Recounts the childhood experiences of the son of a children's author. Describes the father's writing habits, his use of imagery in his books, and his custom of reading his new stories aloud to his children. (NKA)

An active role is recommended for family members involved in rehabilitation of cognitive communicative impairments of head-injured individuals. The paper discusses family systems theory, dysfunctional family reactions to the cognitive communicative behaviors of the head-injured member, and methods of assisting the family to develop the…

Evaluates the Family Program, a family-centered program in northern Virginia which provides intensive in-home support and treatment to families with children in the custody of county child welfare departments. The sample comprises 42 closed cases. Results show that families that are at risk benefit significantly from extensive support systems.…

Structured in-home interviews with 99 parents of severely impaired students (ages 3-8) assessed parents' satisfaction with schooling, their involvement with it, communication with the school, and perceived benefits. Among findings was that parent involvement correlated significantly with such variables as overall family adjustment and level of…

This Issue Brief describes school-to-home communication practices and opportunities for parent involvement at school as reported by parents of U.S. school-age students from primarily English-and primarily Spanish-speaking households during the 2002-03 school year. Data are drawn from the Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the…

Lions Quest "Skills for Adolescence" is a schoolwide program designed for middle school students (grades 6-8). The program was designed to promote good citizenship skills, core character values, and social-emotional skills and discourage the use of drugs, alcohol, and violence. The program includes a classroom curriculum, schoolwide…

Schools that students experience as safe and supportive will be more successful at promoting student achievement and developing qualities such as good character and citizenship. However, this commonsensible priority is sometimes slighted when other issues demand a school's attention. This guide identifies four core elements necessary to create and…

This paper argues for the need to move beyond the paradigm of parental involvement in reading, which presently informs home/school reading programs for linguistic minority children in the United Kingdom (UK). The first part of the paper examines the literature informing the current model showing the marked absence of studies on the role played by…

Maintaining that working with one's family to decide on purposes, visions, values, and a focus on the future will be a parent's most important leadership activity, these audiotapes and learning guide provide the tools for developing a family mission statement. Tape 1, side A introduces the urgency of a family mission statement, and provides an…

A study explored strategies for improving the involvement of parents with children with disabilities in rural schools. Data collected from 52 parents of children with disabilities in Central Virginia rural schools supported several findings of earlier studies conducted among lower socioeconomic groups. Answers to open-ended questions in the survey…

This article examines a collaborative practice-based research project. It recounts the experiences of a kindergarten teacher as she implemented a program to increase family involvement in education. The text is based on classroom documents, parent meetings, and parent interviews. The setting for the narrative is a Basic School, a type of school…

Parents of children with disabilities are frequently asked to tell all or part of their family's life story. These stories are potentially powerful ways to develop empathic relationships among parents and professionals. This document discusses ways parents can prepare and present their stories so that key themes are emphasized and the information…

This issue discusses homework issues related to students with disabilities and how to ensure that students with disabilities benefit from homework. It addresses communication problems teachers face in assigning homework to students with disabilities and recommendations for overcoming these communication barriers. Strategies are provided for…

This handbook, developed from the authors' experience working with parents and children in a family literacy program in Niagra Falls, Canada, presents ideas and activities that help family members work together to learn why reading and writing are important and how children learn about literacy. It provides parents with step-by-step instructions…

This paper asserts that early childhood teachers need to consider the families with whom they work in order to select the most effective ways to involve them in their child's education. The paper presents strategies mentioned most often in interviews with teachers and families working in effective family involvement programs. Each strategy is…