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Case Narrative

Tim meanders toward his second grade classroom after a difficult ride in on the school bus. Feeling cooled off after his angry outburst at another child who had taken his seat on the bus, Tim greets his teacher with an affectionate hug. She returns it with enthusiasm. She surveys Tim's disheveled appearance—uncombed hair, dirty t-shirt, and unbathed body—and gently suggests that he wash up in the principal's bathroom.

When he returns, Tim plops down at his desk at the front of the classroom and gobbles up the breakfast snack his teacher has provided. Then he opens up his backpack and proudly presents his teacher with a crumpled, but completed homework sheet. His teacher's thoughts turned immediately to the impending decision about whether to retain Tim or promote him to the third grade.

Terri Kline, Tim's Teacher
“I've taught in the primary grades in this school for over thirty years. My own children even went to this school. I love all the children I work with and am especially fond of Tim. Because I teach in a multi-grade classroom, I've had Tim in my class for two years. He's a wonderful kid, very thoughtful and very sweet. He and I have a very close relationship and he works his level best in my presence to do what he thinks is expected of him.”

“At the same time, Tim has serious problems that are really affecting his relationships with classmates and his math performance, which is well below grade level. So much so that I'm beginning to think he should be retained in the second grade. I mean, third grade is a whole different environment with academic and social demands that Tim may not be able to weather quite yet. But we can't make that decision without someone at the school talking to his mother about it first.”

“Basically, the problem is that Tim often comes to school unprepared for class, both academically and socially. His homework is often missing or destroyed. He doesn't come in clean. He wears the same clothes over and over again, even though he does have others. He has problems managing his anger. I personally think he's just not getting enough supervision at home.”

“Tim and his brothers and sisters live with his mother, Maureen, in what seems like a very hectic household. Maureen works a late shift, so she's usually sleeping when her kids leave for school. I'm guessing he doesn't have a regular bedtime. He gets himself up in the morning and gets himself dressed. He doesn't have breakfast at home—he eats breakfast here. Tim really feels the absence of his mom at home, I think, which seems to make his need for attention in school even greater. He normally doesn't see his mother before he leaves for school in the morning, so he's starting off the day without contact with her and without even a hug. I think he's a very needy child, emotionally.”

“On the other hand, Tim's such a warm, fuzzy kind of kid that something obviously has been right in order for him to be as gentle and as loving as he usually is. So I have to give his mom credit. I think she wants to be a part of his school life. I also think she's interested in him doing well, but she doesn't seem to want to hear about the difficulties he's having.”

“He's especially had a lot of problems managing his anger lately. This has happened before and it's resurfaced in the last few months. The school guidance counselor and I can't help thinking it's connected to visits with his father. Even though Tim doesn't see him very often, each time he returns from a visit, he acts out a lot at school. His father has a history of violence and was released from prison last year. I really worry about his influence on Tim. The first time Tim went off with his father, his behavior was very out of bounds when he returned. I would give my right arm to know what happened over this last vacation to result in such a change in Tim's behavior.”

“But even if I do find out all the answers about what's going on in Tim's home life that's affecting him so much in school, it's not my place to ask his mother to do more than she already does, nor can I do anything more than I already do for him. And I'm not convinced that what I already do, or what his next teacher is likely to do, will be enough to ensure that he can succeed in third grade.”

Tim's Mother, Maureen
“I think it's really important for families to help their kids and go to their schools and stuff. I think you have to take an interest in your kids and you have to be right there with them, which, in the last year and three months, I haven't been able to do. And I think it makes a big difference.”

“In a perfect world, I'd be rich and could stay home all the time and just be there. We'd be out there takin' our field trips, goin' to the park, goin' over to the playground, takin' a walk in the night after supper, readin' a book before bed. I hate my work situation. I mean, those kids never went to bed without me readin' them a story. It's tough. They miss it and I miss it.”

“The main thing is that I'm not home with the kids, so I don't see them much—if I'm lucky, I might see them an hour in the mornings every once in a while, and I see them on the weekend. But that's when we do all our errands. I go to the store—you know, haircuts, whatever. So it's hard to schedule. I mean, I have a full schedule and a full house. With the three younger kids, my two older kids, my fiance and his two kids, and my new grandbaby, the house can get pretty crazy. Plus, this swing shift job I've had this past year really makes it hard to spend time with my kids.”

“Sometimes when I'm gone, my older daughter Jane watches the kids, but I can't count on her to read to them or help them with their homework.”

“As far as talkin' with Tim's teacher about his school work, the fall parent-teacher conference was pretty upbeat, and Terri talked about how much better he was doin' in reading. But she seemed kinda rushed. I know for me it's mostly hard to make it to the school or even call 'cause of my schedule. Last year I had to fight to get conferences in the early afternoon because I'm just not up to doin' that so early in the morning after working all night.”

“I think it's a good sign that I don't hear from the school too much now. Just the fact that I'm not getting phone calls about Tim actin' up on the bus means he's probably gettin' better. I know he's still lashin' out at school when he gets mad, and that the guidance counselor wants to help. She's gonna start seein' him in school. She's supposed to call me back Thursday and set it up. We talked the other day. She wanted to know how I felt about everything—Tim, his problems, his school work, you know. I wanna make time to meet with her and think about how to work together, but I'm just so busy, and I can't figure out how to balance it all. How am I supposed to stay on top of Tim's school stuff and my other kids' stuff, and also work these crazy hours?”

Shellie Scott, the Guidance Counselor
“I've worked at Lincoln School for almost twenty years, and it's a small school in a small town, so parents and teachers know me pretty well. Parents sometimes call me directly with their concerns, whether it's about a kid misbehaving, or a case of child abuse, or a family problem. I have an open door policy and a listening ear, so it's not uncommon for kids to come see me of their own initiative sometimes. I'm also friendly with just about every community agency in the area, and I try to connect kids to outside resources, like summer camp or family counseling, when I can.”

“I have known Tim's family for a long time. In fact, 10 years ago, I was the one who counseled the family when Tim's father first became violent toward family members. Even back then, I think I counted nine people at one point, living in that house. So Tim's mother has had a lot to deal with. It's so chaotic that things don't get enough attention and that nothing runs very smoothly. I think that the kids sometimes get overlooked. I think Maureen works very hard—I think she tries to balance it all. I don't know who could do it.”

“I think that Tim's mother hasn't been able to, or hasn't been very comfortable about coming to school. So I imagine that Tim and the other kids might feel that school isn't so important, since their mother doesn't spend any time with their teachers. I'm sure that Maureen doesn't have the time—and I'm sure that there isn't any reasonably quiet place in the house—to kind of sit down and maybe read to the kids. The kids probably don't think much about their own school work as a result. How could they work in such an environment?”

“Tim's behavior problems have been escalating, and I haven't had much success reaching Maureen by phone, so I wrote her a letter expressing my concerns. I didn't raise the retention issue that Terri's debating, because as an academic issue I think she or the principal needs to take the lead, but I did discuss Tim's need for more attention at home and his increasing behavior problems. I thought she'd be angry with me when I read this letter to her—she had missed a couple of meetings with me and she wasn't following through on some things. But I didn't know how else to reach her and I believe firmly in being direct with parents and informing them frequently about their children's school progress. I just hope the letter I ended up sending her doesn't make her feel totally annoyed or alienated.”

Tim's Mother, Maureen Kelly
“I think Shellie is great, really easy to talk to. She's someone I can say anything to. Plus she's much easier to reach on the phone than Tim's teacher, because she's not teaching a class or something when I'm off work and trying to call.”

“Shellie sent me this nasty letter. Well, it wasn't actually a nasty letter, it's just her opinion of what's going on with the kids and why it's going on. She basically wrote that I maybe wasn't giving my kids enough attention, and I absolutely agree. You know, I've tried to help my kids though. Tim loves to read and I just brought him home a book on dinosaurs. Each week, I also try to keep one of the kids home for one day, so I can give them one day where it's just the two of us, to do something. We'll just hang out, go out to lunch, maybe get some books. We'll talk about feelings.”

“Of course, what I really want is a regular shift, even if it means taking a cut in pay. I may have to work an extra couple of hours to make up for the pay cut, but I'd do it. I've gotta get on the first shift. I liked it better when I was going to the school and picking them up and seeing the teachers, and saying ‘Hi’ every day. You know, volunteering in the kindergarten, that kind of thing. Just bein' there, seeing how things are goin'. That's my dream, and that's what's good for the kids.”

Edward West, the Principal
“I was really saddened when Terri mentioned her concern that Tim might not be ready for the third grade. I really like Tim and am pretty familiar with some of his problems on the school bus and in the playground, because I tend to get involved with disciplinary problems outside of the classroom. So when I see him in the hall, I always try to find out how he's been doing. I also know he's made some progress on his reading, and sometimes I invite him to come read a book to me.”

“Fortunately we're a small school with a close and experienced staff, so we can give students that kind of individualized attention. Plus, I'll create any excuse to spend one-on-one time with the students, especially now that my own kids are grown up.”

“But seriously, when I think about the struggles that families like Tim's face, it has so many implications for how we have to change our role as educators in children's lives. A lot of parents have to struggle to get food on the table, meet their rent payments, and take care of the basics like heat and light. More and more kids are needing extra support from the school, because their parents are so stressed out with work and finances.”

“You know, many of the kids want a lot more attention when they're here, because they're not getting it anywhere else. The economic struggles of our families demand more resources of the school—maybe some extra counseling service, extra nursing service, extra work for the teachers. Teachers are spending a lot more time counseling parents. I think they want to be helpful and supportive, but a lot of them don't have the background to be the advocates, really, that the parents need. So professional development becomes another resource we need more of. But I think the nature of the work is shifting, and more and more we have to do it, because more and more the social agencies are not picking up that need. Besides the issue of limited resources, some people argue ‘it's not your role.’ And my argument is, ‘Hey, we have the kid, we need to help the kid.’”

“So we do some things that a more traditional school might not do, like paying parents' medication bills on occasion, or feeding and putting clean clothes on a kid. We've even talked about having washers and dryers for us to clean some kids' clothes.”

“The question becomes ‘what is our role?’ We're being forced to be much more of a social agency, but really, that's not what our role is supposed to be. But you can't ignore a hungry child; you can't ignore the fact that a child doesn't have clean or warm clothes or that the child's mother—or the child—is abused at home, which makes it impossible for the child to go to school and concentrate. So you end up doing a lot of things so that the child can come ready to learn. And so it's like, ‘how do you do that?’”

Terri Kline, Tim's Teacher
“Ed, Maureen, and everyone at this school has tried to help Tim. I know I've tried to do some things myself to help him with his hygiene and his eating habits. There are a couple of kids that I have washcloths and towels for. When they come in, obviously very dirty, I just give them the towels and they go down and wash up and feel a whole lot better. I also buy snacks for my students, to make sure they eat healthy food each day and to level the playing field among all the children. I see the nonacademic help I give as just part of my job as a teacher.”

“I think that if you're working with children, that's a part of the role. If you're not involved in the child's whole life, then it doesn't make sense to me. The child as a person is more important that just learning to read. Plus his anger and his lack of attention at home end up getting in the way of his learning. I certainly see that with his struggles concentrating on math and staying on top of his homework. So I try to make up for all of that in class.”

“I also try to encourage Tim to take on some of the responsibility himself. We've tried to give him some hints about washing up and getting himself ready for school. He comes to school smelling of urine and wearing filthy clothes, day after day. So I kind of started working with him and saying, ‘You know, why don't you have a shower before you come to school in the morning, or hop in the bath quickly? It would make you feel really clean and good.’ He says, ‘OK.’”

“After Christmas vacation with his father, Tim's behavior got much worse. At one point, Shellie tried to get a hold of her and have a conference about all of her kids, her work situation, and the other stresses in her life and have some honest dialogue about what's going on, but I don't think she was able to reach her.”

“I personally don't feel comfortable pushing very hard with Maureen—leave that to the guidance counselor. I'd much rather find solutions in the classroom. Besides communication is limited on her end. During our few talks, I don't feel like she's shared a lot with me as far as what's actually going on in Tim's life. She's always private. And even though I've been flexible about scheduling meetings, she still doesn't come to conferences and doesn't return phone calls, so this is at an impasse right now.”

“And now Edward wants to meet with me to discuss the possibility of retaining Tim, which means I really have to be clear about my assessment of Tim and his family issues. And I have to come up with some ideas for how to move beyond the communication impasse with Tim's mom to include her in this decision somehow.”

The people and events in this case are based on real life accounts, but have been disguised to protect confidentiality. We would like to thank Kim Friedman for conducting the interviews on which this case is based, for providing insight into the case, and for reviewing the manuscript. This work was supported by the MacArthur Foundation as part of its Network on Successful Pathways through Middle Childhood, the DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund as part of its School/Family Partnerships Initiative, and Kraft Foods, an operating company of the Philip Morris Companies.

The objectives of this case are to increase future educators' understanding of children's family lives and their impact on school functioning, as well as to consider the role of schools and teachers in supporting children's nonacademic and family support needs. The case also presents home-school communication as a critical ingredient in supporting children and families. The case is designed for use in graduate-level education courses that consider family-school relationships in the educational process.

Epilogue

Shellie Recalls
“After writing Maureen that letter, I really worried that she'd be angry with me. But I felt like I had to write it because there were just things that needed to be said. So, I didn't hear from her for a while. Then she really surprised me by responding positively. She said, ‘I appreciate it, and after thinking about it a lot, I took the letter to my boss, and I'm trying to get things changed.’ She took that letter to her boss to try to get her work shift changed. And it worked! Now she's working days. It'd be hard to share a lot of those things with an employer, but she did do it, and now she's working days. Not only that, but word from Terri is that Tim's shown a lot of improvement behaviorally and attentionally, enough so that she's hoping to promote him to the third grade afterall.”

 

 

Discussion Questions

  • What assumptions do school staff make about Tim's home life? About Tim's father? How can the school learn more about Tim's family?
  • What struggles does Maureen face in balancing her work and family life? What strengths does she possess and what strategies does she employ?
  • How has Tim's home life affected his school functioning and academic success?
  • How and when should retention in the second grade be decided?
  • Who holds responsibility for responding to Tim's unmet needs?
  • What kinds of supports do schools and teachers need to respond to Tim's needs?
  • Why did Shellie write the letter? What are the pros and cons of writing it?
  • What barriers exist to effective home-school communication?
  • What else could the school do to overcome these barriers?

 

 

Instructor Notes by Holly Kreider and Karsen Hunter

This note assumes a progression of the case discussion through several steps, as is common to most case discussions:

  • The identification of issues and problems in the case, including the perspectives of various characters.
  • The application of theory to critically understand the situation.
  • The generation of possible solutions to the problems, and a consideration of their potential consequences and alternatives.

The note also assumes a graduate-level student audience. While an instructor's note serves as a facilitation guide, any case discussion and supplementary exercises must be tailored to meet the specific audience, learning objectives, and format of the course or training workshop offered.

Case Overview Analysis
It is not unusual for Tim Kelly to come to school hungry, dirty, emotionally needy, and academically unprepared. His teacher, Terri Kline, frequently provides snacks, clean clothes, and hugs to Tim and others, but finds these efforts inadequate. She believes his lack of care at home is contributing to his poor school performance, enough so that she is considering the possibility of retaining him in the second grade. The principal, Edward West, supports Terri's practices around Tim's nonacademic needs, and acknowledges that the increasing stresses of family life are forcing teachers to redefine their roles.

Tim's family faces multiple stresses. His mother, Maureen, readily admits to a hectic and full household, an inconvenient swing shift job, and a limited ability to attend to all of Tim's needs, despite her desire to see him succeed in school. Tim's weekend visits with his father, who was recently released from prison on family violence charges, seem to coincide with Tim's angry outbursts at school.

The school has been challenged in its attempts to communicate with Maureen about Tim's struggles. Even Shellie Scott, the guidance counselor who has known Maureen for 10 years, has had little success contacting her through phone calls, letters, or scheduled appointments. Concern over Tim's behavior and difficulty contacting Maureen precipitates an honest letter to Maureen from Shellie.

School staff are struggling to define their role in meeting Tim's nonacademic and family support needs, communicate effectively with his family, and best use their limited resources to support families under stress. Two key concepts in family involvement literature, parent empowerment and social capital, can provide insight into this dilemma and suggest ways that schools can help rebuild families' resources and relationships, which in turn, can support children's school success.

Teaching Objectives

  • To understand children's family lives and their impact on school learning.
  • To consider the role of schools and teachers in supporting families.
  • To gain problem-solving and communication skills to support families.

Intended Courses and Levels
As currently designed, this case and instructor's manual are intended for use in graduate-level education courses that consider family-school relationships in the educational process. The case is meant to be presented as one case in a series of cases addressing critical family-school issues. The course should also begin with a theoretical and research review of family-school relationships.

Ideally, course participants will possess basic knowledge of key educational issues and approaches prior to enrollment in the course. Students should also represent a range of professional and personal backgrounds, including aspiring and experienced teachers, administrators, and other educators who work with students at different grade levels and from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Discussion Questions and Responses
Beyond a general discussion of what is happening in the case, different characters' perspectives, and possible action steps, the following questions address the key objectives of the case:

Objective I: Children's Family Lives

What assumptions do school staff make about Tim's home life? About Tim's father? How can the school learn more about Tim's family?

The teacher and guidance counselor both suspect a connection between Tim's behavior problems and visits with his father. They also assume that Maureen's lack of contact with the school signals her lack of interest in seeing Tim succeed. Maureen, on the other hand, expresses her desire to see Tim do well and views a lack of communication from the school as a sign that Tim is doing well.

One training approach that helps teachers learn more about students home lives uses ethnography (Moll, Amanti, Neff & Gonzalez, 1991). Teachers learn to visit students' homes several times and uncover families' funds of knowledge, which the teachers can later integrate it into the classroom curriculum.

What struggles does Maureen face in balancing her work and family life? What strengths does she possess and what strategies does she employ?

Maureen's swing shift schedule poses a major challenge to balancing work and family life. It prevents her from spending time with her children before school and from greater involvement in their learning and school. Maureen also has a large and hectic household, a history of violence in the family, and a teenage daughter who babysits for, but provides minimal basic care or learning support to her younger siblings.

On the other hand, Maureen has employed creative strategies for spending one-on-one time with her children and has raised Tim to be an affectionate and lovable child. When her schedule permitted, she was also involved in her children's education through volunteering at the school and reading to her children at home.

How has Tim's home life affected his school functioning and academic success?

Tim's teacher, guidance counselor and mother all agree that more attention and support for learning at home would benefit Tim's school success. These opinions are echoed by a decade of research on family involvement (Henderson & Berla, 1994). For Tim specifically, homework help and attention to Tim's physical and emotional needs might improve his ability to concentrate and perform nearer to grade level in math. School personnel also believe that the level of basic care at home, including nutrition and hygiene, impact Tim's ability to learn academically and socially. Finally, they believe that Tim's acting out behavior is precipitated by visits with his father.

How and when should retention in the second grade be decided?

With only two months left in the school year, the decision about whether to retain Tim must be decided fairly soon. The meeting between Terri and Edward can serve as initial step in the decision-making process. To involve Maureen, the close relationship with Shellie could be an asset. However, Shellie believes Terri or Edward should take the lead in communicating the issue to Maureen. Because the previous letter from Shellie was well received, and because Maureen is otherwise difficult to reach, a second letter written jointly by Terri and Shellie or Edward and Shellie could raise the retention issue or invite a meeting between all those concerned for Tim. During the meeting, Shellie could serve as a support for Maureen.

Objective II: The Role of the School in Supporting Families

Who holds responsibility for responding to Tim's unmet needs?

One conclusion to emerge might be that schools, in their charge of educating children, hold some responsibility for viewing the child in the context of the family and for initiating relationships with families (Coleman, 1991). The guidance counselor may be particularly well suited to reach out to Tim's family, given her long and trusting relationship with Tim's mother and her experience dealing with nonacademic and family issues. Other members of the school community may also have important roles. Tim's teacher is knowledgeable about the effect of unmet basic needs on Tim's learning, and Tim's principal controls school-level policies and resources for responding to families.

However, families also must be meaningful participants and partners with schools in solving children's school struggles. This is critical for a balance of power and positive outcomes for children (Cochran & Dean, 1991; Epstein, 1995). In addition, community agencies can also be critical partners in providing support to families and children (Weiss & Halpern, 1988).

How do Terri and Shellie define their roles with families differently?

Terri and Shellie's role definitions may arise from their different job positions as classroom teacher and guidance counselor respectively. Terri locates her problem-solving role in the classroom, restricting her work with families to parent-teacher conferences, non-disclosing exchanges, and major academic concerns. Shellie, on the other hand, sees family support, including open and direct communication, as key to her role with families. Likewise, she extends her role in helping children even beyond work with families, to work with other community agencies as well.

What kinds of supports do schools and teachers need to respond to Tim's needs?

In order to meet the needs of children like Tim, teachers need professional development in how to work not only with children, but with families (Shartrand, Weiss, Kreider, & Lopez, 1998). Teachers may also benefit from supportive relationships with other teachers and school staff. Likewise, schools need supportive relationships to address these problems. For example, relationships with family support programs (Weiss & Halpern, 1988) and other community-based organizations (Te, Cordova, Walker-Moffat & First, 1997) can be critical.

Objective III: Home-School Communication

Why did Shellie write the letter? What are the pros and cons of writing it?

Shellie wrote the letter out of concern for Tim's well being, failed attempts to contact Maureen by other means, and a desire to see Maureen follow through on her responsibilities. The letter may have had a better chance of reaching Maureen than a phone call or visit, given Maureen's busy and unusual schedule. Written in the context of a long and close relationship, the letter also had a good chance of being well received.

What barriers exist to effective home-school communication?

Effective communication between Tim's home and school faces multiple obstacles, including Maureen's scheduling and time limitations, the teacher's limited time and comfort discussing certain issues with families, and different perceptions about the purpose of communication.

What else could the school do to overcome these barriers?

These barriers might be broached by flexible scheduling of conferences and other school meetings, as well as by multiple and alternative means of communication, including letters, newsletters, home visits, and communication with other family members. Communication could focus on Tim's strengths as well as his weaknesses, and enlist Maureen in collaborative problem-solving efforts. School support for and training in how to communicate effectively with families, could increase the teacher's time, resources, and comfort level.

Other Issues
It should be noted that pilot testing of this case suggests other issues, beyond the identified learning objectives, that may be raised during a discussion. These issues are critical for educators, but beyond the full scope of this teaching note. For example, some students have raised the issue of suspected child abuse or neglect and the role of school staff as mandated reporters. Others have identified class issues in the case, suggesting that this small rural school has adopted a model of helping the underclass that may serve to disempower parents.

Analysis
This case raises the issue of the role of the school in addressing the “whole child.” At the heart of this discussion is the question of where the boundaries lie between school and home responsibilities for providing basic care, nurturance, and education to children. A discussion of this key issue could explore the family's and school's roles and responsibilities, the family's motives and barriers to involvement, and promising school approaches to supporting and involving the family.

In particular, two key concepts in family involvement literature point to an expanded role for schools in meeting the needs of children and their families. A parent empowerment lens (Cochran & Dean, 1991) examines power and participation in relationships between education professionals and lay people. This approach is concerned with “ways that schools can reach beyond token efforts at interactions with parents to the meaningful involvement of parents, teachers, and school administrators in an empowerment process leading to improved student achievement” (Cochran & Dean, 1991, p.261).

From this lens, factors that contribute to an imbalance of power between the school and the family, such as the family's socioeconomic status, are key issues, as are other hindrances to meaningful participation by the family. Possible solutions could include ways of empowering the family. For example, through direct services or referral, the school could help Maureen find the economic resources to take greater control of her life. Likewise, the school could help Maureen gain parenting and family management skills that would minimize family stress and support her children's learning. Finally, the school could increase opportunities for Tim's family to become involved in his learning. Efforts could include flexible scheduling, home visits, outreach to other family members, and two-way exchanges of information.

A social capital lens (Coleman, 1991) argues that effective functioning of schools depends on the effective functioning of family and community. However, a historical shift in the organization of households has compromised effective family and community functioning and has required schools to assume new roles. Specifically, the social capital in homes and communities—meaning the resources that arise from relationships among individuals, groups and institutions—has been compromised with the movement toward industrialization and women into the workforce. From this lens, the organization of Tim's household and the expanded role of the school would be key issues. Possible solutions could center on ways to rebuild social capital for Tim and his family, including the involvement of community organizations or a parent network to support childrearing and education, with particular attention to how the school can facilitate this activity.

References
Cochran, M., & Dean, C. (1991). Home-school relations and the empowerment process. The Elementary School Journal, 91(3), 261–269.

Coleman, J. (1991). Parental involvement in education. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

Epstein, J. (1995). Family/school/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76, 701–712.

Henderson, A., & Berla, A (Eds.) (1994). A new generation of evidence: The family is critical to student achievement. Columbia, MD: National Committee for Citizens in Education.

Shartrand, A., Weiss, H., Kreider, H., & Lopez, E. (1998). New skills for new schools: Preparing teachers in family involvement. Washington, DC: Department of Education.

Te, B., Cordova, J., Walker-Moffat, W., & First, J. (1997). Unfamiliar partners: Asian parents and U.S. public schools. Boston, MA: National Coalition of Advocates for Students.

Weiss, H., & Halpern, R. (1988). Community-based family support and education programs: Something old or something new? New York: Columbia University School of Public Health, National Center for Children in Poverty.

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Published by Harvard Family Research Project