A pre-kindergarten program serving poor urban Aboriginal families in Saskatchewan, Canada, used parent-created literacy boxes based on a topic of interest to their child and themselves. It was found that the literacy box experiment encouraged families to come into the classroom to read with their child, allowed the teacher to become more…

A study examined patterns and predictors of service use by 85 families of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) graduates, specifically premature infants. Enabling variables (NICU contacts and follow-up services) and parents' perceptions of children's problems were major predictors of service use. No demographic characteristics predicted service…

Describes characteristics of Japanese preschool children's television viewing and gives examples of the development of new television programs. Highlights include the influence of videocassette recorders (VCRs); parental involvement; television viewing at kindergartens and nursery schools; the viewing of Sesame Street in Japan; and the possibility…

Describes two Head Start projects designed to make the transition from preschool to kindergarten less stressful for Head Start children and their families. Programs are the Mille Lacs Reservation Head Start program in Minnesota and the East Coast Migrant Head Start project in Fort Pierce, Florida. Project evaluations are summarized. (BB)

Deficit models of low-income parents' involvement in schools are giving way to concepts of empowerment. An after-school computer education program in an inner-city youth club kindled parent interest and participation by focusing on children's educational success and valuing parents both as parents and as adult learners. (22 references) (SK)

This article discusses applications of education legislation for drug-addicted children, including the Education for All Handicapped Children Act and Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which recognizes smoking and drug addiction as handicapping conditions. Suggested guidelines for parents seeking school support services under these laws…

A study of the effect of parent-school relationship improvement efforts on student achievement examined operation of home-reading programs in five disadvantaged Australian primary schools. Advantages in reading achievement for the children (n=140) persisted for children of high-contact and high-support parents after three years. (Author/MSE)

Parental access to community-based assistance was investigated in 70 households with relation to occupational status and age of their intellectually disabled child/teenager. Lower-occupational-status parents were less likely to have received help with "information," while parents of children aged three-five were most likely to have…

Provides suggestions that teachers can pass on to parents about how computers can be used to provide meaningful early literacy opportunities. Includes seven rules of thumb useful for parents who want information on using computers for educational purposes. (MG)

Describes the Institute for Responsive Education's Schools Reaching Out project, which attempts to increase student achievement by fostering improved relationships among families, schools, and other community agencies and institutions. These partnerships are seen as crucial in restructuring schools through parent involvement, teacher empowerment,…

Introduces an issue devoted to the Schools Reaching Out projects at David A. Ellis School in Roxbury (MA) and Adolph S. Ochs School in New York City. Projects attempt to link the schools with parents and their communities to promote the students' academic and social success. (DM)

A minimally trained paraprofessional made 6 visits to the homes of mildly mentally retarded and behaviorally disordered rural primary students to teach their parents basic instructional methods in mathematics. After 12 weeks of parent tutoring, the mathematical performance of experimental subjects improved significantly compared to that of matched…

Describes the Bringing Out Head Start Talents (BOHST) project, which was designed to modify materials and procedures for training Head Start personnel, parents, and volunteers to identify disabled and low-income gifted children and develop appropriate programs for them. (BB)

Describes the building, curriculum, students, teacher, and instructional methods of an Old Order Mennonite one-room school in Pennsylvania. Data indicate that students spend most of their time on individual assignments, Mennonite heritage permeates the school, and school is an important sociocultural instrument to socialize Mennonite children and…

Summarizes recent ERIC documents on at-risk children. (Author/BB)