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This report summarizes the preliminary results from surveys of teachers, parents, and students in six Maryland high schools about their attitudes toward and needs for school, family, and community partnerships. Data from 420 families indicate that they feel welcome at their teens' high schools, but a large majority want to be more involved and to receive better information about how to help their teens. Data from over 1,300 students illustrate the variation in teens' attitudes and competencies, and point to an important role for students in school and family partnerships. Students want to be more involved, and over half want their parents more involved with their schools. Data from 150 teachers show that just about all believe that involvement is important, but two-thirds say they need more training to know how to involve families. These and other results are discussed to show how the schools involved in the High School and Family Partnerships Project used their survey results to plan and implement new practices to inform and involve families. Suggestions are made to help other high schools apply the results of this study to their own efforts to develop or strengthen school, family, and community partnerships. (Contains 29 references.) (SLD)

The High School and Family Partnership Project began in 1991 with two urban, two suburban, and two rural high schools in Maryland to learn more about whether basic theories, frameworks, and practices of family, student, and community involvement are appropriate at the high school level; how schools can develop and implement such practices; and how partnerships affect the students, families, teachers, and communities involved. This report is the first in a series on these high schools as they work to develop and improve their partnerships with students, families, and communities. It explores where schools start in their thinking about partnerships. The starting point is called a "trust fund" to recognize that each school's past practices can be built upon to create further partnerships, and also to recognize that trust among the participants is a primary condition for developing successful practices of partnership over time. This report describes the "trust funds" of the six schools, combining existing practices and ideas for new implementations. The activities are categorized according to a framework of six types of involvement that will help these and other high schools plan and monitor the development of more comprehensive programs of partnership. One table summarizes trust fund contents. (Contains 27 references.) (Author/SLD)

This report examines the effectiveness of elementary school-based family literacy programs and describes the first year evaluation of a middle-school-based family literacy program in Baltimore, Maryland. In section one it reviews the literature on adult education and early childhood intervention and proposes a hypothesis of the broad pathways by which family literacy programs might impact adults and children. Four family literacy programs are used to illustrate the gains achieved by such programs. In section two, the report describes the evaluation of a middle-school-based family literacy program and identifies the challenges of implementing a family literacy program at this level of schooling. Based on classroom observations, interviews, and individual outcome measures, the evaluation revealed small but encouraging accomplishments. It found that adult participants had positive attitudes toward education, often did their own homework together with their children, and improved the use of literacy skills in their daily lives. In section three, the report discusses the need to clarify program labels and goals, develop successful collaborations, improved measures of adult literacy, the impact of evaluation on program staff, and the efficacy of middle schools as sites for family literacy programs. (Contains 47 references.) (MDM)

This report describes an evaluation of Project SELF HELP, a school-based family literacy program serving parents and other caretakers, elementary school age children, and preschool children 2 days per week during the school year. A summer reading program was also available to families. The evaluation was conducted in 1992-1993 to inform program design and implementation, and to study the effects of the program on individuals and families. Parent literacy was assessed using tests of basic skills in math, reading, and spelling, and functional literacy in reading/life skills and math. The adults also completed assessments of their home educational environment and beliefs about their parenting role. Preschool children were assessed for reading readiness, comprehension, receptive vocabulary and letter recognition. Grades, attendance, teacher materials, and observations of program components were also used in the evaluation. Results indicated gains in mean scores on all measures of literacy and math for adults in the program. The preschool children, on average, made gains on all literacy assessments from fall to spring. Report card grades improved in reading, language, and math. For elementary school children attending the summer reading program, reading scores improved from spring to the end of summer. Final sections of the report include: (1) three case studies and issues they raise for family literacy practitioners, researchers, and policymakers; (2) lessons learned from the perspective of the program coordinator; and (3) the questions that remain from the researcher's perspective. Contains 26 references. (HTH)

This handbook is intended to help local programs build a broad base of support for young children and their families. The strategies described are designed to help early childhood practitioners develop relationships with the community that will establish long-term commitments to early childhood programs and build a foundation for additional support. The handbook is composed of five sections. After the introduction, research supporting programs for young children is summarized in the first part of the handbook. That section is followed by one on ways to build local support, including methods for cultivating support from school personnel, early childhood advisory councils, and key people in the community, such as senior citizens, church leaders, the police and fire chief, business and political leaders, and members of the medical professions. Suggested techniques include using focus groups for information sharing and developing a community-wide action plan. The fourth section discusses community advocacy strategies, such as establishing a Volunteers in Public Schools program, linking with real estate agencies, and developing a Promise the Children Action Card. Ideas for increasing parents' activity and conducting fund raising are provided. Lists of national resource organizations, publications, and early childhood organizations in Massachusetts are appended. Contains 14 references. (LB)