Family and Community
Editor’s Note
The articles on this page touch on the myriad ways in which families and communities serve as essential partners with schools in the education of their children. They probe the impact of policies and practices that affect the relationships between schools, families, and communities, and describe new ways schools and districts can engage these critical sources of support.—C.T.C.
Integrated Data Systems Link Schools and Communities
Researchers combine school and non-school data to inform interventions and policy
A few years ago, Milbrey McLaughlin, professor emeritus of Stanford University’s School of Education, presided over a briefing with a group of concerned youth services workers in northern California. Continue
Beyond Gay-Straight Alliances
Research shows why family support is critical to helping LGBT students succeed
Decades’ worth of studies point to the importance of parental involvement in K–12 schooling. Yet when it comes to programs and policies related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students, families are often deliberately left out of the conversation, according to several leading experts in LGBT youth development. Continue
Bonding and Bridging
Schools open doors for students by building social capital
Three years ago, J. Michael Wyss, a cell biology professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, entered G. W. Carver High School and derailed Curtis Jones’ life plan. Wyss, who is also the director of the university’s Center for Community OutReach Development, needed an intern for a research project. Continue
