Notes from NH Connections

Concord Lakes Forum on Parent Involvement in Special Education

2010-02-15T10:54:00.000-05:00

Great Conversations were shared among the 33 attendees which included parents, educators, and community members.

With the use of three guided questions we gathered feedback and voted on top priorities under each question to be discussed and put into action plans at the next meeting March 2nd - location to be announced in the upcoming week.

Guided Questions with top priorities listed under each question:

1. What would your vision of parent involvement in special education look like?

Parent advisory group on special education.
Educate parents on the meaning of test scores.
Parent/teacher workshops together.
Celebrate successes.

2. What parent involvement happens in our schools today?

Parent to parent outreach (we want more of it).
Special committees to include parents.
Evening seminars for parents.

3. What challenges prevent us from improving parent involvement in special education?

Time constraints and childcare.
Parents not knowing the special education process.
"Us" versus "Them" mentality.

Some comments from the forum:

A parent- thanks to all the professionals for coming together like this to share their perspectives - she never had this experience.

An educator - The more you share with us, the better we can communicate together.

An educator - thank you for encouraging the open discussion

Parent/educator - what a diverse group - with lots of knowledge. I gained new resources from parents and educators.

We also posed a question to participants before the forum:

What would the outcomes of parent involvement in special education look like?

Here is a small sample of the responses:

A better informed relationship between parents, school officials and the students.

Student achievement, student self-esteem, parent knowing all about child in school setting.

Parents would know who to contact at school for answeres to questions

Administrators/special eduaction staff would be aware and sensitive to the needs/questions frequently asked by parents

Children's school needs would be identified.

The students would benefit with greater communication between home and school. The school could better serve the needs of the individual's strengths and weakness. It would be a win/win situation.

Open and honest communication - no surprises on either side of the table.

Educators would be the educational expert and parents would be the "customer."

Faster turn around times in the process.

Parents would be treated as equals in the process. They would be involved in every step.

Frequent communication between: general education teacher and case manager, general education teacher and home, case manager and home, etc.

Parents co-writing IEPs at meeting, not sending home pre-written drafts that get revised at meetings.

Students receiving services outside of school as well as inside - collaboration of services/providers.

I believe there would be more positive outcomes for the kids, with more kids graduating.

Optimal learning for the child. Great communication with the team.

I would expect parents and professionals would collaborate in keeping the student at the center of planning, as well as the execution of those plans.

A colloborative effort between home/school, where the parent also feels empowered and truly part of the process.

Strategies to Improve your School District State Performance Plan, Indicator 8: Family Involvement by improving results of the Parent Involvement Survey

2010-02-11T16:33:00.000-05:00

Six Steps to Improvement

1. Check with your families

Do you have their correct mailing address? Last year, districts received several returned surveys because they had a physical address – not the mailing address.

2. Talk with your families about the survey

Explain to the families how you value parent involvement in special education. Often it is Case Managers or the Special Education Coordinators who have the most contact with families. Scheduling a time now to train your staff on the distribution of the survey will help them to be prepared for March 2010.

3. Remember: It’s about parent involvement

The Parent Involvement Survey is not a measure of satisfaction or student performance. However, research clearly shows how better involvement leads to better student achievement. Superintendent support is critical to improving results. Superintendents can use public announcements, letters to parents, address at school board meetings, and express their interest in parent involvement while in the community.

4. Show families the survey

The Parent Involvement Surveys and envelopes from last year are available to download and view on the website of NH Connections or visit the NH Department of Education. Contact the NH Department of Education or call your regional facilitator with any questions. Another great idea is to provide information about the survey at the time of the IEP. You can also schedule meetings at school to assist parents in completing the survey. Increasing collaboration between and among schools and districts, and with the Parent Information Center and NH Connections, and other community organizations will impact the results.

5. Plan to send out reminders

We all need reminders and the 2009/2010 survey will come out in March 2010.
Schools can use create awareness that the survey is coming and they can remind parents with newsletters, emails, phone call features, and on school websites to help parents remember the importance of their input. Please link on your district website to the NH Connections website.

6. Share the “what’s in it for me?”

To help underline the benefits of completing the survey, share a copy of “A Family Guide to Special Education”. This colorful and family friendly publication came about as one of the responses to the results of the first Parent Involvement Survey completed in 2008. Schedule meetings at school to assist parents in completing the survey

For additional strategies, visit the Parent Involvement in Special Education page on this website.

South Central forum at SNHU

2010-02-09T11:47:00.002-05:00

The South Central Region forum was held. Three guiding questions created conversations.

NH Connections South Central Parent Involvement Forum Notice

2010-01-23T18:14:00.000-05:00

Parents, teachers, school administrators, and community service providers

NH Connections has scheduled an evening of fun and excitement that will include conversations around parent involvement in special education. Everyone who is involved in educating children in special education is invited.

With three guided questions, you will have the opportunity to share stories, experiences, and best practices. You will have the opportunity to offer suggestions of areas to work on.

Your presence is welcome on

Thursday evening, January 28^th (5:45 – 8:30)

Southern NH Universitys’ New Dining Center Banquet Room

2500 No. River Rd, Manchester NH 03106

for a world café forum.

Please RSVP by Friday January 22, 2010

Not familiar with a World Café style forum? Read further!

· A welcoming environment will be created

· Small group discussions (5 people and one question per table)

· 3 guided questions to provoke reflection and conversation

· Talk! Talk! Talk! With a moderator assigned to each table, notes of the conversations will be taken. Be respectful for all as one person speaks at a time.

· Mix and mingle! Three rounds for an opportunity to speak to each guided question. For each round, participants move to another table, mixing with new faces.

· After three rounds and an opportunity to speak to each question, we will spend a few minutes to think of one thing that was new or surprising and then share ideas that link or build on it.

· Let’s share! The group will share the discoveries - the moderator of each table will read notes taken of each question. (use of flipcharts to record responses)

· Moving on! Each participant will have the opportunity to get out of their chairs to identify on the flipcharts areas of priority.

· Let’s prioritize! Priorities will be listed! Those priorities will then be addressed at a follow-up meeting.

· Say and do! Action plans will be created, and Issue Brief will be distributed that inform us of our activities on improving parent involvement in special education.

Refreshments and a certificate of attendance will be provided to all participants!

Let’s collaborate in the Region as we strive to improve parent involvement initiatives.

Let’s work together for our children.

Please do not hesitate to contact me, Joe Hatch, with questions. My cell phone is (603) 848-4251 and my email is jhatch@picnh.org.

Thank you for wanting to help in our children’s education,

I look forward to seeing you there!

Rescheduling of the Lakes Region Parent Involvement in Special Education forum

2010-01-23T18:10:00.000-05:00

Parents, teachers, school administrators, and community members:

Parent Involvement in Special Education

World Café Forum

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

6:00 – 8:30 pm

Merrimack Valley High School

106 Village Street

Penacook, NH 03303-1953

Please RSVP by February 5, 2010 so we have enough materials and in the event we may have to cancel due to the weather.

Not familiar with a World Café style forum? Read further!

· A welcoming environment will be created

· Small group discussions (5-6 people and one question per table)

· 3 guided questions to provoke reflection and conversation

· Talk! Talk! Talk! With a moderator assigned to each table, notes of the conversations will be taken. Be respectful for all as one person speaks at a time.

· Mix and mingle! Three rounds for an opportunity to speak to each guided question. For each round, participants move to another table, mixing with new faces.

· After three rounds and an opportunity to speak to each question, we will spend a few minutes to think of one thing that was new or surprising and then share ideas that link or build on it.

· Let’s share! The group will share the discoveries - the moderator of each table will read notes taken of each question. (use of flipcharts to record responses)

· Moving on! Each participant will have the opportunity to get out of their chairs to identify on the flipcharts areas of priority.

· Let’s prioritize! Priorities will be listed! Those priorities will then be addressed at the follow-up meeting scheduled for March 2^nd.

· Say and do! Action plans will be created, and Issue Brief will be distributed, and the Lakes Region is improving parent involvement in special education.

Refreshments and a certificate of attendance will be provided!

Let’s work together in the Concord/Lakes Region as we strive to improve parent involvement.

Let’s work together for our children.

Please do not hesitate to contact me, Audrey Burke, with questions. My cell phone is 603.860.7015 and my email is aburke@picnh.org.

Thank you, for all that you do, every day!

I look forward to seeing you there!

Forum on Parent Involvement in Special Education for the Concord/Lakes Region

2010-01-05T17:35:00.000-05:00

Forum on Parent Involvement in Special Education for the Concord/Lakes Region

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Where: Merrimack Valley High School
106 Village Street
Penacook, NH 03303-1953

The NH Connections’ Concord/Lakes Region will hold a forum in collaboration with Merrimack Valley School District to gather people around the important issue of Parent Involvement (PI) in Special Education.

Please join us for this important topic designed to encourage discussion, discover starting points, and celebrate parent involvement policies and initiatives known to have been successful by schools.

Come share your thoughts and bring a friend!

Refreshments will be served. 2 hours of CEC available.

Target Audience: Families, educators, administrators, high school students, and community members who have an interest in Special Education for the Concord/Lakes Region.

Please RSVP by January 14, 2010 contact Audrey Burke at 860-7015 (cell phone) or email aburke@picnh.org or audreynhc@gmail.com

NH Connections is funded by the NH Department of Education – Bureau of Special Education.

Workshop held in the Southwest Region

2009-12-02T16:56:00.002-05:00

NH Connections (NHC) collaborated with the Dresden parent support group to hold a workshop called “Understanding IEP’s” on November 12, 2009. Charlene Mayo of the Parent Information Center (PIC) was the presenter.

Maria Robins, of the Dresden group, and Joanne Roberts assistant Superintendent for Student Services at SAU 70, coordinated the Richmond Middle School location for this event. 21 parents and educators came to this evening workshop to learn about and how to work with the New Hampshire Rules for the Education of Children with Disabilities as they relate to IEPs.

The focus of many PIC workshops is to provide a thorough explanation of the regulations. This allows parents, students, and educators who become partners who fully understand and participate in the Special Education process. Being well informed encourages confidence to meet the unique needs of the child with a disability.

Charlene welcomed questions from participants who were eager to understand how to develop measurable goals and implement work toward benchmarks both at home and in school. Several questions and related discussions reinforced the importance of working as partners among the IEP team members, making decisions as team members, and moving forward together keeping the student’s unique needs at the forefront.

“I just wanted to email to THANK YOU for the workshop on IEPs. I let the Supt. know that I thought the presentation was very informative and that the presenter did an excellent job. I'll also let the West Special Ed Directors know about your workshops.” Joanne Roberts Assistant Superintendent for Student Services.

“Understanding IEPs” is one of the many workshops provided by the Parent Information Center and coordinated by NHC Regional Facilitators throughout New Hampshire.
For information about how to bring a workshop to your area or how to develop a Partnership Team for Student Success in Special Education in your school district, please contact one of the staff of NH Connections or the Parent Information Center at 603.224.7705 x 35 or 800.947.7005.

Presentation at Paul School in Sanbornville NH November 9, 2009

2009-11-11T10:38:00.001-05:00

Student success, academic achievement, and attendance at school are on the minds of Paul School faculty as they are engaged in their Action Research project for their own professional development.

PIC was invited by Paul School to present to families, school administrators and staff about how student attendance affects academic achievement. Deborah Rosato, director of NH Connections, presented how family-school-community partnerships can improve student attendance and academic achievement.

Research from Joyce Epstein, founder of National Network of Partnership School, lead to the development of the Framework of Six Types of Involvement. Deborah presented “Developing as partners of school, family, and community to increase student success”.

The presentation included how educators and parents can strengthen and sustain healthy schools. A healthy school is a safe and nurturing place that students, teachers, parents, and others want to attend and support.

A healthy school fosters student success in the areas of academic results, physical health, and social and emotional growth and a healthy school partners across all environments while meeting the unique needs of all students.
We know that educators can’t do this work alone and that involvement from families with the school is important.

Parent involvement research can now document:

These benefits for parents:
1. More confidence in the school
2. Teachers have higher opinions of parents and higher expectations of their children, too
3. Greater confidence in themselves as parents and in their ability to help their children learn at home
4. Greater likelihood that the parents will enroll in continuing education to advance their own schooling.

These benefits for schools and communities:
1. Improved teacher morale
2. Higher ratings of teachers by parents
3. More support from families
4. Higher student achievement
5. Better reputations in the community.

These benefits for students:
1. Higher grades and test scores
2. Better attendance and more homework done
3. Fewer placements in special education
4. More positive attitudes and behavior
5. Higher graduation rates
6. Greater enrollment in postsecondary education

Please call your Region Support Network facilitator for more information on how your school team can actively engage in partnerships for student success in special education.

Workshop held "Effective Parent - Professional Communication Using a Partnership Model"

2009-11-06T13:24:00.003-05:00

A workshop was held November 2 at Moultonborough Academy by the Parent Information Center on Special Education sponsored by a collaborative effort of the Moultonborough Special Needs Alliance Committee at the Moultonborough School District and NH Connections.

The Moultonborough Special Needs Alliance Committee is a newly formed team of partners in education who include parents, school administrators and educators, and community members who want to provide collaborative action plans to support the needs of families while meeting the unique needs of all students. The current activities offered by the team are workshops to ensure that partners in education receive the same language to improve the academic achievement of students.

From a parent who attended the workshop, “This was great information! When my son first entered into special education years ago, it would have been great to have this information instead of having to learn it over the years. Thank you so much.”

We are turning a corner in education and in special education and the effort of Moultonborough School District to encourage the creation of partnerships with parents, school administrators and educators, and community members and service providers speak to the transformation to include all partners to have the knowledge to raise, nurture and educate children and youth.

Additional workshops offered this school year are Understanding Your Child's Learning Style, Knowledge is Key - Being an Effective Member of Your IEP Team, Extended School Year Services for Children with Disabilities, Life After High School: Strategies for Effective Transition Planning, IEP Clinic, and Envisioning Your Child's Future. For workshop dates and times, please visit NH Connections on facebook, call the Parent Information Center at 1.800.947.7005 or call the Audrey Burke, the Lakes Region NH Connections facilitator.

If you would like to join the Moultonborough Special Needs Alliance Committee, please contact Carol Wyman at dwyman3@roadrunner.com.

Districtwide partnerships for student success can address topics in special education

2009-11-03T18:50:00.000-05:00

As a parent recently said at an RSN meeting, “My wife and I could do one of two things; fight or collaborate with the school”. They chose to collaborate and the PASE team is making a difference. Neil Rogers, Nashua.

Creating partnerships

2009-11-03T18:42:00.000-05:00

will increase student success in all environments. Holding conversations and creating action plans will keep kids in school and yearning to learn, create a sense of belonging, nurture the child’s self-worth, support the child’s sense of accomplishment, develop aspirations in each child to become active and engaged citizens, and increase friendships. Partnerships build strong relationships among peers and among those who are raising, nurturing and educating our children.
How can the creation of a partnership team do all this? Contact your Regional Support Facilitator to find out how you can create great sustainable partnership teams.

The NH Connections Team

2009-10-11T16:06:00.004-04:00

from left to right: Audrey Burke, Lakes Region; Debbie Rosato, Director; Liz Macdonald, Central Southwest; Marlene Marchand, North Country; Joe Hatch, South Central; Kyle Szczepanik, Seacoast; Kevin Lew-Hanson; Executive Director of Parent Information Center

NH Parent Involvement in Education

2009-10-11T15:52:00.004-04:00

Patricia Shippee of Hinsdale Elementary School receiving the award from Commissioner Barry at the first Parent Involvement Recognition ceremony held in Concord at the State House on October 1st 2009. Parents, educators, and family-school-community partnership projects from around NH were honored as part of events marking Governor John Lynch’s proclamation October as "Parent Involvement in Education Month" in NH. The proclamation celebrates the importance of parent engagement in the academic achievement of children and in the improvement of NH schools. This initiative has come about through collaboration between the Parent Information Center of NH (PIC) and the NH Department of Education. Members of Hinsdale Parent Partnerships nominated Pat for the award. Congratulations Pat!

Schools are making a difference for children with special needs

2009-10-06T06:52:00.003-04:00

Preschool program helps children of all abilities prepare for kindergarten
A school district in Texas has expanded a program that pairs pre-kindergarten students with special needs with their peers without disabilities. The goal of the program, which was introduced last year, is to prepare all the students for enrollment in mainstream kindergarten classes. "Research has shown that children with special needs do not gain knowledge as quickly in self-contained classes as they do when they are with their peers," said one teacher.
from CEC Oct 6, 2009 http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/10/03/10032009wacLaunchprog.html

Please share a story of how a school in NH is making the difference in the lives of children with special needs.

October is Parent Involvement month.

2009-10-03T21:52:00.002-04:00

The evidence is in: when schools and families work together to support learning, everyone benefits.

Students do better in school and in life.
Parents become empowered.
Teacher morale improves.
Schools get better.
Communities grow stronger.

With this, take that extra time to become involved in the education of your child. How can you do this?

What can YOU do to support learning?

The mission of NH Connections ....

2009-09-30T21:51:00.002-04:00

The mission of NH Connections is to develop and advise collaborative regional support networks and local partnerships to improve educational outcomes for all children while meeting the unique needs of children and youth with disabilities.

It's official!

2009-09-13T15:17:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the Notes from NH Connections. The Parent Information Center has been awarded funds through the NH Department of Special Education Bureau of Special Education to continue with the efforts of the NH Connections project.

NH Connections is a network of people who care about raising, nurturing and educating a child with special needs who want to help NH children succeed in school and in life.

Are you a parent or caregiver of a child with special needs?

Are you a grandparent, cousin or a neighbor of a child with special needs?

Are you a member of your community involved and cares for the education of children?

Are you a member of a community who ran for and/or won an election for school board member?

Do you teach children with special needs?

Do you manage programs for children with special needs?

Are you an administrator of a school district or a school who educates children who knows and understands that children with special needs need special attention?

A child with special needs includes children with a specific learning disability, a developmental delay, speech or language impairment, autism, an emotional disturbance, mental retardation, hearing impairment, orthopedic impairment, visual impairment, deaf blindness, traumatic brain injury, other health impairment or multiple disabilities.

Together, through workshops and trainings, Parent Involvement Surveys, and talents of many individuals, we foster student aspirations to make a difference.