Every child is unique and learns in different ways. Some children are identified as needing special education services to support his or her learning at school. Parents can play a major role in shaping the services a child receives. This guidebook has been written for parents, guardians, and surrogate parents of a child (ages 3 to 21 or…

This article describes the 1st-year evaluation of a community-wide parent and family involvement program initiated in a midsized Southeast community and school district. The program consists of three major components: community-wide efforts, school-home communication, and home involvement. Formative and summative evaluation data were gathered…

The experience of the University of Southern Mississippi in sponsoring "The Parenting the Gifted Children Conference" is described. Discussed are needs assessment, conference format, selection of speakers, budget, public relations, conference evaluation, and physical facilities. Included are a sample evaluation form, a conference…

Guidelines are provided for parents, teachers, and administrators interested in implementing a volunteer program in classrooms or in an entire school system. This guide is divided into seven sections that deal with: (1) benefits derived from participation in a parent involvement program; (2) 10 points to consider in beginning a volunteer program;…

This handbook suggests ways for parents to help improve the achievement of their middle school-age children. A general introduction discusses the development of 10- to 14-year-olds and ways parents can help these children reach their potential. Chapter 1 begins with a description of middle schoolers and changes in their growth, the way they act…

Intended for parents of infants and preschoolers with visual impairments, this booklet encourages parent involvement in all aspects of educational programming for their children and provides guidelines for selection of a suitable program. The first section examines the stresses involved during transitions from one program to another. Parents are…

Parents of gifted children are advised to follow a four-step plan of information gathering and advocacy when their children are not receiving an appropriate educational program. Examples of three parents following this procedure are presented, along with a checklist for program and teacher evaluation. (DB)

This manual is intended to be used in conjunction with a 1-day training workshop to help parents of children with emotional disorders establish working alliances with protection and advocacy agencies for people with mental illness (PAMIs). The workshop prepares parents for developing specific plans for forging alliances with the state PAMI. The…

This report provides a summary of the process parents must go through to participate in each of the nation's school choice programs, identifying problem areas in some programs. For the first time in one place, this report collects data on participation in each of the programs in current and previous years. Data are given for the number of students…

The Families in Education Program, dedicated to nurturing a family-community-school partnership, provides this packet for Wisconsin schools to use throughout the year to promote families and learning. The articles in this packet contain ideas for making family-community partnerships work in the schools. Articles address the following topics: (1)…

This guide offers suggestions for cooperation between the school or child care center and the home, and provides guidance to parents for their participation in centers and schools. It describes the necessary steps in planning for varied parent involvement and includes examples of parent involvement activities. Topics addressed in planning the…

This handbook suggests to parents ways to plan, develop, and implement an after school child care program. Following a description of the initial child care needs assessment in the community, guidance for deciding the appropriate program type and step-by-step administrative instructions for establishing the program as a business are given. The…

This bilingual handbook, in English and Spanish on facing pages, is intended to provide general information to Chicago (Illinois) public school parents about school discipline. After two brief introductory chapters that set forth the scope of the issue, the third chapter provides the following general guidelines for discipline programs in…

This handbook, designed for classroom teachers, administrators, and parents of limited-English-proficient (LEP) children, describes aspects of successful bilingual education program design. In general, the handbook's focus is on school settings with large numbers of LEP students. Chapter 1 reviews research findings on effective program design and…

The manual is intended for inservice training of parents and professional teams in reviewing and rating, from a parent perspective, the existing quality of special education programs for handicapped students. Each team consists of three parents and one educator who receive training in the application of quality indicators previously developed by…