Parent engagement is one approach to decrease the opportunity gap for Black, American Indian, and all children of color. This report from the field describes the use of the World Café participatory approach to support parent engagement in five early childhood, culturally embedded Montessori programs. Serving the Whole Child (SWC) is a…

In general, youth whose parents are involved in their schooling experience better academic outcomes. Yet some parents, especially those with few resources in low-income urban communities, face barriers to becoming engaged in school and community. This report from the field describes the "Neighboring Project Parent Empowerment and Volunteer…

In this chapter Dr. Cochran uses an empirically based overarching conceptual framework linking historical patterns, current policy goals and intervening influences as a tool for understanding the policy and program outcomes manifested in the early education programs of representative Western countries (Australia, France, Italy, Sweden). Policy…

North Queens Community High School serves approximately 200 students, 16-20 years old, as they strive to reach their personal and academic goals. All students at North Queens have previously been enrolled in high school elsewhere and are over-age and undercredited. Small class sizes, student-centered support, and an accelerated credit acquisition…

Summarizes results of an NASSP-sponsored, 3-year study of the K-12 transition process in 7 demonstration centers representing various types of school districts. Findings showed that middle school transitions were crucial. The most critical elements of this transition process are communication, cooperation, consensus, and commitment of school…

College programs targeting parents as potential donors are discussed. Factors to be considered in program development, such as finding the right constituency, approaching them, program budgeting, and incorporating the program into others, are examined. Benefits of such programs are seen as substantial. (MSE)

This final report describes activities undertaken by three school districts in the Austin, Texas area to monitor the implementation of the Employer-Supported Parental Involvement in Education (ES/PIE) Program, an initiative of the Working Parents Project (WPP) of the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL). The ES/PIE program was…

Two Transition Planners, containing rating scales and open-ended questions, were used to involve parents of preschool handicapped children in the identification of transition-related needs. Parents rated as very important opportunities for them to participate in planning and selecting the next program and receiving descriptions of potential…

Parents can offer a college time, loyalty, and money. Leading roles currently played by parents in campus programs include recruiter, career counselor, political supporter, and fundraiser. Keeping track of parents, organizing and orienting them as volunteers, funding the programs, and assessing the efforts' effectiveness are important elements.…

In the second year of a longitudinal case study, the impact of P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, on 12 elementary students in special education, and changes in four problem areas outlined in the law were evaluated: 1) individualized educational programs (IEP's), 2) least restrictive environment, 3) protection in…

This practicum paper documents the development and distribution of a handbook for child care administrators designed to increase parent involvement. It provides a review of the literature on parent involvement in day care centers and outlines the process used to develop the 12-page handbook. The handbook includes ways in which to measure the…

This paper identifies and reviews successful parent involvement programs for language minority parents of elementary school through secondary school children that could serve as a basis for the development of a home-school partnership model. Following an introduction, chapter 1, "Setting the Stage," provides a rationale for involving…

To identify the changes associated with the school turnaround process, this article reviewed 15 case studies of elementary school turnaround initiatives that sustained improvements for at least two years. Changes were clustered into eight categories: leadership, school policy, programs, organizational processes, staffing, classroom practices,…

Four papers address cultural issues related to the involvement of limited-English-proficient parents in public schools in the United States. "Cultural Issues in Indochinese Parent Involvement" (Bach-Tuyet (Pham) Tran) outlines the linguistic, social, and practical barriers to Indochinese immigrant parent involvement and makes suggestions for…

This report describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs designed to improve the educational opportunities of working class children in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. First, an overview of the objectives, program types, timetable and organizational structure is presented. Secondly, programs are described according to three…