Involving Parents of Students With Special Needs

Jill C. Dardig

Other Titles in:
Administration & Leadership | Special Education | Teaching Methods & Learning Styles

March 2008 | 192 pages | Corwin

"This book makes a great contribution to education. Teachers across specialties would find these strategies helpful for facilitating communication with parents and caregivers."
—Erin Jones, Special Education Teacher
Tea Area Elementary School, SD

"Involving parents on a positive level is essential to educating all students, especially students with special needs. This book helps readers with real-world situations—something that most college courses cannot prepare you for. Easy and user-friendly, this book provides strategies and tools to aid in communicating with parents."
—Laura Peterson, Special Education Teacher
Center School, Stow, MA

Bridge the communication gap with parents of children with special needs!

Research has shown that establishing strong communication links with parents and promoting family involvement can have positive and tangible effects on a student's success in school.

In this teacher-friendly resource, Jill C. Dardig provides 25 ready-to-use techniques for involving parents in the education of their children. Both general and special education teachers in Grades PreK–12 can use these strategies to reach the parents of students with a wide range of learning needs, including cognitive, emotional/behavioral, social, sensory, and physical disabilities, as well as the parents of typically developing students. Involving Parents of Students With Special Needs anticipates the challenges to parent involvement and provides step-by-step directions, sample materials, and tips for

Using letters, telephone, email, newsletters, and progress reports to communicate with parents
Conducting successful parent conferences and in-person meetings
Connecting parents with needed resources
Helping parents teach their children at home
Dealing with home/school conflict situations
Preparing a parent involvement action plan

This practical guide helps teachers and parents work together to give students with special needs the necessary support to succeed in school.

Available Formats

ISBN: 9781412951203	Paperback	Suggested Retail Price: $41.95	Bookstore Price: $33.56
ISBN: 9781412951197	Hardcover	Suggested Retail Price: $78.95	Bookstore Price: $63.16
ISBN: 9781452280684	Electronic Version	Suggested Retail Price: $38.00	Bookstore Price: $30.40

Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email sageheoa@sagepub.com. Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html.

Special Feature Figures

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Author

1. Introduction

Parent Involvement Is Important and Up to You!

Your Personal Philosophy of Parent Involvement

2. Getting Started

Strategy 1: Personalized Letterhead

Strategy 2: Parent Contact Log

Strategy 3: Introductory Letter

Strategy 4: Parent Volunteer Invitation

3. Designing Your Classroom to Educate Parents

Strategy 5: The Visible Curriculum

4. Group Written Communication and Interaction

Strategy 6: Suggestion Box Letter

Strategy 7: Class Newsletter

5. Personalized Written Communication and Interaction

Strategy 8: Weekly Progress Report

Strategy 9: Parent Appreciation Letter

Strategy 10: Print Resource Letter

Strategy 11: Internet Resource Letter

Strategy 12: E-mail Communication

6. Telephone Communication

Strategy 13: Phone Call to an Organization

Strategy 14: Phone Calls to Parents

Strategy 15: Voicemail

7. In-Person Meetings

Strategy 16: Parent Group Meetings

Strategy 17: Pre-Conference Parent Survey

Strategy 18: Tips for Successful Conferences

8. Helping Parents Teach Their Children at Home

Strategy 19: IEP/IFSP Practice Letter

Strategy 20: Home Activity Calendar

Strategy 21: Home Response Cards

Strategy 22: Make-It-Take-It Workshop

Strategy 23: Summer Activities Letter

9. Challenges to Parent Involvement

Strategy 24: Conflict Situations

Obstacles to Parent Involvement

10. Staying Organized and Planning for Next Year

Strategy 25: Parent Involvement Portfolio

Parent Involvement Action Plan

References

Index

"This book makes a great contribution to the field of not only special education, but also general education. Teachers across specialties will find these strategies helpful for facilitating communication with parents and caregivers."

Erin Jones, Special Education Teacher

Tea Area Elementary School, SD

"Involving parents on a positive level is essential to educating all students, especially students with special needs. This book helps you with real-world situations—something that most college courses cannot prepare you for. Easy and user-friendly, this book provides you with strategies and tools to aid in communicating with parents."

Laura Peterson, Special Education Teacher

Center School, Stow, MA

GREAT book. Hands-on Activities are useful and applicable.

Dr Terri Hessler

Education Dept, Ohio State University - Newark

October 17, 2012

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Key features

More than 20 easy-to-use teaching strategies for immediately involving parents of students with special needs
A Special Feature page listing all the involvement strategies discussed in the book
Techniques applicable to any grade level and any setting
Includes a Parent Involvement Portfolio so teachers can document their work
The Strategy Review Checklist reviews how to most effectively work with parents
Strategies require only minimal teacher preparation time