Teachers can successfully involve parents in their children's education by creating a welcoming school climate, establishing clear policies and procedures for parent involvement, ensuring administrative support, and having a plan. Effective staff development prepares teachers for parental involvement. (JOW)

For a successful parent-teacher conference, three main steps need to be addressed: preconference homework, communication during the conference, and followup. Each of these steps is addressed in this article, and a sample form for conference record keeping is included. (IAH)

Eleven focus groups with teachers and administrators in rural Iowa revealed that educators perceive many parents as uninterested, unable, or unwilling to be involved in schools and having unrealistic expectations of the school's role. They believe the door is open for parental involvement and perceive a relationship between parent participation…

A teacher working in a school with an open-door policy discusses some difficulties with this arrangement. She had trouble finding a private place, including the staff room, to talk intimately with other teachers, had to build her schedule around parent helpers, and noted some unethical treatment of children. Parent involvement is no elixir. The…

Offers guidance for parents, teachers, and other advocates for gifted education on the use of public relations to increase local, state, and national support. Topics covered include the importance of using the media, state-level strategies, targeting the audience, planning a public-relations campaign, and some possible print and non-print media…

Tips for getting the most out of field trips include choosing relevant sites, previsiting the location, keeping trip logs, taking pictures, and sending thank you notes. Suggestions for rallying parent support include seeking parent input, choosing free places, and sending home notes about the trip. A listing of potential field trip sites is…

Presents suggestions to help teachers work with parents during conferences. Before the conference, they should document difficulties, communicate concerns, solicit support, and test out tactics. At the conference, they should welcome parents, take notes, weigh all words, allow for anger, seek parents' suggestions, have responses ready, and partner…

Interviewed elementary and secondary teachers regarding the emotions of teaching and educational change, examining how the culture and organization of teaching influenced experiences and emotions teachers reported in interacting with parents. Results suggest that the culture and organization of teaching influence teachers' values, discourses, and…

Describes the tradition of honor and service provided by the Diocese of Trenton's PTA, which guarantees ongoing connections from the local school to the region to the diocesan level. Summarizes the governance of the PTA in all of the diocese's schools, its 73-year celebration of service, history, organizational structure, parent partnership…

Describes teachers' experiences in a narrative research group. Meeting regularly to discuss their work as educators and researchers, they examined the story of a disagreement between a teacher and parent. Retelling the story within the supportive research group allowed the teacher to reach new insights about what she shared with the parent and why…

Explores some issues associated with multilingualism and dyslexia. Makes reference to research reported at the British Dyslexia Association's first international conference on this topic (June 1999). Synthesizes broad guidelines and provides a framework of questions that are designed to facilitate a collaborative approach between teachers, parents…

Both teachers and parents have similar agendas when it comes to children: the fulfillment of academic potential and the creation of lifelong learners who are well-adjusted, productive members of society. However, basic communication between parents and teachers is often difficult. When children are exceptional, problems with communication are only…

This article describes methods teachers can use to address parents' concerns about reform-oriented mathematics curricula.

The purpose of this study was to explore and better understand the effect of parent participation on the academic success and well being of students, especially those in the elementary grades. This area of concentration was chosen because extensive research has shown that the early years are the most formative and active interaction by parents can…

This exploratory study employed qualitative methodology to analyze interview data that emerged from face-to-face interviews with eight parents of four children with autism spectrum disorder. The study focused on the roles these parents played as they monitored their children's educational programs and interacted with school professionals. The…