Standards-based grading has been used in many Illinois public elementary schools for years, offering educators a different way of assessing and communicating to parents about their student achievement and performance on the grade level state standards. Educators faced many benefits and challenges using a standards-based grading system identified.…

Purpose: Understanding students' home literacy environments can help speech-language pathologists, teachers, and other educators partner with families to promote language and literacy learning. This study focused on gaining insight into the views of parents of elementary-age students with intellectual and developmental disabilities who had complex…

Parental behavioral and relational engagement in school include components of trust, communication, and respect that are positively predictive of student academic success. Parents who report high levels of trust with their child's teacher are more likely to be involved in school and related programs and events. Direct teacher-parent communication…

In the inner-city of Washington, D.C., lives a generation of young people for whom violence, discrimination, and poverty are a daily reality. This article describes one youth organization that encourages these young people to voice their hopes and concerns for their community and work to create solutions. The out-of-school-time programming of…

In the midst of the pandemic, we implemented and investigated short-term interventions to support K-3 reading. Specifically, we studied a text messaging program that provided caregivers with tips on supporting K-3 reading. Additionally, we studied combining the text messaging program for caregivers with one-on-one remote tutoring for their…

Packed with ideas for both new and veteran teachers of K-8 students, this book touches on a variety of topics that are especially relevant to the first week of school. The author provides critical information that includes arranging and navigating the classroom, setting basic expectations, communicating routines, and understanding your students'…

This study investigated the perceptions of teachers of grades three, four, and five regarding differentiated instruction in conjunction with Standards-Based Report Card as aligned to the Common Core State Standards. The purpose of this study was specifically seeking teacher perceptions on how these phenomenon interact, as well as teacher to parent…

Public schools with impressive records of serving lower-performing students are often overlooked because their average test scores, even when students are growing quickly, are lower than scores in schools that serve higher-performing students. Schools may appear to be doing poorly either because baseline achievement is not easily accounted for or…

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference in parental involvement in a high performing elementary school and a low performing elementary school based on Epstein's Six Types of Involvement. The extent of parental involvement was identified by using The School and Family Partnership Survey Questionnaire for…