Families-Schools - Spotlights

Spotlights for Parents and Schools

Parent Resources (Search Archive)

Helpful Tips for Parents: Discussing Your Child’s Report Card (pdf)
Academic Development Institute, Solid Foundation Resources
These tips will help the parent (or caregiver) talk about the report card with the student so that you can work together as a family to help the student succeed in school.
Date Published: December 2008
Spanish version: Hablando Sobre Las Calificaciones Escolares De Su Hijo (pdf)

Educational Rights and Responsibilities: Understanding Special Education in Illinois
Illinois State Board of Education - Special Education and Support Services
This guide was developed for parents and others to learn about the educational rights of children who have (or may have) disabilities and receive special education services.
Date Published: June 2009

School Resources (Search Archive)

Present, Engaged, and Accounted For: The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades
Chang, H. N. & Romero, M., National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University
This report, which was commissioned by the Casey Foundation, addresses the role of parents in child attendance and possible solutions to chronic absenteeism.
Published Date: September 2008

Toolkit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities: Parent Materials
U.S. Department of Education
These materials provide information that can be given to families on assessment, instructional practices, behavior, and accommodations that will help parents become active and informed participants in IEP discussions and other interactions with schools.
Website

School Community Journal Resources (Search Archive)

Walking the Walk: Portraits in Leadership for Family Engagement in Urban Schools
Auerbach, Susan
Vol 19, No 1 - Spring/Summer 2009
This qualitative study offers contextualized portraits of four school leaders notable for their proactive, community-oriented approach. Findings suggest these leaders actively pursued family engagement as part of a broader moral commitment to social justice and educational equity for disenfranchised Latino families. Inspired by various family engagement models but distrustful of traditional parent involvement structures in the district, they shaped activities to the needs of their particular communities.

An Urban School District’s Parent Involvement: A Study of Teachers’ and Administrators’ Beliefs and Practices
Barnyak, Natalie Conrad; McNelly, Tracy A.
Vol 19, No 1 - Spring/Summer 2009
This quantitative study examines the practices and beliefs of administrators and teachers regarding parent involvement in an urban school district following the first year of the implementation of an action plan based on six national standards for parent involvement. Although teachers and administrators report strong beliefs about parent involvement and its importance in strengthening student achievement, what they practice in their schools and classrooms is not congruent with these beliefs.


	CII is a national content center supported by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Award #S283B050057