Parental involvement in school improvement plans --NREL report

This study of schools requiring improvement (per NCLB) in the Northwest region shows that only 46% of the school improvement plans included the required parental involvement components (as specified in NCLB). Limitations of the study include the fact that only 84% of improvement plans were available to the study authors, and the report does not address actual implementation of parental involvement activities, just specification in the plan. The report authors surveyed the literature to find reports of parental involvement activities that were correlated with improved academic performance.

Two new REL reports released

New from REL West -
"Characteristics of California school districts in improvement"
This descriptive analysis provides a statistical profile of California's Title I school districts in program improvement. As an independent analysis of these districts in the aggregate, it is intended to inform the context for district improvement as California rolls out and refines its district intervention strategies.
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?id=152

New from REL Central -
"Preparing teachers to teach in rural schools"
The Central Region states have greater percentages of rural students and schools than the U.S. average. This report describes how nine teacher preparation programs in the region prepare their graduates for teaching positions in rural settings.
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?id=10