Articles About Parent Engagement
Laurie Posner, MPA, describes how the Cartitas or “letters home” series is designed as a companion piece to these books – fostering school-family partnerships around storybooks that speak to children. She gives several examples the Cartitas in use. (March 2012)
Excellent Bilingual Early Childhood Programs – A Parents Guide
By Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.Ed., provides a checklist of characteristics of a successful bilingual preschool program (see a printable version). Take a look at your child’s center. (See the Spanish-language printable version of this checklist) (May 2004)
Creating Centers of Learning at Home and School for Early Learners
Rosana G. Rodríguez, Ph.D., and Abelardo Villarreal, Ph.D., describe a bilingual guide developed by IDRA with targeted activities in two parts to enhance learning: the first part, for parents and families, and the second part, for teachers and staff at the early childhood level. (March 2005)
Community Engagement Tool for Educators
Rosana G. Rodríguez, Ph.D., Juanita C. García, Ph.D., and Abelardo Villarreal, Ph.D., describe IDRA’s series for educators to give ideas and help educators gain greater benefits from effective parent and community engagement to ensure school success for all children. There are seven issues in the series, one for each month of the school year. Each includes a theme for the month, classroom tips, an equity goal for the month, ideas for breaking down barriers, a self assessment tool, an action planning guide and resource suggestions. (September 2011)
IDRA’s Family Leadership Principles
Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.Ed., outlines IDRA’s principles for family leadership in education that – while evolving over time – have been basis of IDRA’s work with families, schools and community groups. (September 2007)
Establishing Home-School Partnerships for Success in Science
Building strong home-school partnerships is an effective strategy for success in supporting children’s achievement in science. Rosana G. Rodríguez, Ph.D., and Veronica Betancourt, M.A., outline teaching and learning premises undergirding the importance of parent and family engagement with references to research support for this approach. They also suggest essential competencies that reflect a positive approach in operationalizing this strategy and offer techniques for implementation. Additional resources are provided online to help in creating a culture of effective parent engagement in schools. (November-December 2012)
