This theme issue includes six articles about nurturing parent and community involvement in schools, particularly schools serving Hispanic, immigrant, or economically disadvantaged students. “Thinking about Learning: The Community and Academic Standards” (Oanh H. Maroney, Aurelio M. Montemayor) describes a Corpus Christi (Texas) project in which workshops for parents of middle-school students increased parent awareness of academic standards and their implications and fostered parent empowerment and leadership. “Two Innovative El Paso Schools Bring Together Teachers and the Community” (Pam McCollum) describes a community event in which parents and teachers walked through El Paso (Texas) neighborhoods and shared a lunch, thereby increasing teacher-community interaction and teacher awareness of their students’ background. “School Improvement, Parent Involvement and Prevention” (Dorothy L. Knight, Joseph L. Vigil) discusses strategies to involve parents and communities in school improvement initiatives, particularly violence and drug abuse prevention programs. “What It Means To Be ‘Una Persona Educada'” (Carmen Prieto Cortez) discusses the devastating effects of poverty on Hispanic student outcomes and how such effects are prevented by traditional Hispanic cultural values: dignity, respect, trust, and love. “The Nurturing of Parent Leadership” (Aurelio M. Montemayor) describes the development of a Texas network of limited-English-proficient or economically disadvantaged parents through a four-stage model involving parents as teachers, resources, decision makers, and peer trainers. “Parents Speak Out: Quality Education for All Children” includes an excerpt of parent interviews about the education of immigrant children and bilingual education. Includes addresses of 29 World Wide Web sites for parent, family, and community involvement. (Description from source)
