Success Stories from the South Central Region
A question posed to a Director of Special Education: "What do you feel are the first steps to developing Family/School partnerships?
"I feel that having a NH Connections independent facilitator come in can really help the process and develop those partnerships"
SAU #41 Parent-Partnership: What works for us!
Jeanne Saunders, SAU #41 Director of Special Education
Dr. Anat Eshed, Parent
Partnership is a relationship between people who collaboratively work together to reach a common goal. Parents and special education administrators within the communities of Hollis and Brookline, New Hampshire, have joined together to form the SAU #41 Parent-Partnership. One of the core functions of this collaborative relationship is a highly valued and productive, face–to-face interactions at Partnership Meetings.
Administrators and parents meet at the elementary level (preK-6) and the secondary level (7-12) to discuss specific topics pertaining to special education in our district at these Partnership meetings. The schedule and topics have been initially determined by core members of the partnership. Examples of topics discussed are: the structure of the special education department, writing IEPs, extended school year, and monitoring IEP goal progress.
In order to keep the meetings efficient, an agenda is developed by administration and roles such as a facilitator, a time keeper, a scribe, a note taker, and a process observer are assigned at the start of every meeting. These roles, along with the group’s norms, or social rules, were discussed and agreed upon by the group. This helps ensure that all participants feel comfortable in sharing their ideas, thoughts, and opinions – whether positive, complimentary, or constructive.
The partnership group has worked so well together that the agenda is not only followed, but there is time during the meeting to discuss other topics such as transition from grade level to grade level and confidentiality – all important topics to everyone around the table. Two-way dialogue between the school administration and parents is evident and it is a comfortable exchange. The two groups come together as one and we believe anyone walking into a meeting would have a difficult time distinguishing school personnel from parents!
In addition to the central feature of ongoing dialogue between school and families, our partnership also offers a website, which consists of a parent information networking system managed via email where parents can submit inquiries and can receive help and advice from other parents with certain expertise and similar experiences. We also organize educational workshops, free of charge, for the whole community. Some of the topics included in this year’s sessions are: IEPs, evaluations, disability awareness, executive functioning, and learning styles.
Working diligently and patiently with mutual respect and open minds is a key to our success and is evident from genuine comments we received:
“I am so excited about this group and the impact it's already made. Bravo!”
“ I'm in awe of all that you've accomplished and the direction the group is going in...great job.”
“I am very impressed with your group as well as your website!”
“The presentation last night was wonderful! I learned so much. Thank you for organizing this!”
To learn more about our partnership visit our website: www.sau41parentpartnership.org, www.sau41.org, or email us at hp2special@gmail.com
Londonderry Special Education Parent Advisory Council
The goal of the Londonderry Special Education Advisory Council (SEPAC) is to work closely with the schools and community to support children with special needs. Our primary goals are to strengthen relationships with our school District and provide meaningful programs that will help both parents and members of our community understand the Special Education Process. In 2010, we built a web site to provide information for both parents and teachers. We met with our Old Home Day Committee; and in 2011 we will be working with the Committee to provide some adaptive events to children with disabilities during Old Home Day festivities. We also participated in a Kid’s Movie Night on our Common. On our “to-do” list is forming a social network where our children can increase their social skills and feel comfortable in social settings. We hope to partner with the Londonderry YMCA to provide this.
The Merrimack Special Education Parent Support Group and the Merrimack School District have worked hard over the past three years to establish a great partnership for building family-school relationships. This could not have happened unless we all believed we were working for the same goals: families helping schools and schools helping parents.
Together this year we have presented three workshops for parents and educators: “Learning the Signs: An Information Session on Children’s Mental Health”, “Overview of Special Education Services in Merrimack” and “Support for Siblings of Children with Special Needs”. In addition, two educators from our high school presented a workshop on “Transition from High School for Special Education Students”.
Some "quotes" from the South Central Region:
"If I had known about NH Connections when I was a principal, I would have definitely used their services" ~ Retired Principal"I want to commend you on your willingness to have this parent/school partnership presentation by NH Connections, it shows how you want to collaborate with parents on building a positive group "
~ parent talking with a Special Education Director
"NH Connections has helped our parent group in many ways, I wish more people would come to learn"
~ Parent
"I want a parent/school partnership group to help me see things from a different point of view and to bring in community speakers" ~ Special Education Director
Meeting schedule for the 2010-2011 School Year:
Visit Regional forum and topical meeting page here.
Information on NH Connections South Central
Regional Forum and Topical Meetings for the
2010-2011 school year.
What School Districts have benefited from the work of NH Connections in the Region?
Amherst, Auburn, Derry, Dunbarton, Goffstown, New Boston, Litchfield, Londonderry, Manchester, Merrimack, Mont Vernon, Nashua, Pelham, Raymond, Salem, and Windham School Districts.
Who can attend Regional events?
School administrators, Educators, Parents, Community members and students are all very welcome.
What do the Regional events accomplish?
Learn how School Districts, Schools, and Parents are partnering on specific topics in Special Education. These specific topics will be generated from a discussion forum in the beginning of the year and will be presented at future topical discussion events that cover more detailed information about the selected topics from specific school districts or presenters. NH Connections will also connect school personnel and parents to information about the meetings via this website, email and other means.
