Resources to help bring school administrators, teachers, community (family, neighbors, businesses) and students together to collaborate effectively.

• National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs
  Produced by the National PTA, these guidelines are for leaders of institutions with programs serving parents and families, to help them develop programs that are meaningful, well planned and long lasting. The program standards are also a tool to evaluate the effectiveness of long-term school reform efforts to involve families in their child's education. This comprehensive, detailed online publication includes research findings about Parent/Family Involvement Programs; Standards, Quality Indicators and Sample Applications for Communicating, Student Learning, Volunteering, School Decision Making and Advocacy and Collaborating with Community; outlines of Challenges and Opportunities; Where to Begin; and sample forms and policies, including a Checklist for Quality Indicators, an Action Plan Worksheet, and suggested Project Ideas.

• Teachers' Best Ideas for Involving Parents
  Since teachers are the crucial link in the partnership between school and parents, National PTA invited teachers across the country to submit their "best ideas" for involving parents and families-whether it's at home, in school, or in the community. This is an online excerpt from the resulting publication, with brief suggestions for volunteer/community programs, home/school activities, and parent education programs. Part of emerging National PTA Leader's Guide to Parent and Family Involvement.

• Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL)
  SEDL promotes and assists in the development of "Collaborative Action Teams", partnerships between school, community, and families, including students. A Collaborative Action Team, or CAT, works together to identify pressing issues in the school community and implements action plans to address these issues. The CAT process emphasizes bringing together representatives of the whole community who become self-reliant and energized to improve results for children, youth, and families. SEDL also produces a number of publications focused on "Building Home, School, Community Partnerships"..

• Guidelines for School Officials, Volunteers and Mentors Participating in Public School Community Partnerships
  Includes an excellent document offering guidelines for partnerships involving public schools and faith-based communities.

• 10 Steps to Design and Conduct School-Family-Community Partnerships
  By the National Network of Partnership Schools. These are selected resources from offline publictaions by Joyce L. Epstein, Director, Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships.