Regional Lab Home Page
Regional laboratories help schools and districts in their region find solutions to problems. They also offer technical assistance and are a resource of information, particularly in their specialty areas. Indicated below are family involvement resources and publications available from individual labs.
During the last contract period (1990-95) most of the laboratories collaborated on the development of Continuity in Early Education: A Framework for Home, School, and Community Linkages (1995). This document is intended for use by communities to support and facilitate the continuity of services from children birth to age 8 and their families.
Northeast and Islands Laboratory at Brown (LAB)
Phil Zarlengo, Acting Director
222 Richmond Street, Suite 300
Providence, RI 02903-4226
Phone: (401) 274-9548
Toll free: (800) 521-9550
Fax: (401) 421-7650
e-mail: LAB@brown.edu
url: http://www.lab.brown.edu
States served: CT, ME, MA, NH, NY, RI, VT, PR, VI
Specialty: Language and Cultural Diversity
RMC Research, one of the LAB’s partners, will undertake a multi-year effort to explore ways to build parent-community-business support for school reforms the focus on high achievement for all children. The intent of this applied research project is to identify strategies and materials to build parental and public support for the standards-based school reform movement.
Mid-Atlantic Laboratory for Student Success (LSS)
Margaret Wang, Director
Temple University, 933 Ritter Annex
13th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Phone: (215) 204-3030
Fax: (215) 204-5130
e-mail: lss@vm.temple.edu
url: http://www.temple.edu/departments/LSS
States served: DE, MD, NJ, PA, DC
Specialty area: Urban Education
Appalacia Educational Laboratory (AEL)
Terry L. Eidell, Director
Post Office Box 1348
Charleston, WV 25325-1348
Phone: (304) 347-0400
Toll-free: (800) 624-9120
Fax: (304) 347-0487
e-mail: aelinfo@ael.org
url: http://www.ael.org
States served: KY, TN, VA, WV
Specialty area: Rural Education
Relevant publications include: Family Connections 1 (1992) for preschool and Family Connections 2 (1993) for kindergarten and early primary grades. These guides, designed to help families to be involved more effectively in their children’s education, can be used by staff conducting home visits, teachers who want to send the weekly guides home with students, and program staff who can mail them directly to interested parents. The weekly guides include a message to parents on topics such as the importance of reading aloud, effective discipline, and using the public library, as well as suggestions for developmentally appropriate activities parents and children can do together.
Parents and schools: From Visitors to Partners (1993). This book, part of the National Education Association’s Restructuring Series, draws on the experiences of educators and parents who have developed successful home-school partnerships. It includes a review of research on parent involvement, strategies to initiate and maintain effective two-way communication between home and school, in-depth descriptions of exemplary parent involvement programs, a summary of parent involvement practices found in successful school programs, and a list of resources educators and parents can use to plan, implement, and evaluate partnership efforts.
Partnerships: Sharing Responsibility for Children (1993). This issue of Policy Briefs presents the need for schools, families,
Southeastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE)
Roy H. Forbes, Director
Post Office Box 5367
Greensboro, NC 27435
Phone: (910) 334-3211
Toll free: (800) 755-3277
Fax: (910) 334-3268
e-mail: info@SERVE.org
url: http://www.serve.org
States served: AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC
Specialty: Early Childhood Education
Relevant publications include:
Supporting Family Involvement in Early Childhood Education: A Guide for Business (1992) is a publication that shows how businesses and other organizations can increase parent and community involvement in young children’s education. It describes progressive efforts, such as instituting family leave policies, establishing a family-oriented philosophy, working with teachers and students, and providing other assistance to schools. Many examples of companies with family-friendly policies are featured. This publication is in the process of being revised.
Families and Schools: An Essential Partnership (1996) is intended for pre-K through third grade educators who are interested in developing effective family involvement strategies, programs and partnerships. It addresses the new evolving role of families in young children’s education and suggests practices educators might use to build strong family-school partnerships. This document also provides descriptions of exemplary programs, suggestions for implementation, and information regarding contact personnel.
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL)
Jeri Nowakowski, Director
1900 Spring Road, Suite 300
Oak Brook, IL 60521-1480
Phone: (630) 571-4700
Fax: (630) 571-4716
e-mail: info@ncrel.org
url: http://www.ncrel.org
States served: Il, IN, IA, MI, MN, OH, WI
Specialty area: Educational Technology
Relevant publications and activities include: NCREL has prepared a literature synthesis on the School-Family Partnership that cites research done on the importance of parent involvement in increasing student achievement and improving students’ attitudes. Topics covered in the synthesis include supporting teacher-parent relationships; roles for parents; at-home activities; how comprehensive parent involvement efforts need to be; parent involvement and grade level; and working with minority families.
NCREL operates "Pathways to School Improvement," an Internet server. Pathways provides information on the latest in education research, synthesized and arranged in varying levels of depth. Information on parent and family involvement is available through Pathways and new materials are added monthly. Pathways can be found at:
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/pathwayg.htm
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL)
Westley Hoover, Director
211 East Seventh Street
Austin, TX 78701-3281
Phone: (512) 476-6861
Fax: (512) 476-2286
e-mail: jpollard@sedl.org
States served: AR, LA, NM, OK, TX
Specialty: Language and Cultural Diversity
Relevant publications include: Building Home, School, and Community Partnerships (1995), a set of three booklets that identify key issues in the development of home, school, and community partnerships and provide lessons learned from five demonstration sites.
Directory of Partnership Programs (1995) is an updated directory for schools, parent organizations and community agencies interested in information about how partnerships can address the needs of young children and youth who are at risk of dropping out of school.
Guides to Partnering and Early Childhood (1995) is a set of six Positive Parent Booklets written with parents in mind. They impart invaluable skills to parents of young children. One booklet, for example, describes how children learn by watching and helping out. Another describes strategies parents can use to help their children learn basic reading skills.
Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
J. Timothy Waters, Director
2550 South Parker Road
Aurora, CO 80014-1678
Phone: (303) 337-0990
Fax: (303) 337-3005
e-mail: info@mcrel.org
Internet: http://www.mcrel.org
States served: CO, KS, MO, NE, ND, WY
Specialty: Curriculum, Learning and Instruction
Relevant publications include: Increasing Parental Involvement: A Key to Student Achievement, by Dan Jesse, is a brief how-to document that includes a "Checklist for improving Parental Involvement" for schools to use. The text is available on line at:
WestEd
Edward Meyers, Acting Director
730 Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone: (415) 565-3000
Fax: (415) 565-3012
e-mail: tross@wested.org
url: http://www.wested.org
States served: AZ, CA, NV, UT
Specialty: Assessment and Accountability
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL)
Ethel Simon-McWilliams, Director
101 SW Main Street, Suite 500
Portland, OR 97204-3212
Phone: (503) 275-9500
Toll-free: (800) 547-6339
Fax: (503) 275-9489
e-mail: info@nwrel.org
States served: AK, ID, MT, OR, WA
Specialty Area: School Change Processes
Relevant publications and services include:
NWREL’s Child and Family Program staff provides training on four comprehensive integrated services modules in Working Respectfully with Parents: A Practical Guide for Educators and Human Service Workers. Module topics include: The child, the family, and the community: Developing partnerships with families; Creating family-friendly schools; and Home, school, and community partnerships.
The NWREL’s website has a forum specifically for parents. "Parents, let’s talk," identifies resources and helpful hints for parents who want to be involved in their children’s education. The text can be reviewed on line at:
http://www.nwrel.org/comm/monthly/together.html
School and Community: Towards a Guide to Parent Involvement is a guide produced in 1990 that offers an array of tips and strategies for breaking down school/parent barriers and bringing parents into their children’s educational lives. The guide identifies steps to design and implement effective parent involvement efforts, clearly outlining roles and responsibilities for each key player.
Pacific Region Educational Laboratory (PREL)
John W. Kofel, Director
828 Fort Street Mall, Suite 500
Honolulu, HI 96813-4321
Phone: (808) 533-6000
Fax: (808) 533-7599
e-mail: askprel@prel.hawaii.edu
url: http://www.prel.org/
Region served: HI, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Palau
Specialty: Language and cultural diversity
Relevant materials include:
PREL recently produced an audiotape series entitled "Reading Aloud to Children." This series, which was recorded in Hawaiian/English, Marshallese/English, Pohnpeian/English, and Samoan/English, targets parents and families. Each tape includes a rationale on the importance of reading aloud to children and a demonstration of a read-aloud session with local stories.
Pacific Center staff are facilitating the networking process of all programs within the Hawaii Department of Education that contain family and parent support components. A curriculum framework for adult literacy is being developed with the Waipahu Ohanu Center.
-###-
![[Table of Contents]](/icons/up.gif){kind=icon}
[Appendix V]