September 2005 Announcement

Dear FINE Member,

FINE's monthly announcement now returns to its regular schedule after a summer break during July and August. Here are this month's FINE member announcements. Please feel free to forward this information to friends and other education colleagues.

New on the FINE Website

• Resource Guide: Taking a Closer Look: A Guide to Online Resources on Family Involvement

  There is more information on family involvement online than any one person can keep track of now. Harvard Family Research Project has taken a closer look and compiled and categorized this large body of information in order to make it easier for practicing educators to access and use. The document contains Web links to research, information, programs, and tools from over 100 national organizations. It provides information about parenting practices to support children's learning and development, home-school relationships, parent leadership development, and collective engagement for school improvement and reform.

• Research Report: Understanding Family Involvement in the Preparation of Graduate Students: Measuring Family-Centered Beliefs, Skills, Systems, and Practices

  Angie Giallourakis, Kristie Pretti-Frontczak, and Bryan Cook examine the family-centered beliefs, skills, environment, and work practices of graduate students studying early childhood. This report describes their results and suggests implications for professional development.

• Research Digest: Family Involvement in the Education of Secondary-School-Age Students With Disabilities

  Lynn Newman, Senior Education Researcher at SRI International, explores how families of students with disabilities are involved in their children's education at home and school and how characteristics of children and families are related to families' level of participation.

• Member Insight: How Can We Prepare Teachers to Work With Culturally Diverse Students and Their Families?

  Based on his research with Black families, Sherick Hughes, Assistant Professor in the College of Education at the University of Toledo, details how knowledge of home teaching strategies can help teachers engage families.

New From Harvard Family Research Project

• New Issue of The Evaluation Exchange on Complementary Learning

  Harvard Family Research Project recognizes that for children to be successful in school and life there must be an array of learning supports around them. These supports and opportunities, which must reach beyond the school, should complement one another and be linked and aligned. We call this network of supports complementary learning. Family involvement, early childhood education, and after school programs are all examples of complementary learning in that they support and complement the work of schools. The spring 2005 issue of The Evaluation Exchange delves into the kinds of mechanisms that can create these linkages and sustain their effectiveness, and highlight promising approaches for evaluating the complementary-learning practices that already exist, both in terms of what outcomes to focus on and what methodologies to use.

  We sent a hard copy of this issue of The Evaluation Exchange to all FINE members. If you did not receive a copy in the mail, please send an email to fine@gse.harvard.edu with your correct mailing address. If you would like to receive multiple copies to disseminate to staff or colleagues, please send a request to hfrp_pubs@gse.harvard.edu.

Recent Reports on Parents' Perspectives

• Latino Priorities for Universal Preschool

  The National Council of La Raza specifies the efforts necessary to ensure that the voices of Latino families are heard in the development of universal pre-kindergarten programs.

• Parent-Child Connectedness: Voices of African-American and Latino Parents and Teens

  This report from Education, Training, Research Associates (ETR) presents the results of a focus group study conducted as part of a larger project on parent-child connectedness. The authors summarize themes that arose in their discussions with parents and teens and discuss the implications of the findings for practice on parent-child connectedness.

• What Do Parents Value in Education? An Empirical Investigation of Parents' Revealed Preferences for Teachers

  This paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research examines what parents ask for when they request specific elementary school teachers. Parents preferred teachers who principals said increased student satisfaction rather than test scores. The result was the opposite in high poverty schools.

Recent Reports on Partnerships

• Engaging Families at the Secondary Level: What Schools Can Do to Support Family Involvement

  This strategy brief from the National Center for Family and Community Connections With Schools discusses ways for high schools to engage families as they support instruction and plan for their children's future.

• Parent Information Point: Next Steps

  This publication from the National Family and Parenting Institute describes models for establishing partnerships between families and schools, including information on funding and case studies. A five-page summary of the report is available at the link above, and the full resource can be requested from the publisher at info@nfpi.org.

• Parent-Teacher Partnerships, Challenging but Essential

  This article from the Teachers College Record is part of a discussion about parent-teacher relationships that was prompted by an article in Time Magazine. The author presents the challenges parents and teachers face in establishing partnerships but argues that such partnerships are crucial for student success. The article is available for purchase from the link above.

Recent Reports on School Improvement

• Overview and Synthesis of the Regional Advisory Committee Reports On Educational Challenges and Technical Assistance Needs

  This government report synthesizes feedback from the 10 Regional Advisory Committees on the implementation of No Child Left Behind and presents four central areas that must be supported in order for the legislation to succeed, one of which is parent involvement.

• School Improvement Planning: What's Missing?

  This report from the Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA looks at barriers to learning in urban school districts' improvement plans. The report identifies gaps in the current efforts and makes several recommendations for systematic change, including improved community involvement.

Other Reports and Articles

• Literacy Journal on Family and Community Literacy

  The July 2005 issue of this journal focuses on family and community literacy and includes articles by practitioners describing programs in several European countries. Individual articles are available for purchase from the link above, or click on Journal Homepage to sign up for a free subscription that will provide access to the entire journal.

• Protective Factors in Individuals, Families, and Schools: National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health Findings

  This paper presents outcomes from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health, emphasizing the importance of school connectedness and family and community involvement.

• Theorizing and Describing Preservice Teachers' Images of Families and Schooling

  Based on interviews with preservice teachers, this article in the Teachers College Record suggests that schools of education must help their students reframe their personal narratives in order to succeed in their new roles working with families. This article is available for purchase from the link above.

Toolkit

• A Tool Kit for Parent Coordinators

  This toolkit from the Agenda for Children Tomorrow provides tips for parent coordinators, including information on conducting surveys and focus groups.

Surveys

• The 37th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools

  This recent poll finds that Americans know more about the No Child Left Behind Act than they did a year ago, but they are less likely to agree with how the policy is being implemented. The results show that public schools continue to have strong community and family support, with 69% of parents giving a grade of “A” or “B” to the school their oldest child attends.

• MetLife Survey of the American Teacher 2005

  The annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher found that the biggest challenge for teachers is dealing with parents.

Evaluations

• The Challenge of Scaling Up Educational Reform: Findings and Lessons From First Things First

  This recent evaluation of the First Things First program finds that enrolled schools had sustained improvement in achievement. First Things First is a comprehensive school reform program that includes a family advocate system as one of its three primary components.

• Head Start Impact Study: First Year Findings, June 2005

  A 6-year evaluation of the Head Start program has produced a report on 1st-year findings. Preliminary results suggest that children enrolled in Head Start are healthier and have cognitive and socioemotional advantages, and their families implement better parenting practices, including reading to their children more often.

• Longitudinal Follow-up of the Brookline Early Education Project

  This article from Pediatrics presents findings from a longitudinal follow-up of a family-based early childhood program that ran from 1973 to 1978. Participation in the Brookline Early Education Project was found to impact young adults' education, income, and health. This article is available for purchase from the link above.

Upcoming Events

• Million Father March

  From August 1 to October 1, 2005, fathers across the country show support for their children's education by taking their children to school on the first day. This initiative is organized by the Black Star Project, which promotes educational success for low-income minority children.

• National Network of Partnership Schools' Leadership Development Conference

  The National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) will conduct its annual conference on school, family, and community partnerships, October 18–19, 2005. The NNPS conference brings together leaders from schools, districts, states, and organizations who are developing research-based programs of family and community involvement linked to school improvement goals for student success.

• 32nd National In-Service Conference, National Coalition of ESEA Title I Parents

  The National Coalition of Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I Parents will hold its National In-Service Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, November 3–6, 2005. Topics will include No Child Left Behind, family literacy, successful parent involvement strategies, and closing the achievement gap.

Funding Opportunity

• Prudential Foundation Grants

  The Prudential Foundation is accepting applications for its Ready to Learn Grants, which include funding for family literacy programs and other projects in education.

Contact Us

Have a problem with the website or questions and comments concerning our work? Send an email to fine@gse.harvard.edu.

Enjoy!

FINE – The Family Involvement Network of Educators

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