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	The Kansas Parents As Teachers Association supports, through professional development, the goals of Parents As Teachers (PAT), an early literacy, school-readiness parent education program providing services for pre-natal parents and parents with children up to age three in 228 school districts across Kansas. www.kpata.org
	NEW! 5/21/2008 Building and Maintaining a Good Relationship with Your Child's Teacher Your child is your number one priority, and in a perfect world you could give them everything they need. But let's face it — you cannot do it alone. The best way to support your child's needs is to build and maintain a strong, positive relationship with all the people at school who play a role in educating your child. And, make sure your child knows that this is a team effort — you're all working together to help him or her succeed! Read More...
	NEW! 3/4/2008 NEW RESOURCE HIGHLIGHTS COMMUNITY’S ROLE IN EDUCATING ALL CHILDREN Across America, front-line educators are working with their communities to shape a fresh vision for the future of public schools. Publicschoolinsights.org, launched this week, shows how teachers, administrators, parents and others are finding common ground and crafting innovative, 21st-century solutions to help all students succeed. The site has a wealth of real stories that reveal an emerging vision for public schools in the 21st century. Additional features include a wide variety of success stories about U.S. schools and districts that have adopted successful strategies for addressing key challenges in education. The site’s ultimate goal: to build a sense of community among those who are working at the local level to strengthen their public schools, while showcasing proven strategies. The initial launch included a story (second link) about the Mobile County (Ala.) School District’s reform efforts, which centered on intensive public engagement conducted by the district and Public Education Network member, the Mobile Area Education Foundation. These efforts resulted in the school district making adequate yearly progress (AYP) in 2007 with 85 of 100 schools meeting AYP targets, amounting to a 215 percent jump. http://www.publicschoolinsights.org/ http://www.publicschoolinsights.org/stories/?storyId=10656
	NEW! 2/14/2008 Teaching Mom--Learning More? Kids may roll their eyes when their mother asks them about their school day, but answering her may actually help them learn. New research from Vanderbilt University reveals that children learn the solution to a problem best when they explain it to their mom. Read More
Reading Development Brochure	This brochure was designed to help parents better understand what their children will be learning in the area of reading and writing during the kindergarten year. It includes "typical" benchmarks for Kindergarten reading and writing, as well as ideas to support leartrning at home, and suggestions for staying connected with the school. Read More
	NEW! 2/1/2008 PARENTS MUST WEAR MANY HATS, INCLUDING THAT OF STATISTICIAN While most parents of special needs children know that they must understand the law and their rights if their children are to receive an optimum education, few parents realize that they also must be able to comprehend the facts. According to a new article from Wrightslaw, the facts of a child’s case are contained in the various tests and evaluations that the child takes. Sometimes critical education decisions are based on the subjective beliefs of parents and educators. Instead, the article’s authors say that these vital decisions should be based on the results of psychological and educational achievement testing. Consequently, for parents to successfully advocate for their child, they must learn about tests and measurements, i.e., have a basic understanding of statistics. Statistics provide the method for measuring progress or the lack thereof for students. Once test results are analyzed and parents understand what the numbers indicate, they will be able to develop an appropriate educational program that is tailored to their child’s unique needs and from which the child will ultimately benefit. The article teaches parents what tests and evaluations measure, how this information is reported and how to use information to measure and monitor progress.
español	NEW! 11/7/2007 For the Parents of Your Students Is your child doing well in school? Is he or she having trouble learning, behaving, or studying? Is there a problem with another student, teacher, or administrator? How to Let the School Know about Your Concerns outlines steps parents can take if they have a concern about their child's progress in school. This article is also available in Spanish.
	NEW! 8/28/2007 Homework Kansas.org It's the end of August, that means reading, writing, arithmetic, papers, tests and, yes, homework. What to do? Children and teens can get a head start. Students from 4th to 12th grade, and college introduction level, can visit HomeworkKansas at www.homeworkkansas.org for free homework help from qualified tutors. The State Library of Kansas, and Kansas public libraries, offer HomeworkKansas, an online tutoring service that connects students to expert tutors in math, science, social studies and English via the Internet. Spanish-speaking tutors are available for assistance in math and science. HomeworkKansas is available from 4:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m., seven days a week, in English and from 4:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., Sunday-Thursday in Spanish.
	How Do Fathers and Mothers Differ? This handout looks at the differences between Fathers and Mothers, and identifies why it is beneficial to help your child recognize these differences. Download the PDF to Read More
	Fathers and Kids A child-development expert (and four-time dad) looks inside this special relationship. Read More
	This brochure from the Kansas state Department of Education provides parents and care-givers, of students with special needs, information regarding the Kansas standards and assessments. It also provides tips on helping your student do well on the assessments and meet grade level standards. Download Brochure
español	This brochure from the Kansas state Department of Education provides parents and care-givers information regarding the Kansas standards and assessments. It also provides tips on helping your student do well on the assessments and meet grade level standards. Download Brochure Obtenga la versión en español
	EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT STARTS AT HOME ... NOW Once again, the air is filled with headlines and recriminations about the quality of our schools and whether our students can compete in the world. Is all this bemoaning about American education justified? Studies are unclear about this, writes Dorothy Rich. What is clear is that when it comes to education, there has been an over-focus on the role of the school and insufficient focus on the role of the family. It's significant, as schools let out, to remember what every family can do at home to enable children to become stronger students and citizens. Taking nothing away from hardworking teachers and besieged schools, the truth remains this: The family, regardless of income and educational background, can use opportunities, now, this summer, to make a truly positive impact on children's attitudes and behaviors that determine school success. This is true for families even on the tightest time schedules. Click below to learn a few of the steps that can make the biggest difference for your children. In the light of what we are learning about how many children today are feeling lonely, it is more important than ever for families to use time off from school to help children feel loved and be able to do better when schools come back into session again. http://drdorothy.blogspot.com/2007/05/morning-to-night-its-learning-time-your.html
	The mission of the Center for Summer Learning is to create high quality summer learning opportunities for all young people. The Center is committed to expanding summer learning opportunities for disadvantaged children and youth as a strategy for closing the achievement gap. Based at Johns Hopkins University, the Center works to: Improve program availability and quality through training and management assistance Build public support through outreach and communications Influence public policy and funding through informing policymakers and engaging stakeholders
	Tomasito's Mother Comes to School/La mamá de Tomasito visita la escuela When his Spanish-speaking mother makes an unexpected visit to his classroom, second-grader Tomasito is angry and embarrassed...until he discovers that his mother and teacher actually want to get to know each other better in order to help him learn. This online storybook about family involvement at school includes a children’s story, along with an informational guide for adult family members and discussion questions. The story draws from the real experiences of one Latino boy and his family who are acculturating to the U.S. The storybook is designed to engage children, inform and inspire their families, and help educators build connections with families, all while supporting literacy. Developed from research by HFRP's Ellen Mayer and full of vibrant illustrations by award-winning children's book illustrator Joe Cepeda, this bilingual storybook is an easy-to-use family involvement resource that can be downloaded, viewed, and printed out for free on HFRP’s Family Involvement Storybook Corner website. You can find the storybook and related resources for parents and educators at the link below. http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/resources/storybook/tomasito.html
	Family Involvement in Elementary School Family Involvement in Elementary School Children's Education reviews research on why and how family involvement matters for elementary school children's learning and socio-emotional development. http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/resources/research/elementary.html
	We’ve developed more than 120 multimedia programs with curriculum for elementary, middle and high school students – and their parents. The largest school districts in the country are successfully using our programs in classrooms and parent groups. Research shows that the Connect with Kids programs are changing student behavior in the classroom and inspiring parents to talk with their children about today’s issues. http://www.connectwithkids.com
	A NEW TAKE ON PARENT INVOLVEMENT? In honor of International Day of Families on May 15, PARENTS FORUM has published online their program handbook "Where the Heart Listens." It is available for free download with a Creative Commons license. The book explains the eight key questions that make up the PARENTS FORUM curriculum, a light-hearted yet powerful approach to dealing with the everyday stresses and frustrations of raising children, useful to parents of kids of all ages, toddlers through teens and young adults, and of interest to PTA/PTOs and parent liaison staff eager for a new way to engage and serve parents. The Cambridge, Mass.-based program, now 15 years old, offers peer support workshops in English and Spanish suitable for a variety of settings and populations. http://www.parentsforum.org
	NEW! 5/18/2007 GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT PLAY AS A LEARNING TOOL IN CLASSROOMS For Georgianne Walsh, of New Jersey, a beloved raccoon puppet known as Chester acts as the official greeter for her kindergarten students every morning. Amy Wallace, who teaches in New York City, created a puppet named Maya about whom her first graders became so concerned that Wallace purchased a tent for her to sleep in at night. In Las Cruces, N.M. Toni Gross's preschoolers are endlessly intrigued by a mouth-shaped puppet named Besos she uses to demonstrate oral movement when teaching speech and language. These puppets, simple hinged paper devices, were all inspired by an innovative website called Puppetools.com. Brainchild of a boundary-busting educator named Jeffrey Peyton, Puppetools provides a wide array of resources designed to introduce teachers and students to a stimulating world of educational play centered on puppetry. "When play enters the classroom, it transforms everything," says Peyton. "And when the play involves puppets, the power opens up and moves into the hands of the students." This is a man who is serious about play. Peyton feels that the whole concept has been marginalized in public education, mostly because so many teachers are intimidated by it, writes Burr Snider in Edutopia magazine. "The idea of communicating playfully using a device like a puppet is just too far out for most adults, and I think that speaks volumes about the classroom environment," Peyton says. "Lots of teachers strive for standardized behavior, and I think children sense this deeply and suffer from it, from prekindergarten on into high school." Read More...
	MORE PARENTAL POWER IN REVISED NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND URGED Advocates want the federal law to give states the power to enforce the parental-involvement sections of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), reports David J. Hoff in Education Week. The No Child Left Behind Act has expanded parents’ power over their children’s education and given them more information about student achievement than ever before. But Congress ought to take further steps to promote parental involvement when it reauthorizes the five-year-old law, parent activists told a Senate panel last week. Read More...
	Tips Parents Can Use to Help Their Children: Building Responsibility, Building Self-Esteem, Motivating a child, and more! Download this PDF to gain access to important and easy to use parenting tips!
	Improving Your Child's Education: A Guide for Latino Parents (The Education Trust, 2004) provides suggestions for Latino parents on how they can get involved in and be better advocates for the education of their children. It also offers information to help Latino parents exercise their rights. Read More... Available in English and Spanish versions
	CHAMPION YOUR CHILD'S EDUCATION Find out what to expect in the classroom, learn about the most important issues in education and get advice from A-Z. Get started here: http://www.greatschools.net/content/allArticles.page
	Do You Know Your Child's Learning Style? Even though two kids may have the same parents, their approaches to learning can make it seem like they come from different planets. Experts such as Howard Gardner, professor at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, have studied these divergent learning styles, also known as "multiple intelligences." Gardner's premise, first outlined in his book Frames of Mind, is that children have different natural ways of learning, and that parents and teachers who are aware of how children learn can greatly enhance what they learn. Take the quiz to find out! (found at bottom of article)
	Scholastic.com offers great ideas, tips and resources for all ages of learners! Grades 3-5: Tough questions/issues and answers to them!
	The new Parents and Schools blog will also feature insights of other experts who will share their thoughts and opinions. Offering as many as two new articles per week on important parent involvement topics, upcoming blog articles will discuss: “Breaking down the barriers to parent involvement?” “What’s wrong with this picture?” “What success secrets do these people know?” “Parent involvement and at risk students?” “A few bad apple parents?” “The single greatest issue in education,” and many more. Readers can view the blogs at www.parent-institute.com/blog. The Parent Institute is education’s #1 source for family involvement information providing research-based products from an experienced team of professional writers, editors and education experts. Founded in 1989, the Institute publishes 28 national parenting newsletters and over 200 booklets, brochures and videos in English and Spanish, which schools give to parents to help their children succeed. For more information, visit The Parent Institute website.
	SPELLING TIME The weekly spelling test is your child’s first encounter with scholastic evaluation in today’s highly competitive environment. SpellingTime.com is an interactive tool designed to prepare children for these tests by utilizing a fun, dynamic and "Mommy Free" approach. Parents or children can enter the spelling words each Monday and SpellingTime.com will create a 4 step, instructional learning program predicated on the marriage between leading edge technology and good old fashion repetition and reward processes.
	Thinkfinity connects literacy organizations, volunteers and people who want to learn more about supporting literacy -- and to provide online information to these audiences. Thinkfinity is funded through a generous grant from Verizon Communications. http://www.thinkfinity.org/home.aspx
	A TOOLKIT TO SUPPORT SCHOOL-FAMILY-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS The New Mexico Public Education Department has created, "Working Together: School-Family-Community Partnerships, A Toolkit for New Mexico School Communities." The purpose of the Toolkit is to assist educators and education partners with information, resources and strategies to help strengthen parent and community involvement. The toolkit is designed to make schools places that foster community collaboration and make parents and families feel welcome. Read More
	BEYOND THE BAKESALE: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO FAMILY-SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS This innovative guide reveals how to build strong collaborative relationships and offers practical advice for improving interactions between parents and teachers, from insuring that PTA groups are constructive and inclusive to navigating the complex issues surrounding diversity in the classroom. Written for educators as well as parent and community leaders, this book is packed with tools to engage families in ways that will improve student achievement. Anne Henderson, Karen Mapp, Vivian Johnson and Don Davies pack this one-of-a-kind volume with tips from principals and teachers, checklists, and an invaluable resource section. You can read excerpts at: http://www.ncpie.org/
	Dubbed the "grammar slammer" by secondary-school teachers, this site "provides answers to some of the most common questions or errors. I'm trying to get older students to use this as a style/usage handbook ... to help them edit their writing rather than relying on the teacher to make corrections on a rough draft." http://www.englishplus.com/grammar
	Colorful favorite with dozens of you-print-out pages. "We use it for our animal-report research and reports on inventors/inventions for my fourth-graders." http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html
	Formerly a subscription service, this answer-based search engine is now free. Gives info and answers, not just links, to terms and topics — which not only saves time but lessens the risk of linking to inappropriate Web sites. With a citation tool at the bottom of each page, it's easy to create bibliography citations of online sources. http://www.answers.com
	Sponsored by Information Please Almanac. Strong reference desk with atlas, almanac, dictionary and encyclopedia links. Also features world news, quizzes, games and homework help. http://www.factmonster.com
	Links to varied topics, including science, foreign languages and music links. Graphics are a bit juvenile for older kids. http://www.kidinfo.com/SchoolSubjects.html
	Thorough homework-help search engine developed and maintained by librarians; allows advanced searches by reading level. No Internet filter, so users must be careful. http://www.kidsclick.org
	Broken down by grade level; links to sites that support many schools' curricula and provides a powerful reference center with free access to many of the world's best libraries, museums and current-events sources. http://www.homeworkspot.com
	On the U.S. Department of Education site, the plum-and-brown graphics may be a turnoff, but the homework advice scores. Among its tips: When children haven't done their best work, point it out — but be constructive. "Instead of telling a sixth-grader, 'You aren't going to hand in that mess, are you?' say, 'The teacher will understand your ideas better if you use your best handwriting.' " http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/homework/part7.html
	Leave it to the teachers to provide great homework help. The National Education Association answers parent's questions not always found on other sites, such as "What do I do if my child seems bored by the homework?" and "Can my children do homework while listening to music or watching television?" http://www.nea.org/parents/homework.html
	King County Library System's one-stop shopping Web site for links to everything from the Vincent van Gogh Gallery to Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (including info on avoiding plagiarism). Best of all is the Dr. Math site, where kids and parents can take their trig and algebra questions. Here, there's even a service that lets you submit queries to math students and professors all across the country. The site's great for those who, say, want to brush up on how to prove Bretschneider's Theorem for finding the area of a quadrilateral. Or just multiply fractions. http://www.kcls.org/hh/homework.cfm
	Cynthia Dorfman wants us to know about a publication produced by the Office of Communication: Tips for Helping Students Recovering from Traumatic Events. This 8 page booklet offers practical information for parents, students, teachers, coaches, school administrators and others who are helping those affected by natural disasters. Please take a moment to view this helpful resource at: http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/recovering/recovering.pdf
	Search Institute is a national leader in generating cutting-edge ideas, research, and strategies for growing healthy, thriving children and adolescents. http://www.mvparents.com/
	Ask for Kids is a fast, easy and kid-friendly way for kids to find answers to their questions online. Designed to be a fun destination site focused on learning and "edutainment," Ask for Kids uses natural-language technology that allows kids to ask questions, such as "Why is the sky blue?" or "What's it like to live in space?" in the same way they would ask a parent, friend or teacher. http://www.askforkids.com/
	Strategy Briefs are lessons from the field: the policies, strategies and programs that people are using to make meaningful connections that make a real difference for students. To view, go to: http://www.sedl.org/connections/research-briefs.html
	GiveKidsGoodSchools.org is a project of Public Education Network which seeks to build public demand and mobilize resources to provide quality public education for all children. http://www.givekidsgoodschools.com/
	When To Hire a Tutor Tutoring is an option for an increasing number of families. It can help a struggling student or provide added enrichment. http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/KS/310/
	Helping your kids succeed in school isn't quantum physics. Often, it's the simple, little things parents do that make all the difference. With Wichita schools starting class Tuesday, The Eagle sought the advice of seven teachers at elementary, middle and high schools. Read further... http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/living/education/12443492.htm
	As your child moves through the school years, you will see changes that may mystify or delight you. At times you may wonder, "Is my child normal?" and so may she. While each child develops at his or her own pace there are some milestones to be reached as they march from elementary school to the upper grades. The following grade-by-grade guide from Better Home and Gardens, highlights some of the behaviors and learning opportunities that your child may experience. www.bhg.com/bhg/printableStory.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/lhj/ story/data/edu_intro_08082001.xml&catref=cat370009
	This site has free on-line courses to introduce you to concepts of working with ELL parents, teaching parents how to support children's learning and volunteer in schools, and information on how to implement family literacy. The goal of Verizon Literacy University is to help literacy volunteers, program staff, and community members build a more literate nation. www.vluonline.org/
	ParentsCount is a parent resource site developed by The MASTER Teacher, Inc., and brought to you as a service of your school district. The driving purpose behind ParentsCount is to provide you with the authoritative information you need to be a well-informed and well-prepared parent, to help you help your children succeed in school, and to make it easier for parents and the school district to work together for the benefit of the district's students. www.parentscount.net/
	Recursos en español (Education Resources for Spanish Speakers) http://www.ed.gov/espanol/bienvenidos/es/index.html
	GreatSchools.net is a nonprofit online guide to K-12 schools that provides parents with the information they need to guide their children's education. The purpose of GreatSchools.net is to help parents understand how their children's schools are performing, choose the right schools for their children, support their children's learning and advocate for education excellence. www.greatschools.net Report card time again? These tips will help you figure out what to do about grades before and after that fateful slip of paper comes home. www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/ks/30/improve/print/ Summer Learning Activities http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/ks/233/improve/gn NEW! Online Resources for Parent Involvement in Schools http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/ks/264/improve/gn
	The Kansas Learning First Alliance is a partnership between 25 state educational organizations whose goal is to promote quality public education in Kansas through three initiatives: 1) engaging the public through encouraging and sponsoring community conversations, 2) supporting professional development, and 3) focusing on increasing student success. www.teachkansas.org
	Rethinking Schools is an 18-year-old organization begun by teachers. They stand for a commitment to equity and to a vision that public education is central to the creation of a human, caring, multiracial democracy. While diversity is an issue that impacts all of society, Rethinking Schools emphasizes problems facing urban schools--particularly issues of race. It is an activist publication, with articles written by and for teachers, parents, and students. www.rethinkingschools.org
	At this site you will find action briefs for the major themes covered by NCLB developed by the Public Education Network and the National Coalition for Parental Involvement in Education. The action alerts can be used in multiple ways -- as a training tool, for professional development, or an easy reference to the law's intricacies -- with a variety of audiences. www.publiceducation.org/nclb_actionbriefs.asp
	GUIDE TO TALKING TO YOUR COMMUNITY ABOUT NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND Polls show that parents and the public at large are not well informed about the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and how it will affect their children and schools. While this may create uncertainty and confusion in your community, it also offers school leaders a chance to discuss the law with them and enlist their support in meeting its new challenges. No Child Left Behind is controversial, with vocal supporters and critics. The materials presented here are not intended to engage debate about the pros and cons of the law. They are designed to help school leaders communicate with parents and the public about the law and its effects in each community. These were written primarily for district superintendents and principals, since they are often the first to be called to comment on school issues. But these materials can be readily adapted for use by teacher leaders, PTA presidents, school board members, and others. This Guide also contains links to many other resources on the law and other education issues. You will most likely want to adapt these for your community, picking and choosing the issues that are most relevant and modifying them with some specifics from your district and state. Many of the materials are designed so that they can easily be converted into brochures or flyers. http://www.learningfirst.org/publications/nclbguide/
	The National PTA site has many useful resources for parents and educators alike. You'll find many documents written in Spanish, as well as Chinese, Cambodian, Korean, and Vietnamese. www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/standards/appenda.asp www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/standards/pfichallenge.asp#Teacher www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/standards/ www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/bts/index.asp www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/spanish/index.asp
	This site contains useful information from the National Education Association on ways to encourage and promote parent involvement. It also contains valuable resources to download regarding parent teacher conferences and how parents can help students succeed in school. http://www.nea.org/parents/
	The Girls and Boys Town Parenting Page shares useful ideas and resources for parents. www.parenting.org
	This links to a page from the Children, Youth, and Families Education and Research Network that has many useful resources for schools and families. www.twosocks.ces.ncsu.edu/cyfdb/browse_2.php?search=Parent/Family
	This page from the Disney Learning Partnership has information on how schools and families might communicate more effectively with each other. www.disney.go.com/disneylearning/family-school/index.html
	This site is the Missouri Parent Information Resource Center. It includes many useful resources, especially the one we have targeted in the address below. This resource is called 100 Tips For Parents published by the U.S. Department of Education. http://www.missouri-pirc.org/parent_downloads/100tips-english.pdf
	This site, from The Parent Institute, has numerous free resources that you will help you to help your child succeed in school. http://www.parent-institute.com/educator/resources/
	This site contains valuable information on how fathers can be involved and promote student achievement. www.watchdogs.net
	This site from Kansas Action for Children has up-to-date information on the status of children in Kansas. www.kac.org
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