Inviting Parent & Community Involvement

Features

Meeting NCLB Requirements for Family Involvement
Joyce L. Epstein
Middle schools across the country are addressing No Child Left Behind requirements for a comprehensive program of family involvement linked to school goals for student achievement.

Family Contact: Connecting Kids and Kin Through the Curriculum
Ross M. Burkhardt
Middle level teachers can create curriculum connections that engage families in their children's learning and strengthen the home-school relationship.

Planting SEEDS of Involvement
David Allyn
A New Jersey program focuses on overcoming language and socioeconomic barriers to parent and community involvement.

Web Sites: Invitation to Participation
Stacy Schaefer
With more parents logging on, Web sites have become an effective way to increase communication between home and school and to invite parental participation.

The Changing Role of School Counselors
Jim Paterson
The contents of school counselors' schedule books are very different from 10 years ago in both the type and the amount of responsibility. How has the role of the school counselor changed in this demanding education climate?

Content Area Reading Instruction: Strengthening Skills Across the Curriculum
Katherine E. Misulis
Teachers across the curriculum and across grade levels can help students improve their reading skills and become more independent learners.

Spotlight on middle school sports
Don Davidson
Cultivating Adolescents' Need to Explore

What's Happening in Middle School Sports?
John H. Swaim and C. Kenneth McEwin

Departments

Editor's Note
Patricia George

Perspectives
Sue Swaim
Making Time for Professional Development

News to Use
Information to promote effective middle level education.

Teams in Action
Della L. Martin
Frontloading for Relationships: Making the First Days of School Count

HoTLinkS
Brenda A. Dyck
Home, School, and Community Partnerships: A Power Unleashed

Teaching in the Middle
Rick Wormeli
Differentiated Grading: Treating Students Fairly

The Mark of Leadership
Robert Ruder
Using a Common Sense Model to Reward Performance

Reviews and Resources
Books and resources of interest to middle level educators.

Megaphone
Amusing, interesting, and provocative comments from the field of middle level education.