Established at Johns Hopkins University in 1996, NNPS invites schools, districts, states, and organizations to join together and use research-based approaches to organize and sustain excellent programs of family and community involvement that will increase student success in school.
"Based on more than three decades of research on parental involvement, family engagement, and community partnerships, NNPS's tools, guidelines, and action team approach may be used by all elementary, middle, and high schools to increase involvement and improve student learning and development," explains Dr. Joyce L. Epstein, Founder and Director of NNPS. NNPS also guides district leaders to help their schools develop goal-oriented programs of family involvement and community connections, and to meet NCLB requirements for parent involvement. In addition, NNPS assists state departments of education and organizations to develop policies and take actions that will support districts and schools in strengthening their partnership programs.
Researchers and facilitators at the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University work with the members of NNPS to study the nature and results of involvement. NNPS aims to increase knowledge of new concepts and strategies; use research results to develop tools and materials that will improve policy and practice; provide professional development conferences and workshops; share best practices of parental involvement and community connections; and recognize excellent partnership programs at the school, district, organization, and state levels.
This website provides NNPS members with updated information, research results, and ideas for action from the NNPS staff and members across the country. The site also informs prospective members about NNPS approaches, benefits, and services.
The Knowledge Loom is a place for educators worldwide to do the following:
-Review research that identifies promising practices related to various themes
-View stories about the practices in real schools/districts
-Learn to replicate the success of these practices in your own organization
-Add your own stories and knowledge to the collections
-Discover supporting organizations and resources, including annotated Web links
More importantly, using the Knowledge Loom makes you part of an active online teaching and learning community.
Bring dozens of Peace Corps Volunteer stories, letters, and folk tales with standards-based lessons to your class. Also discover ways to involve students in service learning.
Since 1776 the United States has grown from a nation of relatively few religious differences to one of countless religious groups. This expanding pluralism challenges the public schools to deal
creatively and sensitively with students professing many religions and none. The following questions and answers concern religious holidays and public education, a subject often marked by confusion and conflict.
JUSTICE: the People's News was created for activists, educators, organizers, and journalists committed to informing themselves about local and global goings-on pertaining to human rights, social justice, environmental justice, and activism for securing human rights and social justice.
Established in 1983, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center has grown to become the largest LGBT multi-service organization on the East Coast and second largest LGBT community center in the world.
Every week, 6,000 people visit the Center, and more than 300 groups meet here. In addition, our myriad meeting rooms are booked months in advance, indicating the community is as hungry as ever for a place to call its own.
We provide groundbreaking social service, public policy, educational and cultural/recreational programs. We also serve as an incubator for grassroots groups that meet here. Indeed, we were the birthplace of organizations such as the AIDS activist group ACT UP and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the principal organization combating homophobia and stereotyping of gays in the media.
The Safe Schools Coalition is an international public-private partnership in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, that is working to help schools - at home and all over the world - become safe places where every family can belong, where every educator can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Reteaching Gender & Sexuality presents fresh perspectives on gender and sexual diversity. We produce media and other educational resources about the shifting dynamics of gender and sexuality among young people. We use these as tools to facilitate dialogue in communities and among students and practitioners in youth-serving professions. It's a creative and pragmatic approach with a cross-sector impact.
This article provides the following guidelines for creating culturally responsive, inclusive classrooms: use a range of culturally sensitive methods and materials, create a classroom atmosphere that respects individuals and their cultures, foster an interactive classroom learning environment, employ ongoing and culturally aware assessments, and collaborate with other professionals and families.
The United States experienced phenomenal growth in the number of English-language learners over the first decade of the 21st century, expanding the need in many public schools to provide special language instruction.