This paper describes how parents and the school can work together to improve educational outcomes. It describes collaborative community-involvement strategies used at Gerard Elementary School in Cleburne, Texas. The school offers a meet-the-teacher day at the beginning of the school year, a parent-orientation night, and parent-school conferences.…

Most school districts have cautiously avoided situations in which they may violate the legal principle of church-state separation. This paper describes a few cases in which public schools found ways to legally include Christian activities for Christian students. The passage of the United States Equal Access Act in 1984 allowed religious clubs…

This paper describes how an elementary school included parents in participative decision making to develop successful student-affairs programming. Including parents in the development of school activities mollifies complainers, creates opportunities for parent input, and facilitates innovation. Student-affairs programming offers an excellent…