Just as populations change, ideas about how to encourage and work with parents also need to evolve. This practical resource by bestselling author Patricia Edwards provides school leaders and classroom teachers with new and creative ways in which to welcome, encourage, and involve parents. Enacting these types of practices requires a special kind of commitment from teachers and school leaders, which often coincides with a particular kind of mindset about families and one's responsibility to engage them. Educators often develop this mindset as they deepen their understanding of families, literacy/language, culture/race/ class, and themselves. Edwards pulls these understandings together and presents them in a straightforward, concise, and easy-to-use guide that is perfect for professional learning communities and teacher preparation courses. New Ways to Engage Parents is essential reading for all educators who care deeply about engaging a wide range of parents in today's schools. Book Features: A stark look at the changing community demographics and what that means for teachers and administrators. Strategies for communicating with parents, including the use of technology. The best times to make contact with parents. Examples of how to bring parents together for meaningful activities. The importance of understanding parental constraints and the need to meet them halfway. Approaches for overcoming "school ghosts," as well as negative histories and perceptions in the community.

Fiction, non-fiction, and poetry from the writers in Veneta Elementary School's Creative Writing Class 2013-2014

In this indispensable work, prominent authorities review the latest research on all aspects of ELL instruction (K-12) and identify what works for real students and schools. Provided are best-practice guidelines for targeting reading, writing, oral language, vocabulary, content-domain literacies, and other core skill areas; assessing culturally and linguistically diverse students; and building strong school-home-community partnerships. Chapters include clear-cut recommendations for teaching adolescent ELLs and those with learning disabilities. The comprehensive scope, explicit linkages from research to practice, and guidance for becoming a culturally informed, reflective practitioner make the book an ideal course text.

A step-by-step guide to developing equitable literacy instruction by adapting curriculum to support diverse learners.   In Teaching with Literacy Programs, Patricia A. Edwards, Kristen L. White, Laura J. Hopkins, and Ann M. Castle present a model that allows educators to address educational inequity through the critical and adaptive use of existing literacy curriculum materials. In this accessible work, they advise educators on ways to combine common classroom materials, such as basal readers and core reading programs, with instructional practices that provide high-quality, responsive instruction to all students.  Edwards, White, Hopkins, and Castle credit literacy instruction as a core part of overall educational equity, and they recognize the crucial role that educators play in translating materials into instruction that benefits all learners. Here they offer teacher education in support of this essential role, deftly guiding educators through a four-part development process, CARE, an acronym for cultivating critical consciousness, analyzing materials, reconstructing curricula, and evaluating instruction reflectively to advance equity. Built upon culturally relevant, sustaining, and antiracist pedagogy, CARE enables teachers to provide literacy instruction that meets the range of needs and performance levels in classrooms, supporting students in attaining academic achievement, cultural competence, and critical consciousness.  The approach outlined in this work, which can be put into immediate practice, helps educators to provide literacy instruction that builds on students' multiple literacies and reduces educational inequity.

Chapter modules cover common challenges teachers face in a variety of situations, including conducting honest parent–teacher conferences, dealing with discipline issues, responding to confrontational parents, and educating neurodiverse students. Each module includes questions, worksheets, and background information for developing asset-based approaches that consider caregivers’ and students’ underlying needs.

In this indispensable work, prominent authorities review the latest research on all aspects of ELL instruction (K-12) and identify what works for real students and schools. Provided are best-practice guidelines for targeting reading, writing, oral language, vocabulary, content-domain literacies, and other core skill areas; assessing culturally and linguistically diverse students; and building strong school-home-community partnerships. Chapters include clear-cut recommendations for teaching adolescent ELLs and those with learning disabilities. The comprehensive scope, explicit linkages from research to practice, and guidance for becoming a culturally informed, reflective practitioner make the book an ideal course text.