The author describes the changes which classroom assistants have seen over the past 40 years in terms of their job title and role. He argues that the Plowden Report's recommendations for greater responsibilities, better training opportunities and an increase in the number of teaching assistants in schools are at last being implemented.

Parental involvement in education is shown to extend to the areas of teacher education with recommendations for greater preservice preparation for dealing with parents and planning for staff development with cooperative programs for parents and teachers. (JMF)

Offers suggestions for meeting the schooling needs of homeless students. Discusses who should begin the process, how momentum can be maintained, the role of staff development, and parental involvement. (SR)

Two veteran staff developers explore the challenges and lessons learned as they served as volunteer change facilitators on the school improvement teams in their children's schools. The article examines why they became involved, what they hoped to accomplish, what obstacles they encountered, what they accomplished, and what they learned. (SM)

A comprehensive school management system plan that includes parent participation and staff development is described. The staff development program is influenced by parents' input through surveys and through their direct involvement on site councils. (JMF)

Explores history of Head Start and, to create another way of conceiving of the organization, shifting definitions and conflicting interpretations of parental involvement and staff development. Also draws on interviews with women involved with Head Start and concludes that the certainty and stability characterizing public policy since Enlightenment…

This paper profiles Anna Steffin, principal of a Canadian elementary school, who has built a community of learners among her teachers and encourages quality staff development, collegiality, parent participation, and parent teacher cooperation. She promotes her beliefs by being an active participant in all activities. (SM)

Many teachers feel inadequately prepared to work with parents. Administrators must stress that only the home and school working together can create effective schools and that staff development to help teachers, specialists, and support staff achieve that partnership is worthwhile. (Author/LHW)

Reviews Catholic school provisions for the education of blind and visually handicapped students and considers what more needs to be done to fully implement the Pastoral Statement of the Bishops on Handicapped People (1978). Suggests a vision consultant to coordinate services and provide staff development. (SJL)

This paper examines the concept of a capacity for problem solving through an analysis of data concerning the perspectives of the local school community. The paper's underlying assumption is that within a school community, different groups (i.e., parents, teachers, or administrators) may have markedly different capacities and methods for solving…

The role of supported employment in the transition of disabled students from school to work is examined. Needed are functional vocational training curricula, student placement in jobs, school collaboration with adult service agencies, development of a community transition team, staff development, collaborative planning, parental involvement,…

Describes how one independent Hawaiian school worked to situate technology within its program and how its headmaster affected the progress. Because students had been exposed to varying levels of computer technology, a planning team had to determine a direction for its program. The plan included computer instruction for school staff. (SM)

Early intervention, substantial parent involvement, effective instruction, and staff development that empowers teachers can improve the achievement of at-risk students. The task is to combine each of these components into a coherent whole by coordinating the efforts of the school, the family, and the community into a comprehensive set of…

These two commentaries on the article "Head Start: Challenges and Training Needs" (Leah Buscemi and others) discuss the role of technical assistance providers in helping grantees work with community institutions, especially local education agencies; the need for formal written interagency agreements; the necessity for creating parent…

Opinions of professionals from 16 agencies were obtained to identify techniques that agencies serving adults or adolescents with mental retardation could utilize to provide systematic sex education and counseling. Recommendations are offered in five areas: self-advocacy and self-determination, individual design, staff training and support,…