Less than one-third of children and adolescents in the United States are meeting the recommendation from the "2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans" to get 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day. Schools can help students meet this national recommendation because close to 60 million children and adolescents attend…

Launched in 2012, The Big Lift is a collective impact initiative extending from preschool to third grade that aims to boost children's reading proficiency in San Mateo County, California, through four different types of activities, called "pillars": (1) High-Quality Preschool, (2) Summer Learning, (3) School Attendance, and (4) Family…

The Big Lift is a collective impact initiative extending from preschool to third-grade in San Mateo County, California. The initiative is a partnership of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the San Mateo County Office of Education, and the County of San Mateo. Launched in 2012, the initiative aims to boost children's reading proficiency in…

The authors describe how the participation of Family as Faculty parents in case-based instruction influenced 16 beliefs of 89 special education teacher candidates about the value of partnering with parents. The parents, who all had children with disabilities, participated in a simulated individualized education program meeting that was embedded in…

Parents are generally less involved in their children's science education (as compared to reading and mathematics) due to low self-efficacy and a lack of home-school communication. This study examined parental interest and attitudes in science as well as the nature of parent-to-child questioning during an interactive home, school, and community…

In this study we examined the relationships between family demographics and level of satisfaction with school contact as possible determinants of multiple dimensions of family involvement in early childhood education. Participants included 171 urban, Head Start parents (108 mothers and 63 fathers). Results revealed that for mothers, having less…

Family-school collaboration related to children's physical development has become increasingly important as childhood obesity rates continue to rise. The present study described the development and implementation of a literacy-based, family component of a school-based health education program and investigated its viability, acceptability, and…

Family involvement is a viable strategy to address transition issues related to school readiness. The school-family connection can help ensure that the potential of each child is fulfilled as well as bridge the achievement gap. This document utilizes a "School Snapshot" to illustrate that, with careful planning, schools can engage families in…

Focus group findings from 34 African American parents in an urban southern school district unmask subtle and concealed aspects of involvement. In contrast to formalized school-sponsored parent activities, involvement is described by participants as their encompassing a physical presence at the school to monitor their children's behavior, receiving…

This publication consists of two research updates. The first, "Learning to Work: How Parents Nurture the Transition from School to Work," highlights conclusions from the study, "Lessons from Life's First Teacher: The Role of the Family in Adolescent and Adult Readiness for School-to-Work Transition," which offers an analysis of how families…