This guide suggests a fresh perspective for families and professionals working together to develop Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities living in Maryland. It begins by explaining the purpose of IEPs and by providing the principles for IEP development in Maryland. Information is then provided on how the IEP is…

Discusses ways in which schools can get parents more actively involved in the education of their children, such as work in the classroom, a community resource file, library help, and personal contacts with parents. A case study presents the way in which one school involved parents in the school program. (DN)

Describes the problems surrounding the recognition of teachers as fully qualified professionals and diagrams the powers and responsibilities of state teacher standards. (Author/RK)

Offers suggestions for both teachers and parents about how they can best work together in a new partnership. (Author/JM)

Presents a two-session in-service program for teachers and suggests how counselors can emphasize human relations training and test interpretation skills for teachers. First, teachers review human relation skills as they apply to interpreting tests to parents. The other session is an elaboration of procedure for interpreting test profiles.…

Discusses what it means to have parents involved in their son or daughter's progress in school. Outlines in detail the cooperation between two divorced parents of an underachieving child and his teacher. (TB)

Parents (n=234) and general and special education teachers (n=248) of high school students with disabilities were surveyed about their views on self-determination. Most parents believed the students should be taught skills and competencies underlying self-determination. However, more than one-third of the teachers indicated they were not familiar…

This study investigated the effectiveness of strategy instruction designed to foster the active participation of 11 high school students with disabilities in Individualized Education Program conferences. Results indicated that strategy-instructed students identified more goals and communicated more effectively during their conferences than did the…

Suggestions are offered to special educators for improving communication at parent-teacher conferences, including relationship skills such as demonstrating genuine caring, building rapport, listening, showing empathy, reflecting affect, and using clarifying statements. A checklist for self-monitoring in these areas is included. (DB)

Fifteen recent documents and journal articles from the ERIC database concerning reporting to parents are summarized. The documents and articles cover topics which include student portfolios, theme-based curriculum, writing and math assessment, parent-teacher conferences, and a national survey of report card entries. (LB)

Argues that race is neither purely ideological nor purely essential, but grounded in sociohistorical ideologies and performances. The author uses this conceptualization to interpret student-teacher practice and to ground her own teacher-education practice. Discusses breaking down the individual/society dualism, meanings of race in one local…

Explains that the purpose of parent-teacher conferences is to communicate the student's progress to the parents. Provides guidelines for a successful conference, including holding the conference in an open area and using a conversational communication style, avoiding educational jargon. Includes a sample student progress report. (CMK)

Courtesy of new technologies, such as student information systems (SIS), districts are opening new channels of communication, giving parents anytime Internet access to information they need to track their child's progress--and affording them the opportunity to make a tremendous impact on their child's learning growth. Take what is happening at…