on explicit curriculum addressing social and emotional processes. The current study reviews research on the distinct modes of aggression, the status of current research on social and emotional processing relevant to problems of aggression amongst young children, as…

Handling upset parents, unexpected kid behavior, and touchy school politics are some of the toughest parts of a teacher's job. As such, it never hurts to have an emergency plan or two tucked away and a few tried-and-true strategies one can count on. In this article, the author presents several sticky situations and corresponding solutions for…