I have adapted Professor Sudia Palom McCaleb's (Dean of Education, New College of California) idea of student-parent collaborative writing projects, and the results in my class have been wonderful. From my students' reflections on being in the teacher rol and their class work, I could see that the project was indeed reinforcing academic writing skills, particulalry for those students just at or below grade level.

I loved the feedback from students - and their parents - on how this project provided the opportunity for positive family bonding experiences. (Students commented that they learned things about their parents that they had never known.) Ths project validates the incredible teaching role parents, including those without much formal education, can play in the education of their children.

Besides increasing parental involvement, this project can also provide the invaluable opportunity to get to know parents of your students in a very meaningful way. This influences your relationships with parents for the rest of the school year.