How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the home literacy environment, parental engagement, and home-school communications for children and families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? Data on the experiences of 231 Chinese-Canadian immigrant families with K-2 children revealed that emergency remote learning affected the home…

An important part of student success in school is the involvement of families. However, the communication between students and families regarding school is often sparse at best and caregivers can feel left out as to what is happening. Friday letters improve communication between students and families and also provide a myriad of instructional…

In this article a literacy lead teacher tells the story what happened when kindergarteners were taught to link certain sounds with particular hand and body gestures. Many children were so intrigued with "using the motions" that they shared these procedures with their parents. Terry Kindervater explains how this happened and describes some of the…

In this article, a reading specialist tells her own story of making parental involvement work with kindergarten children in her school. Using a research-based instructional routine that involves parents and children in repeatedly reading a rhythmical text followed by a brief activity involving letter learning, phonemic awareness, and phonics, this…

Research suggests that parent involvement improves academic achievement, but in the busy world in which we live it is often difficult to promote. Many researchers suggest that successful programs value parents' limited time constraints, diversity of literacy skills, and availability of materials. The Great Poetry Race provides an easy vehicle to…

Urban schools represent educational challenges for teachers, but they can also provide models for effective instruction for linguistically, culturally, and racially diverse students. In this "Reading Research Into the Classroom" column, the authors examine the research on high-achieving urban schools and make appropriate instructional…

Presents six successful approaches for increasing parental awareness of a school's reading program. (MKM)

Presents some sources and resources that allow educators to obtain relevant data, printed materials, purposeful advice, and ideas that ensure effective home-school relationships. Lists addresses of organizations readers may wish to contact to obtain information. (MG)

Explains a program which involves parents as equal partners, sharing the responsibility for their children's education. (MKM)

Discusses why strong parental involvement programs are difficult to implement. Suggests guidelines for beginning programs of parental involvement in reading curriculum. (MM)

Suggests that communication between teachers and parents and other community members is noticeably enhanced when the following indicators can be clearly observed among the communicators: warmth, empathy, respect, genuineness, listening, and concrete practicality. (MG)

Discusses parental involvement in education. (FL)

Argues that teachers need to be aware of the effect adult illiteracy has in their classrooms. Discusses identifying low-literate parents, what to do next, and ways to support low-literate parents. (SR)

Discusses how to create an effective working partnership between parents and teachers. Discusses parents as part of their children's literacy development, as teaching partners in the classroom, as resource persons in the classroom, and as teachers at home. (SR)

Provides a selection of criteria (including needs assessment, shared responsibilities, decision making, constant communication, and continuous participation) which must be part of lasting and long-term outreach efforts with parents. (MG)