Parent and Community Involvement in the Middle Grades. Evaluating Education Reform. Commissioned Papers.

These five commissioned papers explore the relationship between educational reform and parent and community involvement for middle-grade education. The papers are: (1) "Comprehensive Districtwide Reforms in Parent and Community Involvement Programs" (Nancy Feyl Chavkin), on the resources and skills that school districts already have and those they can develop to improve parent and community involvement and increase students' educational success; (2) "School Restructuring to Facilitate Parent and Community Involvement in the Middle Grades" (Janet H. Chrispeels), on five major issues regarding how to change or restructure middle schools and middle-grade education to involve parents and community in students' learning; (3) "School and Family Partnerships in the Middle Grades" (Joyce L. Epstein and Lori J. Connors), presenting an overview of middle-grade students, families, and schools as well as a theory and framework to help build successful partnerships; (4) "Activities in the Home that Support School Learning in the Middle Grades" (Diane Scott-Jones), on homework as the focus of home learning activities in the middle grades and four levels of parental involvement--helping, valuing, monitoring, and doing--from a lifespan human development perspective; and (5) "Bringing Schools and Communities Together in Preparation for the 21st Century: Implications of the Current Educational Reform Movement for Family and Community Involvement Policies" (Patrick M. Shields), on the implications of the current reform agenda for governmental policies concerning the involvement of communities, families, and parents. Each paper includes references. (HTH)

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