A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

FamilyEducation Network: A Free and Simple Web Site

FamilyEducation Network has built an easy-to-use, free, interactive bridge between home, school, and community that helps generate family involvement in education. This service is changing the face of parent-teacher communications for the 21st century.

Because it is free and easy to use, more than 30 million parents are able to utilize this accessible, unique Web site. Recently rated the best family Web site in a survey of parents by FamilyPC magazine (November 1997), FamilyEducation Network is the first nationwide information service for parents that connects them with their children's schools and with other parents, both within their communities and across the country.

With thousands of pages of information on trends in education, free tools that help schools activate family involvement, a customizable home page, interactive bulletin boards and e-mail on the Web site, online technical assistance, and promotional support to help launch the school district's Web site, each school district Web site invites parents to learn more about their children's schools and the educational world at large. Each page keeps schools connected to national and local trends, policy makers, and experts by supplying fresh editorial features and interactive tools, state resources, local news and weather, as well as two dozen simple templates in which the schools can highlight important information about everything from sports schedules to lunch menus to curriculum and homework assignments.

To build this family involvement service, FamilyEducation Network is partnering with organizations such as the American Association of School Administrators, the National PTA, National School Boards Association, and Communities in Schools.

In addition to enhancing communication with parents and these groups, FamilyEducation Network encourages state and national discussion by allowing schools to share important information and best practices with one another.

In the United States today, most parents work outside the home and many cannot be the active participants they would like to be in their children's lives. Many families do not have home computers. But FamilyEducation Network is helping parents to break from these traditional limitations and become more involved in their children's education. This free site can be accessed by computers at public libraries, school computer labs, other community centers, and from the office.

So, whether parents are working from nine to five or doing home schooling, whether or not they have a computer at home, or whether they live in a suburban, rural, or urban area, they can still find out about their child's community, homework assignments, and what school activities are in the pipeline through FamilyEducation Network at www.familyeducation.com.

Contact:

Carroll Miller
Co-Founder and Vice President
FamilyEducation Company
20 Park Plaza, Suite 1215
Boston, MA 02116
617-542-6500, Ext. 128
Fax: 617-542-6564
carrollm@familyeducation.com

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