Understanding Independent School Parents: The Teacher's Guide to Successful Fami

UNDERSTANDING INDEPENDENT SCHOOL PARENTS is a practical guide for teachers, providing advice for forging successful relationships with independent school parents. Written by a seasoned school psychologist and an experienced classroom teacher, this book aims to help teachers and administrators understand today's families and maintain healthy relationships with them. Readers will learn how to create school environments that support both teachers and parents, make the most of parent conferences, and manage those disruptive and difficult "five percenter" parents who can make a teacher's life miserable.

Michael G. Thompson, PhD, a psychologist and school consultant, has worked with more than 500 schools in the U.S. and abroad. He is the author or co-author of nine books, including Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys, and Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children. His newest book, Homesick and Happy, about summer camp, will be published by Ballantine Books in May 2012. Alison Fox Mazzola has been a teacher in independent schools for two decades. She lives in Northern California with her husband and two children.