Questions that challenge the curriculum can put educators on the defensive. Lauren Porosoff discusses helpful ways that educators can be proactive about creating productive and meaningful conversations with parents and community members about curriculum choices and the reasons behind them.

Authors and education consultants Jane Kise and Ann C. Holm explore how teachers and leaders can treat challenges facing their schools as "polarities" which require regular work and attention to the needs of the entire community, as opposed to quick, one-time fixes. This approach not only provides more effective solutions to ingrained…

In early December 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team at the author's son's school met with her online about supporting her autistic son in his general education social studies class. Looking at the many faces on the screen who had gathered to support her son, the author realized how grateful she…

Schools are facing a growing number of disaffected parents. To win them back, says one policy analyst, educators need to take their concerns to heart. After two-and-a-half pandemic years, writes policy analyst Robert Pondiscio, public schools are facing a growing number of disaffected parents--a trend reflected in declining enrollments. Pondiscio…

When an English learner is referred for an evaluation for disability and possible special education services, educators must establish a trusting relationship with that student's family, clarifying the process for them and making the family part of all decision making. Urtubey explains cultural differences we should be aware of in how many Latinx…

Matthew A. Kraft, an assistant professor of education and economics at Brown University, highlights new research showing that frequent, personalized outreach to parents can boost parent engagement and student achievement. He offers tips on how schools can create infrastructures, including digital technology tools, to better support such…

Parents know that writing is essential to their children's success, and they're eager to help their children become good writers. But often, they're at a loss about how to help. Instead of leaving them in the dark, schools can make parents into valuable writing partners by giving them a toolkit of guidelines for coaching writers.…

The authors, principals at a high-poverty school in Nashville, Tennessee, find that key actions to building a strong school culture and morale are communicating clearly, recognizing everyone's contributions, and giving students and parents many ways to become involved at school. They portray a specific process that Hunters Lane High School has…

Philadelphia is an economically diverse city, but its neighborhoods remain economically segregated. Some children live in luxurious row houses; others, in decaying buildings. The neighborhoods in which children often dictate how much exposure to print they experience in their early years, as well how much and what type of adult support they…

In Maplewood Richmond Height, Missouri, the Teacher Home Visit Program has become a crucial component of the district's success. At the end of the first semester of the 2010-11 school year, discipline referrals were down 45 percent, and parent attendance at each school's first open house was up by almost 20 percent. Attendance is nudging up as…

In 2010, after several years of strong opposition from teachers, the South Korean government announced a new teacher evaluation system--Evaluation of Teacher Professional Development--which would be required for all teachers. The new system seeks to foster teacher professional development and, consequently, improve the quality of education.…

Wouldn't it be great if a school's administrators and teachers could sit down with parents and exchange ideas about what part each might play in supporting students' learning--especially in schools with at-risk students? Henderson, Carson, Avallone, and Whipple describe how they helped three elementary schools in Connecticut do just that, through…

As a researcher in parent engagement in school and former parent activist, the author shares three lessons for sparking more authentic partnerships between schools and immigrant families. First, schools need to move away from deficit thinking and validate families' cultures. In the case of Latino immigrant families, this entails understanding…

When educators seek ways to connect with families and communities, they typically begin by looking outward. They attend to the barriers, challenges, and conditions that exist out there--families living in poverty, differing levels of parental education, and discrepant access to resources. Pushor proposes that educators begin instead by looking…

To create the kinds of school-family partnerships that raise student achievement, improve local communities, and increase public support, schools need to understand the difference between family involvement and family engagement. Schools that emphasize the latter tend toward doing with families, rather than doing to families. These schools do more…