June 2006 Announcement
Dear FINE Member,
Here are this month's FINE member updates—the
last for the academic year. The monthly FINE announcement will be taking a break
for the summer and will resume in September. In the meantime, please feel free
to make use of the resources below and to forward this information to friends
and colleagues.
A Message From Heather Weiss, Director of HFRP
We at HFRP want to thank M. Elena Lopez for her many years of service to Harvard
Family Research Project and especially to FINE. Elena is moving on to a new
position in philanthropy, where she will continue her work in education issues.
Please join us in wishing Elena well in her new role.
We are pleased to introduce Abby Weiss, who will assume leadership of our work
in family and community involvement. Abby came to HFRP over a year ago with
almost 15 years of experience at the Institute for Responsive Education and
as an independent evaluation consultant in family involvement initiatives. We
look forward to continuing our work with all FINE members on exploring family,
school, and community partnerships that help children thrive.
New From FINE
-
Research Brief:
Family Involvement in Early Childhood Education
We're proud to announce the launch of a new series of research briefs on
family involvement in education. This engaging, evidence-based series, called
Family Involvement Makes a Difference, is written for policymakers,
practitioners, and researchers and includes ideas that you can use right
away in your own work. The first brief in the series is now available. Entitled
Family Involvement in Early Childhood Education, this brief synthesizes
the latest research on how family involvement contributes to young children's
learning and development. Watch next fall's FINE announcements for
future briefs in the series, which will focus on family involvement in elementary
school and middle and high school settings. To read the early childhood
education brief click on the link above.
- Bibliography: Research on
Early Childhood Education
Our recently updated bibliography features research on family involvement
in early childhood education. This comprehensive bibliography complements
our new Family Involvement in Early Childhood Education research
brief and lists journal articles, theses, books, and reports on early childhood
education published between 1999 and 2005.
Calls for FINE Participation
- Nominations for District-Level Best Practices
FINE is interested in learning about districts with a strong commitment
to family involvement. Do you know of a school district that is home to
exemplary family involvement practices? If so, please send your district
nominations to us. Please email the name and state of the district and the
reasons for your nomination in a message with the subject heading “District
Nomination” to fine@gse.harvard.edu.
-
Applications for Review Panel on Latino Family Involvement Resources
We're adding new resources focusing on Latino family involvement to our
Family Involvement Storybook Corner, and we're looking for a few reviewers
with expertise in Latino children's literature, as well as in family involvement
and early literacy in Latino families, to review these new resources. If
you are interested in being considered for our panel, please share your
qualifications with us in an email with subject heading “Volunteer
Reviewer” to fine@gse.harvard.edu.
Panel reviewers will be acknowledged on our website. To learn more about
the resources we are developing, visit
the Storybook Corner.
New From Harvard Family Research Project
- Learning From
Small-Scale Experimental Evaluations of After School Programs
The eighth publication in our series of Out-of-School Time Evaluation
Snapshots is now available on our website. Learning From Small-Scale
Experimental Evaluations of After School Programs reviews the evaluation
strategies and findings from rigorous, experimental studies that are smaller
or more local in scope than the national evaluations usually featured. Although
they are often overlooked, these evaluations can provide you with valuable
information about investing in, conducting, and evaluating out-of-school
time programs.
- Exploring
Quality Standards for Middle School After School Programs: What We Know and
What We Need To Know
In our continuing efforts to understand and promote quality programming,
HFRP and the National Institute on Out-of-School Time recently cohosted
a summit on quality in middle school after school programs. After school
staff, administrators, researchers, and funders met to discuss how to define
and assess middle school program quality and how to distinguish it from
elementary school program quality. At the link above, we share with you
what we learned at the summit, as well as future directions for policy,
practice, and research.
Professional Development
- Professional
Development Institute: Closing the Achievement Gap
In November, Harvard Family Research Project will present an institute
entitled Closing the Achievement Gap: Linking Families, Schools, and
Communities at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Designed
to give school, district, and community leaders strategies for tackling
the achievement gap and fostering learning for all children, the institute
will feature our new complementary learning approach—a comprehensive
model that fosters partnerships between families, schools, and other nonschool
supports. You can call the office for Programs in Professional Education
at HGSE at 1-800-545-1849 or find registration information and additional
details about the institute at the link above.
- Programs in
Professional Education at HGSE
Each summer and fall, the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) provides
professional development training for more than 1,800 teachers, principals,
and school leaders. Their programs provide the latest research, information
and “best practices” for improving student achievement. In addition
to the Closing the Achievement Gap institute described above, we
list below the titles of three upcoming summer and fall programs at HGSE:
- Critical Issues in Special Education: Improving Outcomes for Students
with Disabilities.
- The Principal Redefined: Lessons Learned, Lessons to Learn
- Leading and Managing the Independent School of the Future
Additional information about these and other Harvard programs is available
at the link above or by calling 1-800-545-1849.
Recent Reports
- CSRQ
Center Report on Education Service Providers
In this report, the Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center reviews
seven replicated models of comprehensive educational and administrative
services. CSRQ looks at each program model's effect on outcomes, including
family and community involvement.
- Open
to the Public: The Public Speaks Out on No Child Left Behind
Between September 2005 and January 2006, the Parent Education Network held
nine hearings for the public to discuss experiences with No Child Left Behind.
Over 1,500 students, parents, and community members attended. See what participants
had to say about such topics as accountability, parent involvement, and
school–family communication at the link above.
- School
Communication in Parents' Native Language
Data from Child Trends shows that 64% of children with non-English-speaking
parents attend schools that provide translators at parent–teacher conferences
and offer translated school materials for children to take home, while 22%
of children with non-English-speaking parents attend schools providing neither
service. At the link above, you can see data further broken down by income,
race, and other factors.
Tool Kit
Our Website
- A New Look for FINE
We're excited to announce that we are in the beginning stages of a long-overdue
website redesign for FINE and the rest of the Harvard Family Research Project
site. In addition to a new look and easier-to-use navigation, you can look
forward to several new features, including the ability to search the site
and access printer-friendly pages. To share your feedback on what you would
like to see and do on our redesigned website, please email hfrp_pubs@gse.harvard.edu.
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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