Family, School, and Community Partnerships for Students with Disabilities

Dr. Lusa Lo is an Associate Professor of Special Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She is also Director of the Special Education Program, which prepares graduate students to be special educators. Her research focuses on family‐school‐community partnerships and educational planning and practices for language minority students with disabilities, which has resulted in over 70 peer-reviewed publications, as well as over 100 national and international conferences. At the state level, Dr. Lo works closely with schools and communities to develop parent education programs, which enable them to actively engage with and support the families of children with disabilities and diverse backgrounds. All the training programs focus on educating parents regarding the special education process, how they can work with their children with disabilities at home, and how they can best collaborate with school professionals.  Dr. Yaoying Xu is a Professor at the Department of Counseling and Special Education, Virginia Commonwealth University. Her research interests and expertise focus on social aspects of children with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, as well as the impact of family empowerment through school‐community partnerships on children’s developmental and educational outcomes. She has published over 60 peer‐reviewed articles and book chapters on early intervention, family‐school collaborations, and community‐based practices, as well as over 100 conference presentations. Dr. Xu has also been a principal investigator for several federally funded projects.

Part I Understanding School, Family, and Community Partnerships.- 1 Partnering with Families of Young Children with Disabilities in Inclusive Settings.- 2 Empowering Families of Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder for Success in Secondary Transition.- 3 Community Involvement: What supports are available for diverse families of students with disabilities?.- Part II Evidence-based Practices on Home-School Partnerships.- 4 Building School Level Capacity through a Problem Solving Approach to Parental Engagement in a Large Urban Setting.- 5 Partnering with Families of Students at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.- 6 Families as Mentors: Preparing Teachers to Partner with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families.- Part III Evidence-based Practices on Community Involvement.- 7 A Community "Not Forgotten".- 8 Building Capacity to Engage Culturally Diverse Families through Inter-Professional Partnerships and Training.- 9 A Community-based Approach to Providing Health and Education Supports for Students with Disabilities in Affordable Housing.- 10 Cultural Brokering Intervention for Families of Children Receiving Special Education Supports.- Part IV Evidence-based Practices in Other Parts of the World.- 11 Family Engagement Practices in Early Intervention: A Review of Three Countries.- 12 Engaging Families: A Case Study of an Elementary Inclusive School in Hong Kong.- 13 Preparing Israeli Teacher Candidates to Develop Professional/Family Partnerships.