Minimal communication between school and home was found to contribute to low performance by students at McDuffie High School (South Carolina). This report describes the experience of establishing a computer-based telephone messaging system in the high school and involving parents, teachers, and students in its use. Additional strategies employed…

This practicum was designed to improve development of individualized education plans (IEPs) of mainstreamed students with disabilities in one junior high school, through applied strategies to increase the active involvement of regular classroom teachers, parents, and students in the decision-making process and IEP development. Interventions with…

The problem addressed by the practicum was that students, parents, and teachers in the school district studied did not actively participate in electronic mail opportunities. The goal of the practicum was to increase involvement in electronic mail (e-mail) among fifth and sixth grade students, their teachers, and parents. A telecommunications…

This document describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a 10-week parent effectiveness training program to improve black elementary school student attitudes and participation in extracurricular activities by improving the attitudes of their parents towards school. The program was developed in consultation with teachers and…

This practicum was designed to improve the attendance rate for African American male students in the After School Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) program. The attendance rate for male students was far below that of female students. The following strategies to increase male participation in the reading program were developed: local businesses and…

A practicum was designed to utilize various techniques to: (1) improve the involvement of parents and volunteers in the education of fourth grade students; (2) help the students develop a more positive attitude toward self, school, home, and community; and (3) increase students' school attendance rate and participation in school and community…

This practicum was developed to involve Hispanic parents in a middle school where Hispanic parent involvement was nonexistent. Thirty at-risk Hispanic eighth graders in an urban middle school were identified by the eighth-grade guidance counselor as in danger of not being promoted to the ninth grade. The objectives of this practicum were that 30%…

This practicum was designed to enhance the school and home learning environments of 20 neurologically and perceptually impaired students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Participating students received daily regular class and resource room instruction. Needs assessment measures revealed that little learning characteristic data were available…

A practicum focused on improving listening skills in four- to five-year-old children. The practicum targeted the following specific listening skills for improvement: (1) discriminating English phonemes; (2) recognizing words heard in a story; (3) repeating a short story; and (4) following verbal instructions. Teaching strategies which the…

The lack of parent involvement in an elementary school's parent drug education programs and related activities was addressed by the implementation of numerous strategies. Objectives included an increase in parent attendance at such programs and in completed and returned parent drug education homework assignments. Assisting in the implementation of…

The goal of this practicum was to continue parent classroom participation from Head Start to kindergarten. Questionnaire data indicated that, while 27 percent of parents volunteer regularly in Head Start, only 8 percent volunteer regularly in kindergarten. To increase parent participation in kindergarten, Head Start parents and kindergarten…

Upon request from parents, students were released from a rural Rocky Mountains high school to take a class in religious education where they were encouraged to read at least one chapter of scripture each day. In addition to daily reading, students were encouraged to ponder what they read and apply it to their daily lives. According to the…

A practicum was designed to increase the number of elementary pupils who would be able to identify legal and illegal substances and to make informed decisions in their daily lives. Secondary goals of the practicum were to increase the number of pupils who attained good school attendance and who exhibited good self-esteem, and to increase the…

This practicum project defined the roles and responsibilities of parent cooperative preschool team members to help parents identify who was responsible for different functions in the co-op preschool. A 10-week intervention strategy was implemented to provide information and support to parents during the first 2 months of the school year.…

The practicum reported here was designed for elementary school mainstream teachers experiencing difficulty with the instruction of limited English proficient pupils. It presented teaching strategies intended to involve the LEP pupil as an active and successful participant in the mainstream classroom. The training address the following seven…