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Family and Community Involvement in Student Learning

Briefs and Reports

How Can Schools Involve Family and Community Members in Supporting a Child's Readiness for School?: An Interactive Research Brief (2006) In this module, you will learn research-based strategies for helping children transition into the early grades and develop a strong foundation for academic success.

Developing a Collaborative Team Approach to Support Family and Community Connections With Schools: What Can School Leaders Do? (2005) This strategy brief includes ideas for involving families actively in the decision-making and implementation efforts needed for school improvement.

Easing the Transition from PreK to Kindergarten: What Schools and Families Can Do to Address Child Readiness (2005) This strategy brief discusses the importance of school-family connections in ensuring a successful transition from PreK to Kindergarten.

Engaging Families at the Secondary Level: What Schools Can Do to Support Family Involvement (2005) This strategy brief discusses strategies for successful family involvement at the middle school and high school levels.

La ley "No Child Left Behind" Opción de cambio de secuela: Guía informativa para padres de familia (2005) The purpose of this guide is to help parents understand the school transfer option when a school has not met the standards required by the No Child Left Behind Act. Also available in Spanish.

NCLB School Transfer Option: Parent Information Guide (2005) The purpose of this guide is to help parents understand the school transfer option when a school has not met the standards required by the No Child Left Behind Act. Also available in Spanish.

Organizing Family and Community Connections With Schools: How Do School Staff Build Meaningful Relationships With All Stakeholders? (2005) This strategy brief examines proactive strategies schools can use to help them build strong relationships with family and community.

Reaching Out to Diverse Populations: What Can Schools Do to Foster Family-School Connections? (2005) This strategy brief includes strategies schools can use to promote involvement of families from diverse cultural backgrounds.

What Do We Mean by Family and Community Connections with Schools?: An Interactive Research Brief (2005) In this interactive research brief, you will learn eight types of family and community connections as well as discover the benefits of family and community connections with schools. You will also discover how to plan strategies for increasing or developing family and community involvement in your school.

What Structures Can Help Schools Create Effective Family and Community Involvement That Supports Learning Outside of School?: An Interactive Research Brief (2005) In this module you will learn research-based strategies that involve families and partner organizations to support learning in a variety of settings other than the classroom. You will also explore a framework for effective family and community involvement that is based on current research.

Learning Outside of the School Classroom: What Teachers Can Do to Involve Family in Supporting Classroom Instruction (2004) This strategy brief was produced by SEDL's National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools, part of SEDL's Regional Educational Laboratory contract. The Center links people with research-based information and resources that they can use to effectively connect schools, families, and communities.

What Do We Mean by "Family and Community Connections with Schools?" (2002) This strategy brief was produced by SEDL's National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools, part of SEDL's Regional Educational Laboratory contract. The Center links people with research-based information and resources that they can use to effectively connect schools, families, and communities.

¿Qué pasa en la escuela de mi hijo?: Una guía para el padre de familia sobre las buenas escuelas (2000) Este libretto es para padres de familia que desean comprender el cómo y el por qué las escuelas están cambiando sus metodologías de enseanza. Lo llevará adentro de salones de clases que están utilizando metodologías inovativas en el aprendizaje - con resultados impresionantes.

Benefits2: Connecting Rural School Improvement and Community Development (2000) This paper discusses ways in which rural communities and schools can work together to guarantee their students receive the best education possible.

Benefits2: Service Learning: A Strategy for rural school improvement and community revitalization (2000) This paper is dedicated to discussing ways in which rural communities and schools can work together to guarantee their students receive the best education possible.

Benefits2: Rural Student Entrepreneurs: Linking Commerce and Community (2000) This paper is dedicated to discussing ways in which rural communities and schools can work together to guarantee their students receive the best education possible.

Benefits2: Adapting to Community-Based Learning (2000) This paper focuses in greater depth on the kinds of changes and commitments needed from school systems if service learning and entrepreneurial education projects are to succeed.

Benefits2: Collaborative strategies for revitalizing rural schools and communities (2000) This issue of the Benefits series of papers focuses on strategies for using a formal school-community collaborative to help plan and implement successful projects.

Benefits2: Making the collaborative process work (2000) This issue, the last in the Benefits series of papers, continues our focus on approaches and tools that can help to guide collaborative groups.

Calling the Roll: Study Circles for Better Schools (Policy Research Report) (2000) This report discusses the efficiency of study circles in increasing interaction between the public and state decision makers.

Collaborative Action Team Process: Bringing home, school, community, and students together to improve results for children and families: Final Research Report (2000) This publication is the final report from the Collaborative Action Team (CAT) project and includes information about participants, characteristics and implementation of the CAT process, research design and methodology, site characteristics, sustainability, student outcomes, results in CAT sites, and implications and recommendations.

Policymakers Build Bridges: (Insights on Education Policy, Practice, and Research, Number 13) (2000) This brief is the last in a series of Insights on SEDL's investigation of the potential use of study circles to engage the public and state-level decision makers in discussions about education.

What's Going on in My Child's School: A Parent's Guide to Good Schools (2000) This booklet is for parents who want to understand how and why schools are changing their approach. The booklet takes you inside classrooms that are using innovative approaches to learning—with impressive results.

Deliberating About Education: A New Policy Tool? (Insights on Education Policy, Practice, and Research, Number 10) (1999) This brief examines the potential of deliberative dialogue as a tool for connecting state policymakers and the public.

Price: $10 Public Deliberation: A Tool for Connecting School Reform and Diversity (1999) This publication discusses various processes of public deliberation in regard to school reform and diversity issues.

Speak Up!: Engaging Policymakers with Educators and Communities in Deliberative Dialogue (Insights on Education Policy, Practice, and Research, Number 9) (1999) This brief introduces the concept of deliberative dialogue and its potential utility for policymakers, communities, and educators.

Creating New Governance Structures (1994) This publication discusses the trend toward increasing local participation in designing and implementing new structures for education, health, and human services delivery and provides examples taken from California, Colorado, and Kentucky.