Describes a cross-national action research project involving 8 schools in the United States and 11 schools in 5 other countries studying family-community-school partnerships and the policies or political contexts that shape, and are shaped by, them. Early results suggest the usefulness of action research in emerging dialog. (SLD)

Describes a statewide project in Connecticut that attempted to meet the training and support needs of childcare providers as they included greater numbers of children with disabilities into their programs. The Training for Inclusion Project emphasized family-centered practices, transdisciplinary team process delivery, and developmentally…

Chronic non-attendance has generally focused on the distinction between truancy and school refusal: the former has traditionally been linked to conduct disorder, the latter to separation anxiety disorder. However, research has demonstrated that truancy and school refusal exist in the absence of such disorders and, more significantly, that some…

In this article, family-school partnerships are discussed as a viable and essential way to increase the opportunities and supports for all students to enhance their learning progress and meet the recent demands of schooling inherent in accountability systems and most notably of Title I No Child Left Behind legislation. School psychologists are…

This final report describes the outcome of a program designed to affect the quality of early childhood special education services in participating states though the replication and dissemination of a validated Model for Early Childhood Special Education Program Development. The Model for Program Development (MPD) was designed to enable early…

This collection of papers presented at a 1996 conference on children's mental health focuses on early intervention approaches. Papers have the following titles and authors: (1) "Child Maltreatment and Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol and Other Drugs: Some Preliminary Findings" (Patrick A. Curtis and Mary Wood Schneider); (2) "Evaluation…

Designed for media specialists and educators, this issue includes five articles exploring the contributions of children's films to museum programs. Following a brief editorial encouraging the use of films in museums, the first article outlines a picture storybook model for evaluating children's films. Several storybook models are identified, and a…

This paper provides summaries of 31 speeches presented at the conference. The theme of this conference was what is new, what is working, and what is happening within the North Central Region and across the country to aid the success of at-risk students. Speeches described specific programs that have been effective. Others covered relevant…

This guide provides an understanding of the scope and purpose of educational services in Vermont for young children with handicaps and their families. Section titles are as follows, with chapter titles in parentheses: (1) "Overall Program Development" ("Programmatic Philosophy and Policies,""Planning and…

Described in this report is the Saturday Afternoon Free respite care program for moderately to severely handicapped children operated under the auspices of the Idaho State University (ISU) College of Education. In service for 4 years, it has been evaluated by parents and student participants as excellent. It was developed in response to the need…

When it comes to student support, widespread agreement exists for moving in new directions. It is easy to agree that change is needed. It is harder to agree on what the changes should look like. And, it is even harder to get from here to there. The intent of this paper is to focus the discussion about new directions for student support by…

This paper highlights features of an interactive, bilingual CD-ROM currently under development that is designed to be used for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) decision making with professionals and families of children with disabilities. The CD-ROM is scheduled for release in the spring of 1998 and will: (1) provide information…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of Project Ta-Kos Outreach, a 3-year program to provide consultation and site-specific training for families, educators, and health care providers. Project Ta-kos, through its curriculum and training approach, was designed to increase the probability that children, ages birth through eight…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of a 4-year federally funded project to improve the capacity of state, regional, and local educational services to meet the needs of learners with deaf-blindness and their families throughout the state of Tennessee. The project provided individualized technical assistance and support to…

Noting the need for early childhood programs to work as a team with parents and community members to benefit the children and families they serve, this videotape examines ways to foster partnerships between families and schools. The first part of the 22-minute video features conversations with educators and administrators of early childhood…