This issue is the last in a three-part series on teaching quality. The first examined the effectiveness of various approaches to recruiting, educating, and inducting teachers. This report discusses the school environment and role of teachers' working conditions in attracting and retaining good teachers, noting several disparate factors that…

This publication is designed for families with young children ages four through eight. It aims to help families acquire methods and materials through which to make mathematics more accessible for all students. Special focus is placed on those students from groups that are not traditionally well-represented in mathematics: students of color, girls,…

Designed for Spanish-speaking parents of students with disabilities living in Oregon, this brochure describes the general mediation process that parents can use to resolve special education services disputes with schools. It begins by discussing what mediation is and the characteristics of a trained mediator. It addresses the requirement for…

This trainer's manual focuses on facilitating collaboration in an educational setting. It begins with tips for trainers to involve training session participants, answer questions and respond to challenges, and evaluate their own performance, along with sample agendas and worksheets used in collaboration training. Each of the next six sections…

Mobilizing communities to support educational improvements is one of the challenges confronting educators in the Freely Associated States (FAS), which consists of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. This booklet aims to establish a consensus on broad educational goals and to rebuild…

This 2004 survey from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and Grunwald Associates includes data from 455 school district decision-makers for technology. The report points to large and growing disparities in funding for school technology and questions if these differences signal a growing digital divide. The survey reveals, schools are…

This booklet answers parents' questions about the following: Kentucky's Writing Portfolio program, the process which leads to effective writing, and the parent's role in the development of children's writing skills. The first section discusses the stages of the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) and how…

This practicum project sought to improve nutrition in a day care program serving children ages 2 through 14 years by increasing staff, student, and parent knowledge about nutrition. The primary goal was to increase knowledge and interest in nutrition and its relation to wellness of students, staff, and parents. The second goal was to provide…

Studies indicate that information provided by students may contribute to successful implementation of educational innovations, but educators seldom seek out student perspectives. In April and May 1997, over 160 high school students participated in 16 focus groups in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The students were primarily…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles parents play in students' learning of mathematics in the home setting and to examine the relationships between parental involvement and students' learning of mathematics. This study attempts to identify the kinds of parental roles which contribute to students' learning of mathematics. This…

This paper describes how one professional development elementary school in Detroit (Michigan) encouraged high levels of parent involvement. In 1993, school faculty joined with six universities to form a collaborative partnership. The group believed that all partners had an equal voice and that parents should participate in all meetings and groups.…

A study evaluated the Title 1 Reading Program that served 5,298 underachieving pupils in grades 1 through 8 in the Columbus, Ohio, public schools. The program provided service to 76 public elementary schools, 24 public middle schools, and 14 nonpublic schools. Program teachers provided small group instruction to strengthen reading skills in grades…

A study evaluated the Title 1 Reading Program that served 3,944 underachieving pupils in grades 1 through 8 in the Columbus, Ohio, public schools. The program provided service to 62 public elementary schools, 22 public middle schools, and 10 nonpublic schools. Program teachers provided small group instruction to strengthen reading skills in grades…

Designed for parents in Kentucky, this handbook describes the Kentucky primary program and provides information about how parents can work with schools during the transition from preschool to ensure that their children receive an appropriate education. Children with educational disabilities are served in a variety of ways in the primary program.…

The science education reform movement is difficult for parents to understand because the new constructivist paradigm is far afield from science education as parents experienced it themselves. Educators in a New England middle school developed a new science curriculum without inviting general parental input. The problem addressed by this study was…