Parent Involvement News and Resources

Parent Involvement Comes to a Public Access TV Station Near You

In celebration of Governor John Lynch's proclamation of NH's first "Parent Involvement in Education Month," the Parent Information Center has taped a show at MCAM TV-23 in Manchester for distribution to all public access stations in NH. This show discusses the proclamation and the topic of parent involvement in education, especially offering useful tips for parents on how to support their children's academic success. The show's guests are:

• Mary Heath, Deputy Commissioner, NH Dept of Education
• Kathleen Murphy, Director, Division of Instruction, NH Dept of Education
• Kathy Staub, Director, Manchester Coalition for Quality Education

The show's host is Heather Thalheimer, Executive Director, Parent Information Center. Keep your eye out this October for the show (under the "Keys to Parenting" title), or click here to view it online.

PIRC DVD Just Released!
Parent Power: Supporting Your Child's Academic Success

Our staff has been laboring for the better part of a year to produce this home learning DVD with our video production partner, Visual Impressions of Bedford. It covers such topics as parent-child and parent-teacher communication, organizational strategies, study time and study place, and the study habit. Parents will learn a variety of tools for helping their child keep on top of homework, manage time, and enrich learning at home. For a free copy, call (800) 947-7005 or write admin@pareintinformationcenter.org.

Present, Engaged, and Accounted For: The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades

Although students must be present and engage to learn, thousands of this country’s youngest students are academically at-risk because of extended absences when they first embark upon their school careers. Nationally, an estimated one in ten kindergarten and first grade students are chronically absent (i.e. miss nearly a month or more of school over the course of a year). Absenteeism can reach even higher levels in particular schools and districts. The good news is that chronic early absence can be significantly reduced when schools, communities and families join together to monitor and promote attendance, as well as to identify and address the factors that prevent young students from attending school every day. To obtain this report, co-authored by Hedy N. Chang and Mariajosé Romero, PhD, go to www.nccp.org.

Engaging Parents in Education: Lessons From Five Parental Information And Resource Centers

"The purpose of this guide, "Engaging Parents in Education: Lessons From Five Parental Information and Resources Centers," is to explain "how to" strategies that the Parent Information Resource Centers (PIRCs) use to improve or expand their parental involvement programs in public schools." (click here to go to this USDOE web page).