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.
Meeting of the Minds
The parent-teacher conference is the cornerstone of school-home relations. How can it work for all families?
Agnes Jackson isn’t proud to admit it, but last year she didn’t attend a single parent-teacher conference for her youngest son, who just completed third grade at the Thomas O’Brien Academy of Science and Technology in Albany, New York. Continue
The Power of Family Conversation
School and community programs help parents build children's literacy from birth
School matters, but literacy starts at home. Teachers armed with reading contracts and carefully worded missives have long urged parents to read aloud to their children. But now there is a second and perhaps more powerful message: Talk to your kids, too. Continue
The “Quiet” Troubles of Low-Income Children
When many Americans think of at-risk, low-income kids, we may imagine young children who are disruptive and aggressive, ricocheting around the classroom. Or we may picture teenagers caught up with drugs or gangs, pregnant girls, or homes where parents are absent or abusive. Continue
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Strong home-school connections enrich learning opportunities for immigrant kids—and their parents, too
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Outside organizations bring more than resources to Chicago schools
Parents as Partners in School Reform
Outreach, training—and respect—are keys to tapping this critical source of support
Learning from Haiti
One school marshals its resources to support its students, families in wake of the earthquake
Bonding and Bridging
Schools open doors for students by building social capital
Do Working Mothers Hurt Their Children's Capacity to Learn?
How media reports about learning can oversimplify data—and alarm readers
How Schools Can Help Refugee Students
Many schools are waking up to the impact post-traumatic stress disorder has on refugee students from war- and famine-wracked lands
"Wide Open and Welcoming"
How Trust Helped Transform a Small Chicago School
