The following articles are written by parent educators, psychologists, counselors, teachers, school administrators, and other professional advocates for increasing parent involvement and building family-school-community partnerships.  To submit an article for publication, please see our submittal guidelines.

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Engage Every Parent: Identifying Your Goals for Parent Engagement
Author(s): Nancy Tellett-Royce, Susan Wootten
The authors of "Engage Every Parent: Encouraging Families to Sign On, Show Up, and Make a Difference" discuss setting goals, developing two-way communication, finding volunteers, and reaching every parent. An excellent introduction to parent engagement excerpted with permission from their book, you will want to purchase it to get helpful advice on all aspects of recruiting, training, and empowering parents to gain positive outcomes for young people.

Homework: What To Do When Students DON'T Do It
Author(s): Susan Kruger, M.Ed.
The author of SOAR(r) Study Skills, Susan Kruger, outlines the most common excuses given by students when they don't do their homework and how to overcome them. She encourages parents to set expectations and boundaries, listen well, and set the stage for cooperation.

Transfigurations of Parent Involvement That Work For 21st Century
Author(s): Mary Johnson
This article was created by urban parents through "Parent U-Turn" in Los Angeles in an effort to articulate what parents of color need to become advocates for their children. Seven different types of parent involvement are outlined that engage parents as equal partners in education with the goal of improving student achievement. Parent-U-Turn is non-profit organization that has assisted first generation, linguistically-diverse, and low income immigrant families to better navigate schools and work forward higher education.

Parent Engagement in Education: Drama or Empowerment?
Author(s): David Emerald Womeldorff
Introducing TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic), author David Emerald Womeldorff, discusses the dynamic dance that often occurs between student, parent(s) and school. TED shows us how parents and school can partner -- as coaches and challengers -- to create systems that support the student in his or her growth and development.

Why Children Don’t Listen
Author(s): Jane Nelsen, Ed.D.
Jane Nelsen, author and co-author of 18 books including the Positive Discipline Series and Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World, discusses the art of listening as a parent. Learn why lectures don't work and how to motivate and inspire your children without criticism.

Stress-free Report Cards
Author(s): Connie Hammer, MSW
This article calls attention to the academic evaluation process used in most schools and presents parents with constructive ideas to help them alleviate the stress that sometimes accompanies the distribution of report cards. It also touches upon ways to positively influence your child’s continued school performance by staying involved before and after report cards are issued.