The purpose of this paper is to support school professionals in their work with parents as they meet IDEA (2004) requirements during IEP meetings. The authors share tools to help recognize when IDEA principles are violated and provide alternative responses that school professionals and parents can offer. Definitions and brief explanations of the…

The Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) is a Chicago organization that, since 1997, has conducted a successful in-depth, parent-school collaboration program in nine schools on the northwest side of the city that represent about 10,000 students, or 2.5 percent of Chicago Public Schools' (CPS) total enrollment. It is a high-minority,…

Building strong bonds between home and school is one of National Middle School Association's (2003) 14 characteristics for successful middle schools set forth in "This We Believe". Getting teachers to actually believe in the value of parental involvement is not always easy. This article examines a range of key issues in the literature on…

Describes a campus day care center which focuses on providing special services (such as evening care, a parent corner, and access to counseling services) to parents and their children. (MP)

Each school's version of a partnership with parents is unique, and no generic model exists. Designated in 1988 as one of 14 model schools in the New Jersey State Department of Education "Parents as Partners in Learning" project, the Mildred Magowan school in Edgewater Park has followed a systematic approach that has consistently led to…

The Gifted Department of the Rockford Illinois Public Schools has provided a preschool summer program for identified gifted children and their parents attending cojoint sessions with preschoolers in a classroom environment directed by a teacher and parents in a discussion/work group with a psychologist. (Author/SBH)

Presents evidence that schools inconsistently tap the social, cultural, and linguistic resources of families, privileging specific groups. Argues that teachers need to examine their literacy practices and the ways these affect students. Offers a description of an Australian program to provide a framework for bridging home and school literacies.…

Serving as a "how-to" manual, this book includes historical and background information on the "Link for Learning" project in Hughes School District in eastern Arkansas, followed by a step-by-step approach to the development of a parent education project. The first part of the booklet describes the school and community, the…

The manner in which a classroom teacher frames questions or directions to the students reveals his or her philosophy of reading and determines what the teacher does in the classroom. A written philosophy about reading for elementary schools can provide a sense of direction in making all kinds of important decisions, and can also furnish the…

To examine the characteristics and problems of training procedures for parents of handicapped children, the paper focuses on the rationale for parents as teachers, the effectiveness of different models of training procedures evident in early intervention programs, and the combination of factors (parents' motivation and needs, professional ability,…

Describes St. Maria Goretti School's Home/School-Read/Discuss program in which parent, teacher, and child sign a contract for leisure reading. Both parent and child read and discuss the selected books. Responsibilities of each participant are listed on the sample reading contract provided. (SJL)

A fourth-grade teacher explains how she began planning for retention possibilities as soon as the Fall achievement test results became available by notifying parents immediately, working with them throughout the school year to help their failing children, and involving them in the promotion/nonpromotion decision. (SJL)

Describes current action which emphasizes the need to match the resources of people in neighborhoods with those provided by social agencies. (Author/MP)

Describes one elementary school's efforts to increase parental involvement in its day-to-day operations. The procedure adopted to expand parental involvement included analysis and selection of the school's needs, goal setting, parent training, spreading the word, outreach to parents unable to come to the school, ways of showing appreciation to…

Offers descriptions of successful volunteer programs in two schools: one a school-wide program using parents as volunteers to increase student achievement, and the other a literacy program that depends on volunteers in one 1st-grade classroom. Notes that it takes time and effort to organize and involve volunteers productively, but that they can…