Educators have long recognized that parental and community supports are important underpinnings for children's success in school. With respect to the teaching of writing, however, little research has been conducted to provide evidence of effective practices teachers use to involve parents and communities. As part of a national Canadian study of…

For a middle school, family involvement in school life begins with the orientation program for incoming students. An effective transition program can help parents and prospective students anticipate a new school's academic and social expectations. This article describes a Vermont middle school's transition program, highlighting planning and…

Home-school partnerships provide a strong support system. Besides encouraging parents, teachers, and students to work together for more effective learning and teaching, the system helps parents understand their emerging adolescents. A rural Pennsylvania middle school's "Steps to Success" program offers various activities involved with…

When surveying parents on six types of involvement, the Family Center at Johns Hopkins University found that respondents were uninterested in regular school visits or participation in decision making but eager to help their children at home. In response, two researchers developed TIPS (Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork), an interactive…

A Vermont middle school, a grade 7-8 union (regional) school, developed an orientation program to meet the needs of over 300 incoming seventh-grade students coming from 9 elementary schools in 5 different districts, plus a parochial school. The program is planned by a coordinating council and a student-guidance team; emphasis is on clear-cut…

Reviews relevant literature on systemic change and community participation. Explores leadership styles of principals in four community-minded middle schools. Administrators should be aware of their individual leadership styles and their effects on others' behavior. Principals wishing to foster empowerment in schools should move toward a…

Educators at a West Hartford, Connecticut, middle school continually "sell" this large school to the community, enlighten parents about its programs and practices, and welcome more than 300 fifth graders from 5 diverse neighborhood schools yearly. The transition program begins in March and progresses through eight months of activities,…

The Family Math Program is an outgrowth of the Equals Program at the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley. Piloted in 1982 in Richmond, California, this widespread program boasts a simple philosophy: Families "doing math" will get the same result as families who read--improved skills and enjoyment. The program also confronts parental…

The Avon Grove School District has a middle school orientation program for incoming elementary students and their parents, which consists of several visits and open houses in the Spring and at the beginning of the Fall term. (SJL)

Examines school/family partnerships in the middle grades. Focuses on comprehensive district-wide programs, school restructuring, and adult/child learning programs studied at nine sites. Summarizes lessons concerned with high-stakes consequences, parental involvement opportunities, decision-making responsibility, leadership advocacy, support for…

In a recent survey, 70 effective middle-level administrators describe what qualities make them and their schools successful. Many mentioned superior teaching staff, liking for students, supportive parents, high expectations and commitment, delegation of leadership responsibility, focus on change, personal characteristics, professional activities,…

To tap the resources, knowledge, and expertise of parents, a West Virginia middle school initiated a parent-involvement program in fall 1992. The parents created their own program, the Red Apple Corps, which planned and promoted a back-to-school day, a birthday bulletin board, a tutoring program, a school pride award, and the school newspaper.…

Describes a mother's involvement in a school-based management team at her daughter's middle school in Scottsdale, Arizona. The author worked with another parent, five teachers, a classified representative, a student, and a business person. Designed as a policymaking group, the team successfully revised the school mission statement, assessed school…

Describes successful programs in urban middle schools that focus on bringing students and their families together. (MLF)

A study examined the effectiveness of the Title 1 Middle School Summer program that provided students at two middle schools in the Columbus, Ohio public school district with background experiences to help them connect learning to living. Mathematics and literacy lessons were developed around travel experiences to museums, zoos, baseball games, Sea…