Teacher-parent collaborative consultation can be useful in planning appropriate vocational programs for adolescents with disabilities. Such consultation can involve informing parents of vocational opportunities, planning vocational assessment and collecting vocational information, developing vocational components of individualized education plans,…

Presents a definition of empowerment based on research and school-based programing. Discusses ways in which schools can involve parents, teachers, and administrators in an empowerment process that leads to improved student achievement. Offers questions that can be used to focus initiatives in home-school partnerships. (BC)

Parent attitudes and effects of parent participation were studied for workshops for professionals trying to become more family-focused in early intervention programs for children with disabilities. Thirty professionals and six mothers participated. Parent presence influenced the extent to which professionals perceived a need for change in program…

Describes one New York City teacher's project to establish a book store in school offering quality, low cost titles to children. Covers the funding process, physical set-up, parent involvement, staffing with student workers, stocking the store, hours of operation, and positive student and parent response. (JB)

Presents two sets of calendars for July and August that include simple science or math activities for each day. The first set is for students in grades 3-5; the second set is for middle school students. The activities motivate students to investigate and collect data and reinforce concepts learned in school. (SM)

Unfortunately, schools will probably not change much. To prepare for the year 2000, American education must have early childhood readiness programs, a longer teaching day for secondary schools, increased management responsibilities for principals, improved teacher training and tenure law, restricted TV access for students, student and teacher…

A former editor of this journal, 1972-74, selects an outstanding article from his tenure that highlighted the severe drop-out rate among Indian children in Canada. This unique study featured interviews with nine Native families without use of tape recorders, content analysis of interview data, and involvement of the families in data analysis and…

Describes how Butner Elementary School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, transformed a courtyard into a nature learning center, complete with three-tiered pond, fish, animals, and plants. The project, funded through the collection of aluminum cans, is used for science, archaeology, language arts, and social studies activities. The high level of…

Discusses educational reform at three New England elementary schools. It examines one school's exploration of new organization and leadership ideas, another school's efforts to improve the educational quality of ethnic and minority students, and another's increase in parental involvement by means of a family center. (GLR)

Reflects on the need to find the correct balance between the roles of government, families, and schools in educational reform and improvement. Three administrative elements needed to assure successful improvement of school performance and educational quality are examined: legal status of the school; clarity of educational standards; and parental…

Surveys examined the perceptions of 22 early-interventionists about their degree of involving families in the Individualized Family Service Plan process, and assessed the satisfaction of 90 parents regarding the services they and their child received. Parents appeared equally satisfied with interventionists regardless of interventionist's degree…

Advocates that the design and implementation of an early childhood unit in public elementary schools must be adapted to young children's unique needs. Such adaptation can occur by means of developmentally appropriate programs that require proper training for school administrators and staff, program accountability, and promotion of parent and…

The focus of this article is patterns and pattern making using geometric figures. Included are sequentially planned activities for K-8 students that help them first to discover the attributes of various figures and later how to combine these figures into patterns. Finally, this information is applied to real world activities such as quilting and…

This follow-up study examined the daily routines and activities of 85 young adults with severe/profound mental retardation 4 years after moving to community residential units from an institutional setting in Melbourne, Australia. A more normalized lifestyle, increased daily variation, more community interaction, and greater parental involvement…

Describes developmental and behavioral characteristics of homeless young children and their parents. Reports on how states and communities are attempting to meet the early education and care of young children in homeless families. Discusses the needs or problems that early education and care programs that include homeless children should address.…