School administrators are often involved in change processes that include gathering input from various stakeholders in their organizations to help in decision making. They usually include other administrators, teachers, board members, and sometimes individuals from the business sector. One group that is often excluded, and is perhaps one of their…

Several suggested activities from the National Parent Teacher Association are suggested for involving parents in education. Categories discussed include: parents as participants in their children's education; parents as school volunteers and supporters; and parents as participants in decision making. (CB)

To insure that parents were aware of faculty other than those teaching their children, teachers at St. Monica School prepared small group presentations for the Home and School Meeting on professional topics such as the teaching of reading and the parent's role in education. (SJL)

Describes a parent program at Dryden Middle School in New York in which parents attend school for the entire day with their children. Includes information on parent orientation, structure of the visit, and students' reactions to parental visitation. Notes the importance of publicity, preparation, organization, and follow-up activities for program…

Presents five vignettes (student-student, parent-child, teacher-student, teacher-student-parents, and whole class conference) designed to illustrate the diversity of learning interactions possible in both the school and home environments. Notes that each interaction provides insightful glimpses into the educational process as well as suggesting…

Parents in Touch, the umbrella program for parent involvement in the Indianapolis (Indiana) Public Schools, was established to facilitate the kind of two-way communication that enables parents to become partners in their children's education. The program uses various approaches, including parent/teacher conferences, a dial-a-teacher assistance…

At a Calgary, Alberta, elementary school, students were included in the March parent teacher report conferences. The practice generated overall positive feelings concerning benefits for students' learning experiences. Parents gained valuable insights into the teacher-child relationship. Recommendations for adopting this practice in other schools…

A Washington principal has developed nine strategies to increase parent-teacher conferences' value. Teachers should identify a student's strengths and weaknesses in reading, writing, listening, and speaking; highlight areas where progress is lacking; provide parents with work samples; discuss the student's participation level; and identify growth…

Individualized education programs for each child at two suburban Minnesota elementary schools help teachers ensure that every child achieves and is revitalizing the parent-teacher relationship. The plan's structure, based on early conferences, is described in detail. A sidebar shows the importance of setting learning goals. (MLH)

To meet diverse student needs, a Minneapolis K-8 school began individual goal-setting conferences with parents about 10 years ago. In 1991, teachers reformatted goal setting to reflect Harold Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences involving intrapersonal, interpersonal, world-understanding, linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily…

Discusses the practice at Price Laboratory School at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls of conducting parent-teacher conferences at the beginning of the school year, before discipline or other problems arise that might lead to parent-teacher discord. Includes lists of questions asked of parents at these meetings. (MDM)

A Rhode Island elementary school decided to include students in their parent-teacher conferences. The idea was to increase student responsibility for learning and improve student achievement. Revamped portfolios that focused on the quality of student work provided the key to success. (MLH)

Outlines the six-stage process used at Gustine Middle School for student-led parent-teacher conferences. Discusses how this encourages students to participate actively in evaluating their own progress, which motivates them toward personal initiatives to inspire learning, and improves student communication about learning with both parents and…

Discusses the findings of a parent and teacher survey about communicating children's school progress, noting a mutual dissatisfaction with standardized test scores. Discusses the information parents want, ways to improve teacher-parent communication, and questions teachers should ask themselves about their assessments of students. (JPB)

Stories of students in need, or of teachers who are struggling, draw readers into the process of solving classroom problems in a manner that traditional textbook formats are unable to match. Presented in an engaging and stimulating manner, this book provides beginning teachers a variety of typical classroom problems to analyze and solve. Solving…