Parents Engaged in Education Reform 

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In this issue...   

PEER Site Visits    
Curriculum News    
Young Children Teleconference     
In Brief    
Parent Perspective    
Resources    
Cyber.SPACE    
    

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PEER is delighted to announce that the following teams were selected to visit restructuring schools:      

• Project Empower Team, Greenville, Mississippi
• PEAK Parent Center Team, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Project SKI Team, Houston, Texas
• COPE Team, Washington, D.C.
• Utah Parent Center Team, Salt Lake City, Utah

PEER Developing School Reform Curriculum     

The PEER Project is currently working on a school reform curriculum that covers subjects including the following: legal frameworks of school reform, standards, assessment, charter schools, impact of school reform policies and practices on Title 1 programs, school-to-work, transition and school reform, discipline and safe schools, vocational education, and early childhood issues. In addition, each topic will include suggestions that trainers may use when conducting workshops on these topics or when incorporating them into workshops they already conduct. Dissemination of the PEER curriculum is targeted for the fall.     

School Reform and 
Young Children:    
The Importance of 
Starting Early    

On April 16, 1997, the PEER’s eighth teleconference, “School Reform and Young Children,” focused on what PTIs can do and are doing to support involvement of families with young children, ages 3-5, in school reform, to facilitate inclusion and work toward the achievement of GOALS 2000.  

The presenters were Naomi Karp, Cherie Takemoto, and Ann Marie Cook. Naomi Karp works in the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) in the Early Childhood Research Office. Cherie Takemoto is Executive Director of the Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC), the PTI in Virginia. Ann Marie Cook is also with PEATC and has been very active in school reform. PEATC has helped transform many local special education centers into family resource centers that serve preschool children and focus on the broad needs of children and families which go beyond IDEA.  

Instead of following the lecture format of previous teleconferences, the three presenters opened the phone lines to discussion, centering on the premise that families of young children with disabilities are part of a large community that extends beyond special education. Participants discussed how children—both our own and those that we serve—fit within community. They urged PTIs to seize opportunities to include children with disabilities in school reform efforts, since families may not get another chance to move their agenda forward.     
  

Goals 1 and 8 of GOALS 2000    

Goals 1 and 8 of Goals 2000: Educate America Act provide vehicles for including young children with disabilities and their parents in school reform efforts. Below is the exact wording from Section 102 of Goals 2000.      

Goal 1: All children in America will begin school ready to learn and will have access to high-quality and developmentally appropriate preschool programs that assist in preparing children for school.      

Goal 8: Every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children. U.S. Department of Education information shows that in 1996 only 41 percent of public elementary and middle schools reported that they considered parent input when making policy decisions, and there has been no increase in parent participation in school activities since 1993. Lack of parent participation is all the more reason to promote parent-school partnerships. Cherie Takemoto emphasized that Goals 2000 and school reform offer unprecedented opportunity for families to become more involved in the education of their children.      

Overview on Parent Involvement in School Reform     
Ann Marie Cook gave an overview of parent involvement in school reform and shared some positives and negatives of family and school partnerships. Based on U.S. Department of Education information, family and school partnerships are believed to be critical to students’ success throughout their lives.      

Positive aspects of family and school partnerships:      

• Increased student attendance and higher aspirations.
• Improvement in student attitude and behavior.
• Improved parent and child communication; positive parent and teacher interaction.
• Increased community support for schools.
• Increased rate of homework completion.
• Higher test scores and grades.
• Fewer referrals and placements in special education.
• Higher graduation rates.
• Higher enrollment rates in post-secondary education.

• Some parents do not have time to become involved.
• Most parents are uncertain about how to help their children learn. (Research shows that parents would be willing to work with their children if teachers would give them more guidance.)
• Language and cultural barriers.
• Lack of a supportive home environment.

Question and Answer Session     

Q: Should we get involved in teacher preparation? If so, what are appropriate ways to do this?       

A: Naomi emphasized the importance of parent involvement and announced that the Office of Educational Research and Improvement is currently seeking applications for a professional development partnership. Cherie suggested that parents could form parent-educator teams, such as the PEATC team which teaches the Families course at George Mason University.       

Q: How can we best work with the child along with his or her family?     

A: When working with preschool children, we also work with their families. Parents need to let teachers know what works at home in order to carry it over to the educational system. If this information can be shared in a gentle, supportive way, teachers are less likely to get defensive. One PTI shared that half of their rights training workshops are at the Head Start preschool level because parents need to get involved early in the educational system. Some Head Start programs, Early Intervention programs, and local hospitals ask the parent center to provide parent trainings to help parents learn about the school system and emphasize the importance of early involvement.       

Q: In school reform, there is a trend towards eliminating separate streams of funding for special education students. In some cases, funding can be used not only for children with disabilities, but for families with childcare issues and early childhood issues. What opinions and/or concerns do parent centers have about this trend?     
     
A: A participant from Alabama expressed a fear that if funding is separated so that it can be used for all children, students with special needs will have even less access to funds. Students who need help outside of the classroom may wind up in regular classes without appropriate support.       

A caller from Wyoming said that she’s afraid if funds are separate, children with disabilities might be dumped into classrooms with no support.       

A caller from Chicago talked about the importance of parent involvement to ensure that the IEP is in progress. Families can let agencies know if their children are not receiving adequate services.      

A caller from Louisiana stated that the goal of PTIs should be to help families understand that every time they go to the school they need to be asking “Now what is this doing for my son and daughter? How is this benefiting their daily program? How is this going to help us achieve our goals for the future?” That is the role of parents.      
    

[Editorial note: Merging special education and general education funding does not take away the right for students to be educated in the least restrictive environment with appropriate supports. In fact, under the 1997 IDEA Amendments, funds may be used to support nondisabled children in classrooms to that they, too, can experience the benefits of inclusive education. Section 613(a)(4)(A) Services and Aids that also Benefit Nondisabled Children, states in relevant part: “Part B funds may be used for costs of special education and related services and supplementary aids and services in a regular class to a child with a disability, even if one or more nondisabled children benefit from these services.]

A: Special education funds and general education funds will not be tracked separately. For instance, a teaching assistant will provide curriculum materials for all students in a class, including students with or without disabilities. There is some benefit to the whole class, but this benefit need not be accounted for.        

Even if money is not separated, services can still be individualized. It is important to note that some special education students are not capable of noticing and reporting that they are not getting appropriate services.        

Inclusive practices are poorly implemented when a child lacks appropriate support; that problem, however, is not a persuasive argument to segregate a student. PTIs and advocates need to hone their skills in advocating for the best individualized education program.       

Cherie emphasized the need to share information about school reform with all parents. She cites parent involvement as the single most consistent indicator of student success. Most parents want the best for their children, but some may not realize that their involvement with the school system is the best possible investment in their child’s future.       

She feels it is important to empower parents. Parents know their children better than anyone, and should feel confident about this knowledge as they interact with school personnel.       

Summary prepared by Laura Farah, PEER Project, NPND.     

In Brief   

Study Examines New Teacher Induction    
A talented, dedicated, well-prepared teacher in every classroom is one of the challenges issued in President Clinton’s 10-point “Call to Action.” In order to meet this challenge, the U.S. must hire two million teachers in the next decade. Yet today, many new teachers find themselves unprepared for the realities of teaching and up to a third leave the classroom within their first few years.     

What can be done to help new teachers succeed? A recent U.S. study attempts to answer that question by examining new teacher induction practices in other countries. An executive summary of this study is available through the U.S. Department of Education’s Online Library. “From Students of Teaching to Teachers of Students: Teacher Induction Around the Pacific Rim” can be accessed at: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/APEC/ (Source: ED Initiatives, 4/28/97. Info. available from: edinfo@inet.ed.gov)     

America Reads Challenge    
On April 28, the President sent Congress a bill that would help communities make sure that every child in America reads well and independently by the end of third grade. The “America Reads Challenge Act of 1997” would support community efforts to provide extra reading assistance to children who need it, with tutor coordinators recruiting and organizing more than one million volunteer tutors trained by reading specialists. By the fifth year of the program, tutors–in cooperation with the classroom reading program–would provide individual after-school, weekend, and summer tutoring for approximately three million children in grades K-3 who need extra help. Local communities and organizations that assist parents in helping children learn to read (from birth onward) would be supported by the legislation, which will be available soon on the “America Reads Challenge” home page: http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/. (Source: ED Initiatives, 4/30/97. Info. available from: edinfo@inet.ed.gov)     

Brain Research and Early Childhood    
Talking, singing, and reading dramatically impacts brain development in children from birth to age three and improves their lifelong learning ability, according to experts and scientific findings featured at the April 17 “White House Conference on Early Childhood Development and Learning: What New Research on the Brain Tells Us About Our Youngest Children.”     
At the conference, President Clinton called for measures including improved childcare, extended health coverage and expanded enrollment in Early Head Start programs. 

For information about the conference and findings, see: http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/ECDC/.  

For links to a dozen web sites on brain research and early childhood development, see: 
http://www.exnet.iastate.edu/Pages/families/nncc/wh/ 
whconf.html#anchor511316  
(Source: ED Initiatives, 4/30/97. Info. available from: edinfo@inet.ed.gov)   

President’s Summit for America’s Future    
A multi-year effort to provide America’s 15 million at-risk young people with resources that can help them succeed was kicked off  this April in Philadelphia by former presidents Bush, Carter, and Ford as well as by Ms. Nancy Reagan and President Clinton. Resources include mentorship, structured activities during non-school hours, marketable skills through effective education, and opportunities for community service.     
Delegates to the summit are sharing “best practices” for providing such resources, which will be reported on the President’s Summit web site: http://www.citizenservice.org/. (Source: ED Initiatives, 4/30/97. Info. available from: edinfo@inet.ed.gov)     

Transcripts on the World Wide Web    
Transcripts from the summit “White House Conference on Early Childhood Development & Learning:  What New Research on the Brain Tells Us about Our Youngest Children”  are available for viewing at the following URL: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/ECI/session1.html     
Other information on the Conference and on the two booklets released at the conference for families and caregivers to use with young children are available at the following URLs:   http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/ECDC/ http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/RSRkit.html     

Parent Perspective    
Early Intervention and the Family Tree   
by Theresa A. Cooper, Loving Your Disabled Child (LYDC)–Los Angeles, California    

Before the “Branching Out of the Family Tree: Strategies for Growing Natural Supports” workshop at this year’s Colorado PEAK Inclusion conference, I wondered what I would get from this group of regular and special education teachers. Afterwards, I realized that I had learned more than I expected and some of my thoughts were confirmed.    

“If you understand the family you will understand the child” was one of the ideas that hit home. I thought about how judgments were made when families were not understood, and I recognized that we would have fewer complications with families if we took the time to learn from them.    

Families tend to come together in crisis, but the intervention of family members can sometimes add to the stress. “Parents sometimes feels as if the family is living in a fish bowl,” said parent and co-facilitator Patsy Keech.    

It can be challenging to say “thanks, but no thanks” to well-meaning relatives who are trying to be supportive by giving unsolicited opinions, especially if these family members were involved in decision-making in the past. Patsy proposed strategies for increasing comfort level when confronted by family members. “One way to do this is by not providing information about a delicate issue until you have had time to deal with it, come to terms with it, and make decisions.” Later, when you feel comfortable, let your family in on your plans.    

Some parents do not attend support group meetings, perhaps because they aren’t ready to disclose private information, or because they do not believe that hearing about other people’s problems will help them. Families have pride, and it can be difficult to ask for help from total strangers. Becky Lebens, occupational therapist and co-facilitator, said that families who attend support groups usually have other supports in place and are at a point where the group can be beneficial. All families reach this point at their own pace.    

Patsy and Becky discussed the benefits, strategies and boundaries of “branching out of the family tree,” or extending our support networks beyond our families. The benefits are that we can find strength in numbers, incorporate the wisdom of elders, and increase our problem-solving capacity. Strategies for branching out are to attend family events such as birthday parties, share information when asked, meet everyone in the child’s life, and keep service providers consistent. The recommended boundaries are to understand and claim your own biases, honor family time, respect allegiances, and negotiate solutions.    

Valuing the family is important to successful school reform. Exploring the role of the extended family in the child’s life may help us to serve students better. Perhaps schools would be wise to adopt a family-centered approach modeled on the concepts of Early Intervention, not just for children with special needs, but for all children.    

Rallying the Whole Village: The Comer Process for Reforming Education   

Edited by: James P. Comer, Norris M. Haynes, Edward T. Joyner and Michael Ben-Avie    
Foreword by: Donald J. Cohen and Albert J. Solnit    
Publication Date: 1996    
ISBN: 0-8077-3539-6    

Comer and his colleagues trace the evolution of the Yale School Development Program’s “whole village” approach to restructuring schools. Used successfully by over 500 schools during the last three decades, the SDP approach emphasizes the success of the child above all else. Recommended reading for anyone seeking detailed information about the process and the ways it has been implemented.    

Access Educational Technology Resources   
As educators begin to tap into the technology of the Internet as a teaching tool, parents should become aware of web sites that provide curriculum models. It is very exciting for parents to take the lead in the use of technology in their children’s schools. Parents can seize the opportunity to review these resources and introduce them to teachers who may not be aware of them or to collaborate on how to best use them.     

The Global SchoolHouse (http://www.gsh.org/), sponsored by Microsoft, offers a wide variety of opportunities for educators to get up to speed or stay current with the use of technology in the classroom. One site within the Global Schoolhouse is The Connected Educator.     

The Connected Educator is designed by educators for educators from Global SchoolNet (http://www.gsn.org/index.html), the founders of Global SchoolHouse. Global SchoolNet also offers listservs and projects for educators.    

A wide range of new articles within the site answer the questions:     

• Can an “old sea-dog” learn to sail new waters?
• Can an e-mail project create friendship links across the generations?
• Can computers make language barriers disappear?
• Who is best equipped to help students and teachers learn to use a “library without walls”?
• How does a teacher provide help with topics beyond his range of knowledge?
• Does television mix well with school work?

Among the topics covered are:    

• How to communicate with colleagues throughout the country and world.
• How to design and manage collaborative classroom projects on the Internet.
• How teachers and students can use the Internet to solve problems in a team setting.
• How to expand knowledge and gather information in areas of interest.
• How to use the tools of the Internet.
• Issues affecting educators, such as ethics of access, copyright, network structures and censorship.

New Book Offers Internet Projects    
Net Lessons: Web-Based Projects for Your Classroom, is a teacher-friendly guide to creating K-12 curriculum that taps the information and communication power of the Internet’s World Wide Web.    
Net Lessons helps teachers meet curriculum goals by supplying them with Web-based activities and projects. Net Lessons features more than a hundred K-12 classroom-tested lesson plans that harness the unique potentials of the Web, plus hundreds of extensions and ideas for all subject areas.    

The guide is organized by subject area and level, and offers tips for adapting lesson plans to different age groups, classrooms with different resources, and environments such as home schooling. It includes multiple cross-referenced lists for ease in finding topics by subject, age group, and activity type (cooperative vs. challenge vs. research, etc.). The activities and projects included in the book were chosen because they are both easy to implement and relevant to standard curriculum. Teachers and school technology coordinators will find that Net Lessons has a wealth of Web-based lessons that work in real-world classrooms.    

Net Lessons: Web-Based Projects for Your Classroom by Laura Parker    
Roerden, 1st Edition March 1997.    
306 pages, ISBN: 1-56592-291-3, $24.95, includes CD-ROM.