The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Authentic Family & Community Engagement." Contents include: (1) Recent…

The inclusion of Kansas preschoolers with developmental delays in general early childhood environments has shown little growth over the past seven years. An initial examination of public data for federal fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020 showed inclusion rates in preschools in Kansas public school districts differed by special education…

Collaboration and building common ground between schools and their communities are central to developing family and community engagement practices that work. This includes resolving issues faced by communities of color who have been historically excluded by traditional parent engagement models. This literature review by IDRA presents the latest…

Because researchers know so much more about the brain and development than they did when the 20th-century U.S. education system was designed, this knowledge can now be used to design a system in which all individuals are able to take advantage of high-quality opportunities for transformative learning and development. This playbook suggests a set…

Family, school, and community partnerships are a critical part of student achievement, but the successful establishment of meaningful partnerships with low-income and minority populations remains elusive. In 1994, legislators in the United States passed a version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that seeks to address this…

This is the final external evaluation report prepared by SRI International for the Rural Math Excel Partnership (RMEP) project, an investing in innovation (i3) development project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Operated by Virginia Advanced Study Strategies, Inc. (VASS), the RMEP project included six rural school districts (LEAs) in…

One-fourth of all ninth graders in the United States will not graduate from high school within four years, despite the fact that the 21st Century workplace requires more advanced knowledge and skills than ever before. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive strategy to keep teens in school and ensure that they graduate prepared for the future,…

With the large number of students with autism entering the educational system, the need for empirically supported treatment (EST) in the classroom and special education teachers with training in autism and ESTs is necessary now more than ever. This paper describes a collaborative model between 2 universities aimed at providing teacher-candidate…

Introduction into federal policy of response to intervention (RTI) and positive behavior intervention and supports (PBIS) led to widespread adoption and adaptation of the three tier intervention pyramid. As originally presented, the pyramid highlights three different levels of intervention and suggests the percent of students at each level. While…

With the large number of students with autism entering the educational system, the need for empirically supported treatment (EST) in the classroom and special education teachers with training in autism and ESTs is necessary now more than ever. This paper describes a collaborative model between 2 universities aimed at providing teacher-candidate…

Presents a multisystemic approach to adolescent pregnancy, describing primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. The article explains health educators' roles in establishing multisystemic programs in primary prevention environments and describes a multisystemic theoretical model of adolescent pregnancy that utilizes interpersonal, family, and…

The principles and practices of successful parent centers in urban schools are presented so that parents and staff can use them when developing a center. The successful center begins with adoption of a model or philosophy to guide parents and staff. An interactive learning model is suggested as the most workable one, and its principles are…

In November 1991, teams of elementary school and community members from 11 communities in Massachusetts met to discuss the formation of compacts, or informal agreements describing educational goals and outlining responsibilities, to strengthen the role of families in education: this paper provides a summary of that conference. The first of five…

Behavior-disordered children account for major problems encountered in schools today. Researchers developed a comprehensive way of addressing child behavior problems by emphasizing school-home-community collaboration. The article presents a conceptual framework that describes the development of antisocial behavior and critical intervention points…

Establishing coordination among schools, families, and communities has emerged as a major policy issue in the debate over the quality of education and how the restructuring of education should be accomplished. This book explores coordination of services for children and youth between and among schools, families, and community groups and agencies,…