Particularly in urban schools, school-family partnerships can contribute to a student's academic achievement and reduce educational disadvantage, regardless of the family's socioeconomic background. Based on the recommendations of a former explorative field study (also published in this issue), conventional school-family partnership procedures…

Family and community engagement are increasingly seen as powerful tools for making schools more equitable, culturally responsive, and collaborative. The commitment of school leaders is vital to school-community connections, yet is poorly documented in the literature and insufficiently addressed in training for administrators. Many school leaders…

Examine the pivotal role family engagement plays in student achievement, and explore in depth the process of creating and implementing a family-engagement plan. This research-based guide includes many specific strategies, handouts, and reproducibles leaders can use to make their schools family friendly and connect with those families who may be…

According to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), school systems must ensure that the individualized education program (IEP) team includes the parent of the child with a disability. Teachers often report the challenges of getting parents to attend IEP meetings often assuming parents' lack of interest with involvement…

Presents the evolution of participation programs for Head Start parents which were conducted by the University of Hawaii Center for Research in Early Childhood Education from 1967-1968 through 1970. Each year's shifting emphasis was based on experience with programs tried earlier, on shifting interests of staff and particular communities involved…

Recognizing the critical importance of parent involvement in early education, this textbook presents a variety of strategies and techniques for parent involvement in early childhood education programs. Chapters in the first part of the book focus on specific issues and challenges in implementing parent involvement. Chapter 1 examines the need for…

This case study evaluated one site of a California teacher home visit program. Home visits have been an important means of connecting families and schooling. In 1999, California inaugurated a statewide home visit program to promote effective partnership between home and school for low-achieving schools. At this site, families in 3 kindergarten…

Argues that a parent-teacher partnership can provide children with the most positive educational experience possible. Lists ways teachers can communicate with parents, including welcome notes, parent seminars, school newsletters, curriculum calendars, telephone contact, and home visits. (DMM)

Reviews the Schools Reaching Out programs in New York City and Roxbury (MA). Describes and recommends three successful aspects of these programs: the parent center within the schools, home visits by teachers, and teacher action research teams. (DM)

This pamphlet is designed to help teachers of young children (in preschools, day care centers, or kindergartens) improve their working relationship with parents through productive parent-teacher conferences. Several steps to be taken early in the school year or even before school begins include establishing and maintaining communication,…

This resource packet presents some of the arguments for, and research about, parents playing an active role in the education of their children--not just by being supportive at home, but also by being involved in the school. The issues covered include: (1) the need for parent involvement; (2) goals of parent involvement; (3) types of parent…

Guidelines for conducting home visits with parents of Title I students are presented. The guidelines include the following: (1) a list of purposes for home visits; (2) suggestions for what to do and what not to do when visiting; (3) types of information that parents can provide; and (4) ways to deal with difficult situations. Additional materials…

Due to excessive tardiness and absenteeism among kindergarten children enrolled in Glendale Elementary School (Glen Burnie, Maryland) a practicum was designed to provide several avenues of good communication between the kindergarten and the home and to foster good relationships between teachers and parents. Additional goals of the practicum were…

Converse Elementary Kindergarten teachers give high priority to involving parents in their children's education, particularly through inviting parents to special school activities, and by visiting children and parents in the home and bringing a paper bag full of ideas parents can use to strengthen children's weaknesses. (Author/JM)

Partnerships between teachers and parents provide benefits for children's education. Suggested methods by which teachers can establish communications with parents include telephone conferences, printed communications, encouragement of parental visits, developmental checklists sent home, parent-teacher conferences, home visits, and workshops for…