Collaborating with Parents for Early School Success: The Achieving-Behaving-Caring Program (The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series) - Softcover

Stephanie H. McConaughy, PhD, is Research Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Vermont and a Vermont-licensed practicing psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist. She collaborated on the research design and outcome evaluation of the Achieving-Behaving-Caring (ABC) research project and was Co-Investigator of the ABC outreach project. She is the author of numerous journal articles, chapters, books, and published instruments on assessment of children’s behavioral, emotional, and learning problems.

Pam Kay, MEd, who passed away in December 2006, was Research Associate in the University of Vermont College of Education and Social Services. Her research focused on prevention programs for children at risk for behavioral and emotional problems and collaborative relationships between parents and teachers. She served as Project Director on the original ABC research project and Principal Investigator of the ABC outreach project. With Bob Algozzine, Ms. Kay was coeditor of Preventing Problem Behaviors: A Handbook of Successful Prevention Strategies. She was also an elementary school teacher and an executive in several community agencies.

Julie A. Welkowitz, PhD, is Associate Professor at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and a licensed clinical psychologist. She currently serves as the Assistant Academic Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Community Mental Health at SNHU. Dr. Welkowitz was previously on the faculty of the University of Vermont, where she was a Co-Investigator on the ABC outreach project. Her research has focused on school- and community-based initiatives to support students with emotional and behavioral disorders.

Kim Hewitt, MEd, joined the ABC research team as a Parent Liaison for children and families who participated in the original ABC research project, and then served as Parent Liaison Consultant/Educator in the ABC outreach project. She was Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the grassroots organization Vermont Parent-to-Parent in the mid-1980s, and has been an active advocate for children and families since that time. Ms. Hewitt received her master’s degree in education from the University of Vermont, and is now pursuing a teaching career emphasizing strength-based and family-centered practices.

Martha D. Fitzgerald, EdD, is Professor Emerita of Education at the University of Vermont. She was Principal Investigator of the original research grant to develop and test the ABC Program model and the grant for ABC outreach efforts. Her research has focused on prevention programs for children at risk for learning, behavioral, and emotional problems; early education services for preschool children with disabilities; and school-based approaches to special education mediated by consulting teachers.

"The ABC Program was an opportunity to help my daughter gain lifelong social and academic skills in a constructive, caring way. During our participation, our team would meet regularly to discuss progress and plan next steps. By becoming more familiar with my daughter's teacher, I was able to communicate more easily with her. My daughter and I also both came away with important skills for communicating with each other proactively and speaking openly about our feelings. I would encourage any parent to become involved with this program, as it can really help improve your child's school experience and your family life over the long term."--Diane C. Cummings, parent, Burlington, Vermont

"I am very impressed with the clarity of the description of the program, its benefits, the research behind the components, and the steps to implement the program. The book is presented in a user-friendly manner that will enable any school to adopt the ABC Program. It provides excellent checklists and other reproducibles for administrators to use. The focus on social skills and positive perspectives makes ABC especially appealing, and the book gives excellent suggestions on how to successfully incorporate these two elements."--Mary K. Sherrer, EdD, former superintendent of schools, Franklin Northeast Supervisory Union, Vermont

"This book is an invaluable resource for supporting prosocial behavior and academic success. The ABC Program enables schools to work with parents using a collaborative, problem-solving process that includes classwide social skills instruction, secondary intervention for selected individuals, and tertiary-level support through the use of a parent liaison. Home-school collaboration is an evidence-based strategy, and this user-friendly manual provides materials and guidelines for implementing it. The book can also be used to train preservice teachers and school staff in important parent-conferencing skills."--Debra Kamps, PhD, Senior Scientist and Director, Center for Early Intervention in Reading and Behavior, Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, University of Kansas