Here’s why:
The standards are the same wherever you go. Common standards mean that students in all States are learning the same thing as students across the country. Students moving into or out of States will have a smoother educational transition because learning goals will now be the same across states.

They’re modeled on success. The Common Core are aligned to international standards from the highest achieving countries. This means our students will be well prepared to compete both nationally and internationally.

College and career ready is the name of the game. All students graduating college and career-ready is the goal of the CCSS. These standards are designed to prepare students for success in whatever they choose to do after graduation.

Real life is really important. What students learn in school should be directly related to what they’ll be required to do once they leave. The Common Core places a strong emphasis on reading informational and technical texts to prepare students for the demands of college and the workplace.

College should not begin with remediation. Too many students entering universities and community colleges require remedial classes in English and Math. The CCSS are designed to make that a problem of the past by fully preparing students for college-level coursework.

Increased access to learning resources. Common standards mean that learning resources and teaching and learning materials can be shared across states.

Follow Author Mary J on Twitter at Mary Johnson@mjadvocate
Below please find the links to my new book, “The 21st Century Parent Multicultural Leadership Handbook..” It is a book about the relationship between parents and teachers. Enjoy! Mary Johnson
Johnson The 21st

Follow the Author At Twitter Mary Johnson@mjadvocate

It may be one of the least controversial statements in school community: Parent Engagement can make a difference in a child’s education. The conflict can come, though, on how to define that engagement. Do all the PTA meetings, take-home flyers and Back to School nights actually generate increases in student achievement? I never heard of Bake sale model every increasing students achievement. Parent-U-Turn n examined the research and found that creating a partnership between parents and schools community focused on academics impact on student learning.

Parent-U-Turn Standards for Parents, Caregivers and Parent Leaders.

Standards for Parent Engagement, seven standards are delineated. These standards fall under three larger organizers, as shown below, and include:
The Focus of Parents Rights and Advocacy & The Conditions for Parent rights and Advocacy & Parent as a Advocate

Standard 1: ParentsAccess to information and Data collection:
• Access to information: The school/ district inform parents of testing results and the statistics of the area/school/subject matter.
 Information of results/statistics available via handouts or on-line
 The results would be printed in multiple languages
 Alert system to inform parents that the information is available
 Contact person that parents can ask to help them read and understand results-how readily available is this person.
 Parents understand and use varied assessments to inform instruction, evaluate and ensure student learning.

• Collection and Analyzing data:
o The school welcome parents on campus for research or just to observe.
 How easy or hard is it for a parent to come on campus for these purposes?
 Some type of procedure should be in place and strictly abided by, by all involved as to accommodate the parent as well as not to cause too much classroom disruption.
 There a person who is readily available to provide the parent support to conduct research.
Standards 2: Parents in Decision-Making Roles
 Parents must be representative of school population, for example 1 parent for 3,000 students is not acceptable
 Space for parents to have access to administrators.
 The attitude of administration generally open to parent collaboration.
 Parents treated as reflective thinkers with possible solutions.
 Expanding roles of existing modes of parent representation, for example the PTA
 Parents can carry out research for the school, conduct trainings for other parents or even teachers on various subjects

Step 3: Parents as Student Advocates:
 Teachers are open to have parents contact/participate within their classes
 The school is informing parents on how to contact people within the power map
o For example: A handout which lists, “If you have a problem with _________ then you would contact _________ at number and office.”
 This can be in a handout that was sent home but is readily available at school functions, front office, and maybe even in the classroom.
 Trainings provided for the parent and school personnel which include power-mapping.
 Provide a list of common school-used terms complete with the definition of the term and the context it is most commonly used is readily available and sent home.
 Parents collaborate and communicate with students, parents, other educators, administrators and the community to support student learning

Standards 4: Parent Leaders at Home and in the School-Community
 Information being passed out to parents to inform them of the college process and resources available to their child and family.
o Handouts
 A process for reserving space at the school to facilitating easy meeting space for parents and the community.
 Assigned a person to be able to go to for trainings
 Parents assume responsibility for professional growth, performance, and involvement as individuals and as members of a learning community

Standards 5: Parents Effective Two-Way Communication:
 Efficient amount of translators readily available for all languages spoken by parents at school functions
o Handouts in multiple languages
o “Efficient” would be at least 90% of the teachers who need translators have them
 For any type of communication home, teleparent or phone calls home, are the comments balanced between positive comments and things that the student needs improvement on.
 Teacher respond to e-mail of phone messages within a timely manner.
 Ongoing evaluation of effectiveness of the parent liaison.

Standards 6: Parent District Level Support
 The district have a point-person whom the parent representative, the administrator who is the point-person at the school, and any other relevant persons could go to for support and resources. How available is this person?
o This person could even run the parent-district meetings and act like the liaison for the district.
 An effect program that supports parent participation, may have minimum of 25 parent.

Standards 7: Friendly School Atmosphere
 Is the school clean?
o Trash
o Tagging
o Paint: Dingy? Peeling?
 Welcome signs
 Office personnel and Teachers maintain professionalism, have an understanding of and practices good customer service.
 Parents understand student learning and development, and respect the diversity of the students.

Who is involved?

Local survey data from Parent-U-Turn grass root organizier research shows that open house and Back to school night meetings is the leading form of parent participation in schools, followed by school fundraising activities at elementary level..
The survey also found some distinct variations by race. K-12 parents when working with PTA..
The survey have shown that lower-income and minority parents often have the less level of involvement in education as others — even though it may be reflected at PTA meetings or school fundraisers. Working with PTA, very little parents attend academic workshops.

What kind of engagement works best?

When determining what types of engagement work best, a major report by Parent Researchers founded one factor: “Programs and interventions that engage families in supporting their children’s learning styles are linked to higher student achievement.”

Examples of learning styles::
Types of Learning Styles: A Renaissance Child A well-balanced, intelligent child is able to develop all three types of learning styles. Just because a child has a dominant learning style doesn’t mean that the other types can’t be improved. Having just one dominant learning style, and relying on that style only, can debilitate a child’s true potential. There are many different ways to train the different types of learning styles, but it ultimately comes down to training the cognitive skills. Cognitive skills are the foundational building blocks of each learning style. Without properly trained cognitive skills, a child isn’t able to use or take advantage of the other learning styles effectively.

What about other types of engagement?

Parent mentors work in schools to build a bridge for joining administrators, teachers, staff and families to help students succeed in school.

Parent mentors work with families by providing resources, tips, and ideas to help parents guide students through their school career and into transition from school into adult life.

Parent mentors work with communities helping schools and families work within the communities they live and work in to create job and recreational opportunities for their children and improve the quality of life for adults with disabilities.

Developing partnership with School Community

Effective parent involvement comes when a true partnership exists between schools and families. Developing that partnership, especially around academics, is what works for student achievement A transparency and meaningful partnership meets the needs of the families, schools, and communities involved and embedded each of the concepts below in ways that are unique to the school community.
• Communication is the foundation of effective partnerships
• Schools can outreach through community organizations
• Parents and caregivers can support schools and children’s learning in important ways
• Schools Community should create an atmosphere that welcomes parents and community leaders
• Families should be encouraged to develop their own knowledge and skills
• School Community can provide cultural relevance for staff and parents
• Leadership training should be provided for teachers staff, parents, and students interested in participating in school governance
• Parents Becoming Students Advocates
• School Community should collaborate with community organizations.
A transparency and meaningful partnership meets the needs of the families, schools, and communities involved and embedded each of the concepts below in ways that are unique to the school community.
• Communication is the foundation of effective partnerships
• Schools can outreach through community organizations
• Parents and caregivers can support schools and children’s learning in important ways
• Schools Community should create an atmosphere that welcomes parents and community leaders
• Families should be encouraged to develop their own knowledge and skills
• School Community can provide cultural relevance for staff and parents
• Leadership training should be provided for teachers staff, parents, and students interested in participating in school governance
• Parents Becoming Students Advocates
• School Community should collaborate with community organizations.
.
Actions school boards can take:
As Parent-U-Turn concluded: “Recognize that all parents, regardless of income, education or cultural background, are involved in their children’s learning and want their children to do above average,.”
1) Staff from school programs (district, school or nonprofit run) share detailed information about their programs/services and expected student outcomes to all staff, parents and students. All stakeholders know about and understand the programs/services offered to their school community.
2) School staff develops an assessment team that includes parents and students that inventories all school programs and services at least annually.
3) The assessment team periodically assesses each program based on multiple measures including participation levels, participant surveys, students’ progress and whether their needs are addressed.
4) The assessment team makes the assessment results public in parent-friendly language.
5) Based on the assessment results, the team develops improvement plans with specific benchmarks.
6)Trainings for stakeholders: Designated, knowledgeable school staff (counselors, teachers) offer parent trainings on:
7) How to maintain a home learning environment that supports student academic success including topics like the academic standards and the student curriculum;
How to understand and interpret student report cards, standardized tests and other assessments, the School Accountability Report Card (SARC), and evaluations
9) All school stakeholders (school staff, parents, students) must be trained in culturally and linguistically competency.
.
LEA must continue to survey school community or otherwise track the effects of engagement, in order to use schools community source and resources wisely. In theset economic times, focus on putting school community money and energy into what works best, rather than continuing ineffective programs.

Method Of Research and Data Sources
Parent Survey
Observation notes
Parent Interviews
Participant observation in Parent Collaborative Focus Groups
Participant Observation in Parent-U-Turn workshop at school site
Interview with Community Liaison
Research Questions
1) What current are current condition exist around school in urban school reform?
2) What are parents responses to these current conditions?

Content for Slides
Strategies for enhancing communication with family and community

Communication
Ongoing, two-way communication between school staff and parents on school programs, and student progress and needs is effective and timely.

• Culturally and linguistically appropriate
• Parent-friendly
• Using a variety of communication vehicles
• About student progress and needs, school events, policies, procedures, personnel, etc.

Communication: Best Practices
• Culturally/Linguistically
o Schools provide quality (school staff or approved outside translators) and adequate oral and written translations according to their school population and their needs per the Education Code.

• Parent-friendly
o A diverse parent committee works with school administration to develop and implement parent-friendly communications systems which consider issues including the best date/time/place for meetings, adequate timing for parent notifications, and the distribution of a school calendar.

• Direct communication between school staff and parents consistently use a variety of communication vehicles including U.S. mail, face-to-face meetings, parent hotline, phone calls, emails, text messaging, bulletins, flyers, auto-dialers, school marquee, the Internet.

• About…..
o At least once a month, parents are informed about their student’s academic progress and appropriate interventions for improvement.

o Parents are informed about and understand the roles and responsibilities of all school staff, and are equipped with their contact information so that parents/students can effectively navigate the school system.

o Parents are informed and understand about the grievance/complaint process and the chain of command at the school and the school district.

o Parents are informed in a timely manner about school and parent meetings, events, policies, and proposed policy changes.

Strategies for encouraging positive parent engagement

Relationship building
School staff maintains a welcoming environment for all parents, and develop and maintain personal, productive relationships with all parents.
• Respectful, open and transparent
• Nondiscriminatory
• Collaborative with all stakeholders with equal voices
Relationship building: Best Practices
• Respectful, open and transparent
o Parents are respected and valued by school staff as evidenced by parent/teacher interactions, parent participation, parent surveys, school environment and culture.

o All school personnel, local service providers and parents have received training on how to interact and effectively work with each other. This includes training on cultural and linguistic competency.

o Relationships between school staff and families are based on openness and transparency as foundations for principles of engagement.

• Non-discriminatory
o Schools make deliberate efforts to engage parents who are the most disenfranchised (based on ethnicity, language, immigration status, socio-economic level, accent, gender, employment or education status)

• Collaborative with all stakeholders
o Schools continuously collaborate with a wide range of community services and organizations to ensure families receive special services to meet their students’ needs.

o Schools maintain parent centers or family resource centers that can provide parents with a wide range of community resources to ensure that they are able to meet their families’ needs.

Strategies for increasing the number of parents in Decision Roles:

Decision-making
Authentic parent and community involvement is evident in school decision-making structures (councils, committees).
• Restructure and create structures where authentic parent engagement is vital.
• Community ownership of the school
• Equip parents
• Openness and transparency in decision-making
• Expand parent involvement opportunities

Decision-Making: Best Practices:
• Structures: School decision-making structures have vital, authentic parent engagement that is deliberate, required, encouraged, and expected.
o These structures truly represent all parents and their meetings are open to all parents. Interpretation and written translations are provided as needed.

o The voting power of school staff/administration is balanced by that of parents.

o These structures have defined term limits for those with official voting power. These term limits are enforced.

• Community Collaboration: School encourages community ownership of the school and collaborates with all community stakeholders.

• Parent Trainings:

o School/district staff that is trained and knowledgeable provide professional learning opportunities, workshops, and easily accessible written materials to equip parents for service on school decision-making structures.

o All parents should have opportunity to know about and have information/training on school/district decision-making processes including the budget processes, parent rights and responsibilities, school reform options, and parent leadership trainings.

• Openness and transparency: Parents involved in school decision-making structures engage and mentor many other parents by reporting to all parents and other stakeholders, and seeking input through surveys, meetings, and varied other methods.

• Authentic parent engagement opportunities are available for decision-making about hiring school personnel.

Accountability: Parents utilize input from parent report cards and surveys to evaluate and determine if authentic parent engagement is occurring.

Strategies for increasing safety for school

Safety
School staff maintains a safe and clean learning environment for all students, parents, and staff.
School Safety: Best Practices
• Adequate Supervision
o Schools provide safe passage to school as well as adequate adult, trained supervision of the school campus especially in specific locations like bathrooms, hallways, and secluded areas. Security measures are balanced with the need for parent access to the school campus.

• Resources and referrals
o Parents must be informed and understand the school’s safety plan which includes information on natural disasters, school lock-downs, and individual incidents of harassment/violence/crime.

• Training
o All school staff are adequately trained on security issues for the school and specifically secluded areas that are prone to criminal/sexual/deviant and high risk activities.

• Partnerships with the community
o Schools actively involve parents and community to develop and implement safe passage plans.

o School safety are revisited annually and improvements made according to school circumstances/incidences. Parents and the community are involved in monitoring school safety and collectively proposing solutions to problems.

• Informed school community
o School staff timely updates school community especially parents about safety incidents and events.

o School has communication systems like hotlines, school marquees, auto-dialers to timely inform parents about emergency/crisis situations.

Strategies to Improve students Success

Supporting Student Success
School staff maximizes parent learning and learning opportunities to support student success.
• Full disclosure of school programs and services
• Assessments of school programs and services
• Trainings
• Parent notification
• Culturally and linguistically competence
Supporting Student Success
School staff maximizes parent learning and learning opportunities to support student success.
• School Programs and Services: Best Practices

o Staff from school programs (district, school or nonprofit run) share detailed information about their programs/services and expected student outcomes to all staff, parents and students. All stakeholders know about and understand the programs/services offered to their school community.

o School staff develops an assessment team that includes parents and students that inventories all school programs and services at least annually.

o The assessment team periodically assesses each program based on multiple measures including participation levels, participant surveys, students’ progress and whether their needs are addressed.

o The assessment team makes the assessment results public in parent-friendly language.

o Based on the assessment results, the team develops improvement plans with specific benchmarks.

• Trainings for stakeholders: Designated, knowledgeable school staff (counselors, teachers) offer parent trainings on:

o how to maintain a home learning environment that supports student academic success including topics like the academic standards and the student curriculum;
o how to understand and interpret student report cards, standardized tests and other assessments, the School Accountability Report Card (SARC), and evaluations
o All school stakeholders (school staff, parents, students) must be trained in culturally and linguistically competency.

• Notification to parents: School staff must give parents timely notification about student progress and develop immediate, individualized student plans with appropriate preventions/ interventions to address any problems/barriers to academic success

Follow Author at Twitter Mary Johnson@mjadvocateTo Help Their Child Prepare for Life after High School

• Use The Internet to search for information about colleges and careers.
• Visit your student’s high school counseling department and college center. College catalog as well as college fairs.
• Visit your community college. Schedule a tour of these campuses to learn about many fine programs for high school students both now and after high school.
• Talk to your student about life after high school graduation, helping your child recognize the importance of continuing formal education. Explore with your child the different pathways to further education and career success that now exist, like through the community college or through registered apprenticeship.
• Volunteer to help your students teacher with work related information and experiences that teachers can apply to their subject’s areas. Volunteer to talk to your student’s classmates about what you learned in high school relates to everyday life or talk about your career.

Help Your CHILD PRACTICE ESSENTIAL WORK PLACE SKILLS (what local employer look for in employees) these skills include:
• Positive work attitudes
• Strong reading skills
• A customer-first focus
• Strong teaming skills
• Continuous learning abilities
• Good listening skills
• Good Speaking Ability
• Willingness to be flexible
• Good interpersonal skills
• Self-directed attitudes
Helping your child set goals for himself or herself, goals that include continued education after high school graduate. Encourage your child to see how planning for each year in high school ( classes as well extra-curricular activities) will ensure success in college as well as in careers.
Continue to be involved in your child’s high school education. Ask questions of your child, of the high school’s staff, the many helpful resources, listed above, and yourself. Be open to the new and exciting ways your child can move smoothly from high school to college and eventually to satisfying careers.

So What Should You DO
• Develop a plan
• The plan should be based on your child’s interest
• Education should be seen as means to your child’s goals
Where And When To Begin
• The most important thing you as parent can do is to help your child focus.
• 70% of teachers say that students success is produced by parents who stress education.

Follow Author at Twitter Mary Johnson@mjadvocate

I am a single African-American female raising three boys and one girl in a neighborhood where most students drop out of school by the ninth grade. This story is about my experiences and struggles to create quality schools in Lynwood and South Gate. These two cities are located 3 to 5 miles from Watts and Compton in California. Watts and Compton are always in the newspapers for their low standardized test scores. The same is true for the neighborhoods on the boundaries of these cities. American schools have failed children of color due to a lack of resources, such as, books, high expectations, and a rigorous curriculum. All across America children of color are scoring the lowest on standardized tests as compared to Caucasian and Asian children. The residents of my neighborhood are African-American and Hispanic. Most of the parents work in the service industry or perform physical labor for minimum wage and most have little or no formal education. Every morning adults walk to the bus stop to catch the bus to work as maids and car washers in cities where they can’t afford to live. Folks from my community clean expensive hotels where we can’t afford to stay and wash cars that we can’t afford to buy. The majority of our parents complain of lower back pain because of the physical labor of bending and lifting. We work hard to make a better life for our children. The outside world classifies our community as a ghetto, but we call it home. In our neighborhood, you will see advertisements for liquor stores, but never a child reading a book. There are also advertisement posters from big sporting companies programming our children to believe that the only way out of our neighborhood is through sports. The first gifts we buy our boys are footballs or basketballs because in our hearts we feel that our earnings won’t allow us the opportunity to send our children to college. Society has forced parents of color to send our children the wrong messages. There isn’t one bookstore within a 15 miles radius. In the local schools there are no book clubs on the school campus. There are many barriers that parents of color must overcome. In many schools, children aren’t being taught to be critical thinkers, so they aren’t able to challenge the conditions they face. This is one of the main reasons that our children do badly in college. College success is based on critical thinking. Critical thinking ensures that our children will be better prepared for a higher level of learning. However, when students of color display critical thinking, they are looked at as being disrespectful. When our children challenge a teacher in the classroom about educational issues, they often are sent to the Dean’s office for disrupting the class.To be critical thinkers students must have access to learning materials. It seems that our State and Federal governments give monies to local school districts, but ask for no accountability for the use of that money. State laws require that every child has a book for each subject matter. In our neighborhood we get copies or dittoes of books. Books are needed for homework and for test preparation. Children in affluent schools and communities have two sets of books, one for the classroom and one set for home. Many children of color work with books that are outdated or with pages missing. Many school districts have failed to purchase books and materials. It seems year after year there are fewer books than in previous years. Many young teachers lack experience and depend heavily on books as a reference for teaching. There is a high percentage of uncredentialed teachers in our neighborhoods as compared to affluent neighborhoods. Many teachers are teaching out of their subject matter. Some children have a different substitute-teacher every day. Research shows that most uncredentialed teachers are teaching in low-income to high unemployment areas. This is probably the main reason that standardized test scores are lowest in neighborhoods populated by people of color.
The environment that our children go to schools in is second class. Our children are forced to go to schools where the classrooms are overcrowded. Most classroom ratios are forty students to one teacher and no aide. There are not enough open bathrooms. There is also a lack of toilet paper and hygiene products. Some of the schools we visit have lead poison in the water, exposed chips of lead paint, rusted pipes, water damaged ceilings, and holes in the walls of the restrooms. Some classrooms have no heat or air conditioning. Our president came up with this wonderful bill, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This law was another politician’s way to fool the people again. NCLB gave false hope to people of color that they would benefit from school reform. What a joke. We thought that NCLB would bring changes long over due for our children. All we wanted was to even the playing field for quality education for our children. NCLB was an overrated flop. The president promised the money on one hand and with the other hand, took it back. Again the politicians have let our children down.
The public school system is in need of being revamped to meet the needs of all children in the system. Now the government is trying to blame a failing school system on our special needs children. The government is trying to revamp the ideas that protect children’s rights who have learning or behavior problems so these children can secure an education. African-American black males are overrepresented in special education. Special education children have been overlooked and have the lowest expectations from most school district officials. Most special education programs are a joke. There are extra monies allocated for special education, but these classes have no materials. Most special education classrooms have a revolving teacher all year round. If you are lucky enough to have a regular teacher, most likely the teacher is not credentialed in special education. We have teachers in the system that degrade students and take away the children’s self-esteem. Teachers are expected to teach children with multi-disabilities with one aide. Children aren’t being taught according to their personal IEP. Teachers are using the same method of teaching for whole classes. The graduation rate for children in special education is very low, because the system is taking the money allotted for special education and using it for other school uses. Most of these children have never tasted success, only failure. We must find ways to help these children to feel good about themselves. For our children to be able to relate to teachers in the classrooms, we must get more teachers that live or have lived in our community. All over America we see new teachers with no experience coming into schools with good intentions but very little understanding about how to teach our children. New teachers that are coming into our schools often have no experience with children of color, or little knowledge about how to use our children’s culture as a resource in their learning. The majority of new teachers in our neighborhoods are white and liberal and want to save the world. Teachers come into the community with pity or apathy for our children. But what our children really are in need of is caring and a rigorous curriculum. It’s seems like the local districts are afraid to empower parents with skills to help their children be successful in the classroom, because it’s about control and not sharing. The local districts have failed to enlighten and provide parents with what to look for in good teaching. Parents are excluded from the training that would help them understand school systems and policies that effect or govern their children’s education. Most parents don’t know what courses students need to go to college. Parents are excluded from training that would teach them about the allocation of school funds and where the money should be spent. Section: 11118 of the No Child Left Behind Act states that parents should be trained on subject matters that are aligned with standards that schools are teaching. This is not happening.
As parents of color we must ask questions of administrators regarding why our children aren’t making the grade and how they are planning on fixing this problem. People of color must start to pull together and go back into the neighborhood to work and live and play a major part in rebuilding. Our coalition must include people of color that have been successful and moved on to other communities. These individuals need to come back and teach our children and be mentors. The more questions we ask, the more pressure will be put on administrators to perform. We must stop going to administrators as individuals and start going as a group. When we show up in numbers, we send a message that this is a community problem. Parents must learn to outreach outside their communities to look for resources, such as, data and research that match their school conditions. We, as parents, always knew what the problem was, but didn’t know how to present the evidence to back up our statements about the conditions. It’s very important for parents to seek out resources that help parents gain the skills and the methods on how to organize. In the last three years a group of parents from South Gate and Lynwood, California have started a 13-week parent project to teach parents state standards, policy, and research methods to educate parents about the school system. Parents are taught how to develop a survey and analyze the data regarding school conditions. In the 13 weeks, parents learned how to navigate and advocate for equal access for quality education for all children. We must remember as parents that we are our children’s first teachers. As the first teacher you must learn your rights as a parent and your child’s right to be able to advocate for her or him. You must learn to hold the school system accountable for educating your child. We, as parents, must stop blaming our children for not making the grades and start pointing the fingers at the system. Parents must look for resources to help our children to improve in academics. It is very important that parents know what the State and Federal law says that their child should be learning in each grade level. We must all ask ourselves why the U.S. constitution does not insure all children equal access to a quality education. Then we must acknowledge that our constitution was written by white male elites. This system is built to leave children of color behind.

Special Education Advocacy
Follow Author at Twitter Mary Johnson@mjadvocate
I started as advocate for my son and daughter. It wasn’t very easy, because I have no knowledge about the process or if my children have disability. I thought that my kids were very struggling with classroom assignment. The first time that I realize that son have a serious problem, was when he was in the 4th grades. He has a teacher that didn’t want to be in an inner city school. She would tell her students in the classroom that they couldn’t have a party at Halloween or Christmas time like the other students peers. The reason was that her students were smarter enough and they didn’t have the times to waste. One day my son came home in tears, but he felt different than others students at school. I told my son not to worry about what the teacher say, that he was just as normal as everyone else was. I explained to my son that if he lived in another part of the world, that read from left to write than, he would be the normal one and we would be on that would have disability. I than explain to my son that if you tie your shoes, think for yourself, dress and feed yourself you aren’t disability. This only means that he in unique and that person must teach him how he learn, not how they want to teach. The next day I when to school and met with principal. In that meeting I requested that my son be remove from his current teacher. I was outrage and angry, no was not an option that I wanted to hear from principals. After, speaking with principal regarding my believe that teacher was killing my son spirit and confidential in myself, the principal agreed to remove my son to another teacher. A week later I requested an IEP for my son. In the mean times, I when to Crown Book store and brought many book on the topic of student’s right regarding special education. I want to prepare myself for meeting. It was amazing how my son spirit of learning return after removing him from his previous classroom. My son that same year earn the most improve student award. The light bulb came on; I knew I must play majority roles in pathway of my son education. I got an IEP in 50 days after I requested the meeting. I was scare and uncomfortable. What help me the most was that I believed that I was my son first teacher. In the IEP, an administrator spoke of special day school for my son, but that wasn’t going to happen on my watch. The self-help book on special education have prepare me well, that I knew my son have the rights to be taught with his peers in mainstream classroom. After, I told the committee that I wouldn’t sign the IEP, they soon moved to another topic. Even those I didn’t know everything about special education, the school staff though I did.

Follow Author At Twitter Mary Johnson@mjadvocateThis 200 Free Scholarship List is created by Parent-U-Turn and it’s our latest. Remember that most groups provide scholarships on an annual basis.. Students are advised to target “good” scholarship sources…and apply every year

1) Ron Brown Scholarships

http://www.ronbrown.org/

2) FastWEB Scholarship Search

http://www.fastweb.com/

3) United Negro College Fund Scholarships

http://www.uncf.org/scholarships/uncfscholarship.asp

4) Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholarships

http://www.jackierobinson.org/

5) Intel Science Talent Search

http://www.sciserv.org/sts

6) Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund

http://www.thurgoodmarshallfund.org/

7) FinAid: The Smart Students Guide to
Financial Aid (scholarships)

http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/
United Negro College Fund

http://www.uncf.org/

9) Gates Millennium Scholarships (Annual)

http://www.gmsp.org/(hmrfvje1fdxdi0nwbrpmbd45)/default.aspx

10) McDonald’s Scholarships (Annual)

http://www.mcdonaldsnymetro.com/

11. Urban League Scholarships

http://www.nyul.org/nyul_scholarships.html

12. Scholarships by Category

http://www.financialaidfinder.com/student-scholarship-search/

13) National Merit Scholarships

http://www.nationalmerit.org/

14) College Board Scholarship Search

http://appscollegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp

15) Black Excel Scholarship Gateways

http://www.blackexcel.org/

16) FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

17) LULAC – National Scholastic Achievement Awards

http://mach25.collegenet.com/cgi-bin/M25/GetScholar?page=10177

18) Scholarship & Financial Aid Help

http://www.blackexcel.org/fin-sch.htm

19) NAACP Scholarships

http://www.naacp.org/youth/scholarships/?gclid=CIL2puLV2J8CFRghnAodPkGMHw

20) First Generation Student Scholarships

http://telacu.com/site/en/home/education/applications.html

21) ScienceNet Scholarship Listing

http://www.sciencenet.emory.edu/undergrad/scholarships.html

22) Asian American Scholarships

http://www.collegescholarships.org/scholarships/asian.htm

23) Siemens Foundation Competition

http://www.siemens-foundationorg/

24) College Board Scholarship Search

http://cbweb10p.collegeboard.org/fundfinder/html/fundfind01.html

25) International Students Scholarships & Aid Help

http://www.iefa.org/

26) Minorities & Disabilities Scholarships

http://www.proyectovision.net/english/opportunities/scholarships.html

27) Guaranteed Scholarships

http://www.guaranteed-scholarships.com/

28) Hope Scholarships and Lifetime Learning Credits

http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/PPI/HOPE/index.html

29) Presidential Freedom Scholarships

http://www.nationalservice.org/scholarships

30) Disabled War Veterans Scholarships

http://www.afcea.org/education/scholarships/undergraduate/DisabledVeteranScholarship.asp

31) Sachs Foundation Scholarships

http://www.sachsfoundation.org/

32) Student Inventors Scholarships

http://www.invent.org/collegiate/

33) A Better Chance Scholarships

http://www.abetterchance.org/abetterchance.aspx?pgID=1078

34) African American Scholarships (various areas)

http://oedb.org/scholarship/african-american

35) Scholarships Pathways

http://scholarshipssite.blogspot.com/

36) Private Scholarships For Seniors

http://www.phs.d211.org/stsvc/college/scholarships.asp

37) ScienceNet Scholarship Listing

http://www.sciencenet.emory.edu/undergrad/scholarships.html

38) Scholarship, Loan, Tuition Help

http://www.findtuition.com/

39) Princeton Review Scholarships & Aid

http://www.princetonreview.com/college/finance

40) Coca-Cola Scholarships

https://www.coca-colascholars.org/cokeWeb/

41) Scholarship of the Month
www.collegescholarships.com/scholarships.html

42) Alphabetical List of Scholarships by Field of Study

http://www.collegescholarships.org/scholarships/subject-specific.htm

43) National Federation of The Blind Scholarships

http://www.nfb.org/nfb/default.asp?SnID=807950602

44) Ayn Rand Institute

http://www.aynrand.org/contests

45) Federation of Musicians Scholarships

http://www.afm.org/young-musicians/scholarships

46) Scholarships for Students with Disabilities

http://www.disabled-world.com/disability/education/scholarships/

47) Nursing Scholarships

http://www.blackexcel.org/nursing-scholarships.html

48) College-Bound High School Seniors – Scholarships

http://scholarships.fatomei.com/scholar13.html

49) AFROTC High School Scholarships

http://www.afrotc.com/

50) Minority Scholarships

http://www.free-4u.com/minority.htm

51) Scholarships for Minority Accounting Students

http://wwwaicpa.org/members/div/career/mini/smas.htm

52) The Elks National Foundation Scholarships

http://www.elks.org/enf/scholars/ourscholarships.cfm

53) MacDonald Scholarships

http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/good/people/scholarship.html

54) Multicultural Scholarships and Opportunities

http://www.multiculturaladvantage.com/scholarship.asp

55) African American Scholarships

http://www.littleafricacom/scholarship/

56) Marine Corps Scholarships

http://www.marine-scholars.org/

57) Minority Student Scholarships (55 Listed)

http://www.guidetoonlineschools.com/financial-aid/scholarships/minorities

58) Alpha Kappa Alpha Scholarships

http://www.akaeaf.org/programsandinitiatives/

59) Dream Deferred Essay Contest

http://www.hamsaweb.org/essay/

60) STATE FARM INSURANCE Hispanic Scholarships

http://www.statefarm.com/foundati/hispanic.htm

61) National Scholarships at All Levels

http://scholarships.fatomei.com/

62) Burger King Scholars

http://www.swwhs.org/index.php/scholarships/230-burger-king-scholars

63) Major Scholarships and Fellowships

http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/ours/scholarships/index.cfm

64) Nursing Scholarships Opportunities

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/financialaid.htm

65) Lagrant Scholarships: Minorities, Public Relations & Other

http://www.lagrantfoundation.org/site/?page_id=3

66) Students With Autism Scholarships

http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=asa_awards

67) Scholarships for Students Working for Peace and Justice

http://www.davisputter.org/

68) Students With Epilepsy Scholarships

http://www.ucbepilepsyscholarship.com/

69) Gateway to 10 Free Scholarship Searches

http://www.college-scholarships.com/free_scholarship_searches.htm

70) Scholarships for Study Abroad

http://www.iie.org//Content/NavigationMenu/Programs7/Gilman_Awards/Home8/Home.htm

71) Urban League Scholarships with Gillette

http://www.aie.org/Scholarships/detail.cfm?ID=12377

72) Will To Win Scholarships

http://www.schering-ploughwilltowin.com/

73) The Big Sun Scholarships (Students on Sports Teams)

http://www.bigsunathletics.com/

74) Scholarships for Women

http://www.collegedegrees.com/financial-aid/scholarships/specialty/scholarships-for-women/

75) American Chemical Society Scholarships

http://www.cnetweb.org/american_chemical_society_scholarships.htm

76) Sallie Mae Grants and Scholarships

http://www.salliemae.com/parent_answer/decide/explore_alternatives/grants.html

77) Scholarships List and Search

http://www.adventuresineducation.org/sbase/

78) Scholarships for Single Mothers

http://www.collegedegrees.com/financial-aid/scholarships/specialty/scholarships-for-single-mothers/

79) Hispanic Scholarship Fund

http://www.hsf.net/

80) African American College Grants

http://www.collegescholarships.org/grants/african-american.htm

81) African American Scholarships (various areas)

http://oedb.org/scholarship/african-american

82) College Net Scholarship Search

http://mach25.collegenet.com/cgi-bin/M25/index

83) Scholarships For Hispanics

http://www.scholarshipsforhispanics.org/

84) Scholarships for Single Mothers

http://www.collegedegrees.com/financial-aid/scholarships/specialty/scholarships-for-single-mothers/

85) Girls Going Places Entrepreneurship Scholarship

http://www.guardianlife.com/womens_channel/girls_going_places/girls_going_places.html

86) Astronaut Scholarship Foundation

http://www.astronautscholarship.org/

87) ELA Foundation Scholarships (disabled)

http://www.elaorg/scholarships/scholarships.html

88) Jeanette Rankin Grant/Scholarship For Low-Income Women (over 35)

http://www.rankinfoundation.org/

89) Minority Undergraduate Fellows Program

http://www.naspa.org/resources/mufp/

90) Shell Oil Scholarships

http://www.shell.us/home/content/usa/aboutshell/careers/students_and_graduates/development/scholarships/scholarships.html

91) College Connection Scholarships

http://www.collegescholarships.com/

92) Super College Scholarships

http://www.supercollege.com/

93) African American College Grants

http://www.collegescholarships.org/grants/african-american.htm

(94) Best Buy Scholarships (over 1,000)

http://www.bestbuyinc.com/community_relations/scholarship.htm

(95) Student Loan Consolidation (read Info)

http://www.studentloanconsolidator.com/

(96) Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards

http://www.hispanicheritage.org/youth_int.php?sec=193

(97) Master List of Scholarships

http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/ScholarshipGrantList.php

(98) Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)-Key to everything

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

99) AES Engineering Scholarships (Essay)

http://www.aesengineers.com/scholarships.htm

100) The Roothbert Fund Scholarships

http://www.roothbertfund.org/scholarships.php

In the Black Excel African American Student’s College Guide (published by John Wiley & Son and available at Amazon.com), there’s a chapter that tells you exactly what to do with regard to “getting the money”! Finding a scholarship is just the first step. -Isaac Black, Founder of Black Excel: The College Help Network (www.BlackExcel.org)

101) Gateway to 10 Free Scholarship Searches

http://www.college-scholarships.com/free_scholarship_searches.htm

102) Federal Scholarships and Aid

http://www.fedmoney.org/

103) International Students Help and Scholarships

http://www.iefa.org/

104) Elks National Foundation Scholarships (Over 500

http://www.elks.org/enf/scholars/mvs.Cfm

105) Black Excel Scholarship Gateway

http://www.blackexcel.org/link4.htm

106) Peterson’s Aid and Scholarships Help

http://www.petersons.com/finaid/

107) Sammy Scholarships–Body by Milk

http://www.bodybymilk.com/sammy_scholarship.php

108) Coveted National Scholarships

http://scholarships.fatomei.com/

109) Scholarships for Military Children

http://www.militaryscholar.org/

110) Martin Luther King Scholarships

http://www.sanantonio.gov/mlk/?res=1024&ver=true

111) New York Women in Communications Foundation (Other States)

http://www.nywici.org/foundation/scholarships

112) Art and Writing Awards

http://www.artandwriting.org/

113) Edison International Scholars Program

http://sms.scholarshipamerica.org/edison/index.html

114) Law Enforcement Scholarships (Every Three Months)

http://www.straightforwardmedia.com/law-enforcement/

115) Chicana/Latina Foundation

http://www.chicanalatina.org/scholarship.html

116) Civil Rights Defense Fund

http://www.nradefensefund.org/writingcontest.aspx

117) Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute

http://www.chci.org/

118) Online Associate Degree Scholarship

http://degreedirectory.org/pages/Online_Associates_Degree_Scholarship.html

119) Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarships

http://www.google.com/anitaborg/first-years/

120) Asian American Journalist Association

http://www.aaja.org/

121) American Assoc. of University Women

http://www.aauw.org/fga/fellowships_grants/index.cfm

122) Scholarships by State

http://www.schoolsintheusa.com/scholarships.cfm

123) African American Scholarships (various areas)

http://oedb.org/scholarship/african-american

124) Engineering School Scholarships

http://www.engineeringedu.com/scholars.html

125) Scholarship News

http://www.free-4u.com/

126) Recession Relief Scholarships

http://www.straightforwardmedia.com/debt/debt-scholarship.htm

127) Orphan Foundation of America

http://www.orphan.org/

128) September 11th Scholarship Funds

http://www.nasfaa.org/publications/2001/ARScholarshipFundsDetailed110701.html

129) Past Presidents’ Legacy Scholarships

http://www.hydro.org/Scholarship.php

130) American Fire Sprinkler Scholarship Contest

http://www.afsascholarship.org/

131) Mensa Scholarship Essay Scholarship

http://merf.us.mensa.org/scholarships/zipfinder.php

132) Miss America Scholarships

http://www.missamerica.org/scholarships/scholarship-directory.aspx

133) Davidson Fellow Scholarships

http://www.davidsongifted.org/Fellows/

134) Federal Student Aid Portal

http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp

135) Josh Gibson Foundation Scholarship (Baseball Essay)
www.JoshGibson.org

136) The National Society of High School Scholars

http://www.nshss.org/scholarships/

137) Alger Association Scholarships (Horatio)

http://www.horatioalgerorg/scholarships

138) Collegiate Inventors Competition

http://www.invent.org/collegiate/

139) Alphabetical Index to Scholarships and Aid

http://www.window.state.tx.us/scholars/aid/faidalpha.html

140) Scholarship of the Month

http://www.collegescholarships.com/scholarships.html

141) Alphabetical List of Scholarships by Field of Study

http://www.collegescholarships.org/scholarships/subject-specific.htm

142) National Federation of The Blind Scholarships

http://www.nfb.org/nfb/default.asp?SnID=807950602

143) Union Plus Scholarship Database

http://www.aflcio.org/familyfunresources/collegecosts/scholar.cfm

144) Scholarships for Single Mothers

http://www.collegedegrees.com/financial-aid/scholarships/specialty/scholarships-for-single-mothers/

145) Federation of Musicians Scholarships

http://www.afm.org/young-musicians/scholarships

146) Scholarships for Students with Disabilities

http://www.disabled-world.com/disability/education/scholarships/

147) Coca-Cola Scholarships

https://www.coca-colascholars.org/cokeWeb/

148) Scholarships on the Net (1500 Links)

http://whatsonthe.net/scholarmks.htm

149) Minority Nurse Gateway of Scholarships

http://www.minoritynurse.com/scholarships

150) NAACP Scholarships

http://www.naacp.org/youth/scholarships/?gclid=CIL2puLV2J8CFRghnAodPkGMHw

151) Burger King Scholars

http://www.swwhs.org/index.php/scholarships/230-burger-king-scholars

152) Bowling Scholarships

http://www.bowlingmembership.com/PDF/smart_colleges.pdf

153) Red Cross Presidential Intern Program

http://www.redcross.org/images/pdfs/PIP_Fact_Sheet.pdf

154) Scholarships by Category

http://www.financialaidfinder.com/student-scholarship-search/

155) Scholarships for Women

http://www.collegedegrees.com/financial-aid/scholarships/specialty/scholarships-for-women/

156) Major Scholarships and Fellowships

http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/ours/scholarships/index.cfm

157) Scholarships in Criminal Justice & Related Fields
http://criminaljusticeonlineblog.com/archives/10-scholarships-and-awards-for-criminal-justice- majors/

158) African American College Grants

http://www.collegescholarships.org/grants/african-american.htm

159) Multicultural Scholarships and Opportunities

http://www.multiculturaladvantage.com/scholarship.asp

160) Newspapers of America Fellowships
http://www.naa.org/Resources/Articles/Diversity-NAAMinorityFellowships/Diversity- NAAMinorityFellowships.aspx

161) KFC Colonel’s Scholars Program

http://www.kfcscholars.org

162) Nursing Scholarships Opportunities

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/financialaid.htm

163) Minorities & Disabilities Scholarships

http://www.proyectovision.net/english/opportunities/scholarships.html

164) Lagrant Scholarships: Minorities, Public Relations & Other

http://www.lagrantfoundation.org/site/?page_id=3

165) First Generation Student Scholarships

http://telacu.com/site/en/home/education/applications.html

165) Students With Autism Scholarships

http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=asa_awards

166) Disabled War Veterans Scholarships

http://www.afcea.org/education/scholarships/undergraduate/DisabledVeteranScholarship.asp

167) National Society of Arts and Letters Scholarships

http://www.arts-nsal.org/scholarships.html

168) Scholarships for Students with Epilepsy

http://www.ucbepilepsyscholarship.com/

169) Asian American Scholarships

http://www.collegescholarships.org/scholarships/asian.htm

170) Urban League Scholarships with Gillette

http://www.aie.org/Scholarships/detail.cfm?ID=12377

171) Urban League Scholarships

http://www.nyul.org/nyul_scholarships.html

172) Sachs Foundation Scholarships

http://www.sachsfoundation.org/

173) Holocaust Remembrance Project Essay Contest

http://holocaust.hklaw.com/

174) APS Minority Scholarship (Physics)

http://www.aps.org/programs/minorities/honors/scholarship/

175) Courageous Persuaders Scholarships

http://www.courageouspersuaders.com/

176) Annual Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest

http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/services-academic/essayhome.html

177) Students With Disabled Parents Scholarships

http://www.lookingglass.org/scholarships/index.php

178) Microsoft University Careers Scholarships

http://careers.microsoft.com/careers/en/us/collegescholarship.aspx

179) The “Negro Spiritual” Scholarship Foundation

http://www.negrospiritual.org/

180) Siemens Westinghouse Competition (Now College Board)

http://www.collegeboard.com/siemens/eligibility.html

181) Native American Scholarships

http://www.indianeducation.spps.org/Scholarship_Information.html

182 Alzheimer’s Awareness
College Scholarship

http://www.afateens.org/about_new.html

183) USA Access Education Scholarships

http://www.usafunds.org/planning/access_to_education_scholarship/index.html

184) Scholarships for Military Children

http://www.militaryscholar.org/pdf/SFMC2010application.pdf

185) American Nuclear Society Scholarships

http://www.ans.org/honors/scholarships/

186) Questbridge College Prep Scholarships

http://www.questbridge.org/cps/info.php

187) National Association of Negro Musicians Scholarships (contact branches)

http://www.nanm.org/Scholarship_competition.htm

188) The National Society of High School Scholars

http://www.nshss.org/scholarships/

189) William A Lee Memorial Scholarships (Chicago)

http://www.chicagolabor.org/images/stories/documents/academic%20application%202010.pdf

190) The National Society of High School Scholars

http://www.nshss.org/scholarships/

191) Japanese American Citizens League Scholarships

http://www.jacl.org/edu/documents/2010ProgramGuidelines_toChapters_.pdf

192) Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships

http://www.rotary.org/en/StudentsAndYouth/EducationalPrograms/AmbassadorialScholarships/Pages/ridefault.aspx

193) National Federation of The Blind Scholarships

http://www.nfb.org/nfb/default.asp?SnID=807950602

194) Family Dollars Scholarships

https://www.scholarshipamerica.org/familydollar/

195) African American Scholarships (various areas)

http://oedb.org/scholarship/african-american

196) Kohl’s Kids Who Care Scholarships

http://www.kohlscorporation.com/CommunityRelations/scholarship/index.asp

197) SEIU Lottery Scholarship Program

http://www.seiu.org/a/members/seiu-scholarship-program-offers-48-scholarships-yearly.php

198) Scholarships for Study Abroad

http://www.iie.org//Content/NavigationMenu/Programs7/Gilman_Awards/Home8/Home.htm

199) Scholarships from Kitchen & Bath Association

http://thedecoratingdiva.com/20000-in-scholarship-awards-for-2010-nkbage-charette-competition/

200) Americanism Essay Contest

http://www.fra.org/Content/fra/AboutFRA/EssayContest/default.cfm

Please email us and let us know if this list was helpful to you.

Follow Author at Twitter Mary Johnson@mjadvocate

The 21st Century Parent (Book)The 21st Century Parent (Book)

Recent research shows that numerous barriers to engagement exist for both schools and families. Some barriers are created by limited resources, while others originate from the beliefs, perceptions and attitudes of school staff . The most common barriers to family involvement include:
• Lack of teacher time.
• Teachers’ misperceptions of parents’ abilities.
• Lack of understanding of parents’ communication styles.
• Limited family resources, such as transportation and child care.
• Parents’ lack of comfort at the school.
• Tension in relationships between parents and teachers.
• Flexiablity.
• Lack of respect for parents and student voices.
• Difficulties of engagement in the upper grades.
• School staff had not been trained to work with families.
• Administrators and teachers worried that increased family involvement would add to their already busy schedules.
• Educators were concerned that closer relationships with families would mean giving up power and decision-making.
• Families were not sure how far they could go in making suggestions or asking questions; they worried that children would be punished for their parents’ actions by a teacher or principal who was annoyed or threatened by the parent.

Follow Author At Twitter Mary Johnson@mjadvocate

1) Be Noise_ If you have a gut feeling something is wrong, investigate and make inquiries

2) Ask Many Questions- Start at the local level and don't take no or give in because  lack of  collaboration from individual deter you.

3) Talk To You Children- Always speak to your children on how their day when at school. Push through the respond nothing.

4) Take Times Off Work- Once a month or more make a classroom visit to your child classrooms.

5) Become Advocate- You need to be eyes and ears for your child, that mean using NCLB section 1118 to know who teaching your child. You children have rights and so do you as parents under NCLB and California Ed Codes.

6) Learn The Rules Of Engagement- To navigate the K-12 grades school structure you must leatrn what laws govern the agency. Do you home by using internet to explore the policies that help you hold the system accountability from bottom up.

7) Learn How To Organize_ Start talking to others parents at school sites or in community about school issues. You are not alone their are others with same issues. A good place is outside the school gates> Evey morning parents stand around talking after school bell rang. This is great place to start to build relationship with other parents. Don't be afraid to take the intial.

Please remember goes in two , so you have a witness to your conversation. Share your good advice for parents.