The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.

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Dear FINE Member,

Here are this month's FINE member announcements. The FINE monthly e-announcement will take a break during the summer. Our next announcement will be sent in September. Please feel free to forward this information to friends and other education colleagues and enjoy the summer.

New on the FINE Website

• Research Digest: Learning by Listening: A Longitudinal Study of Family Literacy

  Catherine Compton-Lilly studies the reading concepts held by urban families and how home reading practices intersect with school literacy practices.

• Syllabus: Family Strengthening Interventions: Evidence-Based Practices

  Karol L. Kumpfer, Associate Professor of Health Promotion and Education at the University of Utah, teaches a course on evidence-based family strengthening interventions.

• Conference Panel: Research and Evaluation of Family Involvement in Education: What Lies Ahead?

  Harvard Family Research Project hosted a panel session at the 2005 annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, which examined the current knowledge base and future directions for family involvement research and evaluation. Heather Weiss, Director of Harvard Family Research Project, served as the panel's chair and Kathleen Hoover-Dempsey, William Jeynes, Joyce Epstein, and Anne Henderson presented.

• Conference Workshop: Making the Case for Parental Involvement and Engagement: Part I: Parental, Family, School, and Community Partnerships Make a Difference

  Staff at Harvard Family Research Project paired up with staff at the Institute for Responsive Education at Cambridge College to make the case for family involvement to educators. This workshop was presented at the annual Massachusetts Title I conference in Hyannis on May 11, 2005.

Recent Books and Reports on Family Strengthening

• Family Strengthening in Youth Development

  The latest policy brief (No. 6) from the Family Strengthening Policy Center examines how youth serving programs can involve parents as decision makers. Several case studies illustrate promising practices for strengthening families and demonstrate the range of opportunities for engaging families as partners in youth development work.

• Strengthening America's Families: An Agenda for Municipal Leaders

  The National League of Cities prepared this book for local officials seeking to create better outcomes for children, families, and neighborhoods. A companion piece based on the book Strengthening America’s Families: What Municipal Leaders Must Do encourages broad support among local officials for investments in families.

Other Reports and Articles

• Involvement Counts: Family and Community Partnerships and Mathematics Achievement

  This article from the Journal of Educational Research (Vol. 98, No. 4) uses longitudinal data to examine the connections between specific family and community involvement activities and student achievement in mathematics. Practices that encouraged families to support their children's mathematics learning at home were associated with higher student test scores in mathematics. The article is available for purchase from the publisher at the link above.

• Summer Learning Opportunities in High-Poverty Schools

  This publication from the Council of Chief State School Officers describes five summer learning programs based in high-poverty schools that have contributed to improved student achievement. The profiles examine program goals, structure and content, professional development, funding and sustainability, student outcomes, challenges to implementation, and successes. The report also synthesizes best practices in implementing summer learning opportunities.

• Closing Achievement Gaps Policy Brief

  The Future of Children released this policy brief as a companion piece for its Spring 2005 journal volume entitled School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps.

Website to Watch

• Parent Involvement in Education Website

  KSA-Plus Communications and Connect for Kids have teamed up to launch a website offering advice for parents looking to become involved in their child's education. The website offers links to a wide variety of articles, organizations, and tips about parent leadership and activism. Additional links connect parents with local and regional services to improve the safety and health of students.

Programs

• Strengthening Families Program (SFP)

  This program is an evidence-based, family skills training program that has been shown to reduce problem behaviors in children, improve school performance, and reduce delinquency and alcohol and drug use in teenagers. Culturally adapted versions of SFP have been developed and evaluated with African American, Hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islander, and American Indian families.

• Parent Expectations Support Achievement (PESA) Program

  PESA is a parent education program that teaches parents techniques that will improve their child's academic achievement, communication with the family, and self-confidence. It was developed by the Los Angeles County Office of Education as a companion to the Teacher Expectation and Student Achievement (TESA) program. School districts across the United States and Europe are using PESA for their parent involvement program at school and community sites.

Policy

• Parental Involvement in Education

  This “StateNote” from the Education Commission of the States provides updated information on state legislation and programs designed to increase parental involvement in the education process.

Upcoming Events

• The First National Symposium on IEP Facilitation

  This event will bring together state dispute resolution coordinators, directors of special education, dispute resolution practitioners, parent advocates, attorneys, educators, service providers, and others interested in establishing effective agreements by creating individual education plans (IEP). The symposium is being held October 28–29, 2005, at the Hilton in Eugene, Oregon.

• 2005 National Summit on Your City's Families

  Municipal leaders from across the country who want to improve the lives of children, youth, and families in their communities are invited to this summit sponsored by the Institute for Youth, Education, and Families of the National League of Cities. The summit will be held September 25–28, 2005, in San Antonio, Texas.

Contact Us

Have a problem with the website or questions and comments concerning our work? Send an email to fine@gse.harvard.edu.

Enjoy!

FINE – The Family Involvement Network of Educators