Guides and Publications
The following guides and publications have been written to help parents and schools build effective partnerships. For publications that focus on research findings, please visit the RESEARCH section of our site.
An Action Guide for Community and Parent Leaders: Using NCLB to Improve Student Achievement, published by the Public Education Network is designed for parents and community members in understanding the complexities of No Child Left Behind.
Building Relationships for Student Success: School-Family-Community Partnerships and Student Achievement in the Northwest, published by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NRWEL). This publication reviews what research says about family involvement and contains practical suggestions to enlist families in children's learning.
Connecting Families and Schools: Sacramento ACT, published by the Sacramento Area Congregations Together (ACT). This publication presents a case study of the ACT home visiting program to train teachers and help reach out to families.
Creating Partnerships, Bridging Worlds: Family and Community Engagement, produced by the Center for Collaborative Education. This publication provides research-based tools to help teachers, schools and families to partner to deepen student learning.
Culturally Responsive Parent Involvement: Concrete Understandings and Basic Strategies, by Sabrina Hope King and A. Lin Goodwin. This booklet explores culturally biased beliefs many educators frequently have toward their students and students' families as well as how educators and parents can work together to benefit students.
Engaging Parents in Education: Lessons From Five Parental Information And Resource Centers, published in June 2007 by the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of this guide is to explain "how to" strategies that the Parent Information Resource Centers (PIRCs) use to improve or expand their parental involvement programs in public schools.
Family and Community Engagement Survey, published by the Intercultural Development and Research Association (IDRA). This survey can be used by teachers, administrators and parents to assess a school's effectiveness in partnering with families. Available in English and Spanish.
Focus on Families! How to Build and Support Family-Centered Practices in After School, published by the Harvard Family Research Project. This guide provides strategies and examples of how to engage families in after school programs.
Harvard Education Letter. Respected for unbiased, balanced reporting on today's most important education issues, the Harvard Education Letter summarizes and synthesizes preK-12 education research and practice. Use the search feature to read articles on parent involvement.
Ideas and Tools for Working with Parents and Families, produced by the Collabor ative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, University of Illinois at Chicago. This publication contains excellent examples of practices, handouts for parents, tips, and resources. Handouts are also available in Spanish.
I Hear You Knocking -- But You Can't Come In!, is a pocket guide for principals and administrators, outlining a framework for creating a welcoming environment in schools.
Improving Your Schools: A Parent and Community Guide to No Child Left Behind, published by the Education Trust, provides information on NCLB that parents and communities can understand and use, and highlights key aspects of the law that can help parents and communities use NCLB for advocacy.
Invaluable Allies: Partnering with Parents for Student Success (2012), by Margery B. Ginsberg, Ph.D, associate professor in the College of Education at the University of Washington, provides numerous ways teachers can take the lead in developing mutual trust and opening channels of communication with parents.
No Child Left Behind: What's in It for Parents, produced by the Prichard Committee. Because federal law gives parents a lot of power if they know how to use it, this guide by Anne Henderson was developed to identify key leverage points for parents. It helps them understand their rights and responsibilities regarding annual school accountability reports. It provides tips for working effectively with teachers, principals and school boards.
Parental Involvement 101, is a short publication designed to give teachers practical tips and ideas to improve parent involvement in their schools.
Parent Success. Practical, useful tips, resources and bookstore for parents, grandparents and their kids.
Taking a Closer Look: A Guide to Online Resources on Family Involvement, produced by Family Involvement Network of Educators (FINE) and the Harvard Family Research Project, 2005. This comprehensive resource contains listings and links to hundreds of websites and resources on family involvement.
Title I as a Tool for Parent Involvement, published by the Center for Law and Education offers a summary of the law and its parent involvement requirements.
What Research Says About Parent Involvement in Children's Education, published by the Michigan Department of Education, is an excellent four page summary of how parent involvement impacts academic achievement.
If you would like us to review your guide or publication for inclusion in our Web Resources, please use our Link Request Form. All sites must be relevant to our content and support our mission of building collaborative parent-school partnerships and increasing parental involvement in education. We do not accept links from companies or organizations that sell school fundraising products or materials.
