Parent and School Success

IDEA 2004, NCLB 2001, and Idaho law require that all students have the opportunity to learn grade level content standards. As part of the statewide accountability system, the Idaho alternate assessment, referred to as the ISAT-Alt, meets the federal and state requirements that provisions must be made for students with severe cognitive disabilities who, even with appropriate accommodations, are unable to participate in the regular statewide accountability assessments (e.g., ISAT). The ISAT-Alt is administered by teachers who work closely with each student, and scores are determined based on alternate achievement standards rather than grade level achievement standards.

The purpose of the Idaho Parents Unlimted “Parent and School Success (PASS)” electronic learning community is two-fold:

1. To provide parents of children with disabilities with access to trainings, resources, and discussion forums for asking questions and receiving answers from a family-friendly expert; and
2. To provide school personnel with access to resources on increasing parent involvement and discussion forums for sharing of ideas and stories about successful parent involvement strategies.

“Decades of research strongly suggest that families have a major influence on their children’s achievement in school and through life. When schools support families to be involved at home and at school, students of all backgrounds achieve at higher levels.” (Anne Henderson & Karen Mapp, 2002, A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement, Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory)