Partnering With Parents To Ask The Right Questions

How can we make it easier for schools and families to work together on behalf of all students? It all begins by tapping into the different strengths educators and parents and caregivers can contribute to building a strong partnership. Partnering with Parents to Ask the Right Questions, by Luz Santana, Dan Rothstein, and Agnes Bain of the Right Question Institute, presents a deceptively simple strategy for how educators can build effective partnerships with parents—especially those who typically have not been actively involved in their children's schooling. It distills complex, important ideas on effective civic participation into an easy-to-learn process that teaches parents two fundamental skills they can use to support the education of their children, monitor their progress, and advocate for them: asking better questions and participating effectively in key decisions. Based on more than two decades of work and research in a wide range of low- and moderate-income communities, this book empowers overburdened and under-resourced educators and parents to work together and achieve their common goal of successful students. This indispensable guide includes case studies spanning K–12 classrooms, and it explores ways to assist struggling students, collaborate on IEPs, and communicate with families of English language learners. The accessible and easy-to-use format, field-tested advice, and vivid examples from schools that put the advice into practice make this a must-have for everyone from the classroom to the central office.

This book focuses on the topic of the multiple-stakeholders that comprise the education community across the P-20 continuum. In various ways and forms, the authors of the chapters found within this book promote the importance of engaging with the diverse array of stakeholders in order to truly improve education in an increasingly interconnected world. The book itself is divided into two major arcs, the first of which covers community relations and stakeholder engagement in P-12 schools, while the second addresses those same issues in higher education. When one considers the activities that take place within education institutions, there is a realization that they are influenced and driven by much more than just the educators and administrators who occupy the schools. In the editors’ own work, (e.g., see Tran & Bon, 2016), the importance of the inclusion of the viewpoints and inputs of multiple-stakeholders in school decisions when appropriate has been consistently argued, given that the school is considered by many to be a social and communal environment. To address these issues, in this text, this book is lucky to have a collection of peer-reviewed writing that explore various aspects of how multiple-stakeholder input can be used to improve school decisions.

The authors of Make Just One Change argue that formulating one’s own questions is “the single most essential skill for learning”—and one that should be taught to all students. They also argue that it should be taught in the simplest way possible. Drawing on twenty years of experience, the authors present the Question Formulation Technique, a concise and powerful protocol that enables learners to produce their own questions, improve their questions, and strategize how to use them. Make Just One Change features the voices and experiences of teachers in classrooms across the country to illustrate the use of the Question Formulation Technique across grade levels and subject areas and with different kinds of learners.

It is essential that we work together to craft powerful parent-teacher partnerships that meet the needs of today’s students and schools. In this important new book, authors Robert Dillon and Melissa Nixon explain how schools and families can work together so that the needs of children are always met. Whether you’re a parent hoping to work more effectively with your child’s teacher, or a principal or teacher looking for ways to understand families’ needs, you’ll be able to use the strategies in this resource to improve your communication and build deeper connections. Loaded with practical takeaways and sample stories, this book will help you: Clearly communicate a child’s educational goals; Make connections with other schools and school districts to build community and broaden your range of resources; Hold educators accountable without alienating them; Develop communication strategies to address difficult topics like underperformance and misbehavior; Show compassion and gratitude; And more! With the practical suggestions in this book, you’ll be able to rekindle more engagement and excitement into students' learning at school and at home.

Are you wondering how to nurture a better relationship with the parents of your students? This book provides teachers with comprehensive methods to bridge the gap between school and home in order to enhance the development of their students.

Confident Parents, Confident Kids lays out an approach for helping parents—and the kids they love—hone their emotional intelligence so that they can make wise choices, connect and communicate well with others (even when patience is thin), and become socially conscious and confident human beings. How do we raise a happy, confident kid? And how can we be confident that our parenting is preparing our child for success? Our confidence develops from understanding and having a mastery over our emotions (aka emotional intelligence)—and helping our children do the same. Like learning to play a musical instrument, we can fine-tune our ability to skillfully react to those crazy, wonderful, big feelings that naturally arise from our child’s constant growth and changes, moving from chaos to harmony. We want our children to trust that they can conquer any challenge with hard work and persistence; that they can love boundlessly; that they will find their unique sense of purpose; and they will act wisely in a complex world. This book shows you how. With author and educator Jennifer Miller as your supportive guide, you'll learn: the lies we’ve been told about emotions, how they shape our choices, and how we can reshape our parenting decisions in better alignment with our deepest values. how to identify the temperaments your child was born with so you can support those tendencies rather than fight them. how to align your biggest hopes and dreams for your kids with specific skills that can be practiced, along with new research to support those powerful connections. about each age and stage your child goes through and the range of learning opportunities available. how to identify and manage those big emotions (that only the parenting process can bring out in us!) and how to model emotional intelligence for your children. how to deal with the emotions and influences of your choir—the many outside individuals and communities who directly impact your child’s life, including school, the digital world, extended family, neighbors, and friends. Raising confident, centered, happy kids—while feeling the same way about yourself—is possible with Confident Parents, Confident Kids.

With effective communication as its theme, From Parent to Partner explores the reasons and basis for developing ongoing partnerships with parents and families of children in childcare settings and provides the tools and strategies to build the support network within which these partnerships thrive.

First-time Parents is an updated and redesigned edition of a practical guide to parenting that focuses especially on first-time parents. There is advice on pregnancy and birth; day-to-day babycare – feeding, washing and dressing; as well as guidance on the longer-term emotional issues of adapting to becoming a family. The book also addresses all other issues such as maintaining your relationship and going back to work. There are special panels that give, not only the mother’s, but also the father’s, points of view on a variety ofissues to help both parents understand the other’s needs. In this easy-to-read guide, Miriam Stoppard gives new mothers and fathers the confidence to fashion their own brand of family life.