The attributes of Kentucky's Primary Program are developmentally appropriate practices; multi-age classrooms; continuous progress; authentic assessment; qualitative reporting; professional teamwork; and parent involvement. This document serves as a guide for teachers who wish to make changes concerning these attributes as they relate to four…

This report summarizes two joint sessions held by the Indian Nations At Risk Task Force and the National Advisory Council on Indian Education to hear testimony on educational partnerships in Native American education. Successful partnerships are described, including: (1) school-business partnerships that allow students to explore career…

A study was done of the degree to which a program of comprehensive training in shared decision-making was implemented in Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools. Focus was on reliably measuring the implementation of shared decision-making processes and principles and identifying factors that might promote the adoption of this model at the local level.…

This publication discusses issues of parent-teacher partnerships that affect children's development. An introductory chapter suggests that the central figures in fostering the development of a child's potential are the significant adults in the child's world. Chapter 2 considers family relationships as prototypes for later partnerships, and lists…

This publication includes two reports describing the development and beginning evaluations of two separate programs of the Baltimore (Maryland) School and Family Connections Project designed to increase parents' involvement in their children's learning in urban elementary schools. The first report, "Reactions of Parents and Teachers to…

This study examined the process of parent-school communication from the perspective of Native American parents in a consolidated, rural school district. The multi-model qualitative study used participant observation, open-ended interviews, and document collection to focus on the relatively wealthy, rural consolidated district, encompassing three…

This research investigated the influence of parental involvement on the academic achievement of 1,714 Mexican-American 8th-grade students, a subsample of the National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS 88). A structural equation model was used to investigate the direct, indirect, and total effects of parental involvement, previous academic…

A democratic model of educational evaluation and some policy recommendations to develop culturally appropriate evaluation are presented. The traditional hard science paradigm in research must be replaced with evaluation designed to feed back to communities of varying cultural backgrounds. The most fundamental assumption of the new model is…

This publication uses a question-and-answer format to provide parents with basic information about special education services. It is provided in both English and Spanish versions. Questions address the following concerns: purposes of the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act); beginning the student evaluation process; components of the…

In nongraded education, children of different ages and ability levels are taught together and make continuous progress rather than being promoted once per year. Research studies support nongraded primary education by indicating that young children vary in their rates of intellectual development and learn best through hands-on activities with…

Information on the implementation of services for preschool children with special needs and their families, acquired from a survey of 60 states and jurisdictions is presented. The information is organized into nine sections reflecting major state activities related to the Part B--Section 619 portion of the Individuals with Disabilities Education…

This study examined the impact of awareness workshops component of the West Point/Mississippi State University Enrichment Project for parents of junior high school students who had experienced academic failure or behavior problems. Focusing on effective parenting skills and conducted by graduate students divided into three total quality management…

This report describes a program for improving academic productivity in an elementary school in Rockford, Illinois. Students were unmotivated, unproductive, and uninvolved in academic life, as measured by teacher observation and student behavior. Examination of teacher records revealed that the learning disabled or behavior disordered resource…

Recognizing the failure of American schools to educate Hispanic and other minority students, educators are searching for new strategies and discovering the powerful role that parents can play in advancing educational goals. A growing body of evidence supports the belief that involving parents in their children's education works in the best…

A survey was conducted of 82 rural parents of students with disabilities or giftedness on the topic of open enrollment. The survey examined demographic characteristics, sources of information, reasons for transfer, and changes in parental involvement with schools. Most of the rural students with special educational needs who chose to participate…