The Pre-Kindergarten Program was established as a part of the Language Development Program (funded under Title I of the 1965 Elementary Secondary Education Act) which is intended to increase the language facility of low income Columbus children. The pre-kindergarten child should leave the program feeling important and unique and should have gained…

Parents have a real opportunity to influence their child's education through participation in the Committee on the Handicapped process which includes referral, evaluation, Individualized Education Program (IEP) planning and review. Specific guidelines for parent participation in this process are discussed, including parent/teacher conferences,…

This handbook presents information and ideas to help beginning teachers in Wisconsin learn about their relationships with parents and communities. It includes four reproducible sections in a three-hole punched format. The first section, "Getting Started," includes an overview of how family-school-community partnerships improve student…

This brochure explains federal requirements for transition services for secondary students with disabilities, the importance of transition services, and transition planning in the Individualized Education Program (IEP). The roles and responsibilities of the student, special and regular education teachers, parents, adult service agency…

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)

Discusses an approach to parent-teacher conferences that involves fifth graders as equal partners with their parents and teacher. Students update their portfolios for the student-parent-teacher conferences, ask and answer questions about their achievements, and discuss their work with their parents. Parents are expected to answer questions about…

Teacher-parent collaborative consultation can be useful in planning appropriate vocational programs for adolescents with disabilities. Such consultation can involve informing parents of vocational opportunities, planning vocational assessment and collecting vocational information, developing vocational components of individualized education plans,…

Used focus group interviews to explore parents' perceptions of school efforts at parental involvement in elementary school. Found that parents described many positive interactions with their children's schools. Positive interactions were related to attitudes of classroom teachers, communication practices of the school and teacher, and the format…

This engaging, rich resource is designed for teachers, parents, and administrators in diverse schools or districts who know there is no quick fix for building lasting partnerships among families, schools, and communities. Going far beyond traditional "parent involvement programs," this essential volume offers ideas on how teachers and parents…

A study examined how a portfolio might be utilized to present student growth, or lack of growth, in narrative writing within a 12-week period. It addressed the problem of establishing specific portfolio assessment criteria for narrative writing samples, and effectively utilizing portfolios as an evaluation tool for parent/teacher/student…

This paper provides Indian parents of children with disabilities with information from the Education for Parents of Indian Children with Special Needs Project concerning communication between Indian parents and non-Indian service providers. Five basic strategies for effective communication are reviewed: (1) when you do not understand, ask for…

This guide, in English and Spanish, presents ideas for parents to assist their child's progress at school. The contents include ten sections on the following topics: (1) getting started (the importance of attendance and health requirements); (2) report cards; (3) scheduling study time and developing study skills; (4) talking to the teacher; (5)…

Annotations from 11 documents and journals in the ERIC system deal with ways for parents to evaluate schools and how parental evaluation can be utilized to improve school quality and parent-school relations. (MLF)

Interviews with parents of fifth-graders in 153 urban and suburban Chicago (Illinois) area households provided researchers with answers to several questions about the nature of parent participation in education. The researchers considered parent participation to be an aspect of educational politics. They measured the level of participation at the…

This handbook, written by the principal of an urban elementary school that serves a diverse student population in a low socioeconomic area, offers strategies for principals who wish to increase parent involvement in their schools. Chapter 1 presents a brief history of parent involvement in American public schools over the past 60 years. The next…