Tools
for Parent-Professional Collaboration in the IEP Process
En Español
Preparación Del
Maestro Para La Reunión Del IEP- Teacher Preparation for IEP Meeting
Preguntas Para El
Equipo Colaborador Del IEP- Questions for the Collaborative IEP Team
Preparación De Los Padres Para La
Reunión Del IEP- Parent Preparation for IEP Meeting
Preparación Del
Estudiante Para La Reunión Del IEP- Student Preparation for the IEP
Meeting
This
program is funded by
New
Jersey State Department of Education, Office of Special Education
Programs
State
Improvement Grant: Partnership
for Access, Equity and Outcomes
Contract
Award H323A010006
About
the START Project...
As part of the implementation
of the State Improvement Plan/State Improvement Grant, SPAN has
partnered with the State of New Jersey Office of Special Education to
provide services to families of children with special education needs
and school districts through its START Project.
Some of the goals of the
Project are to improve family-school collaboration through assisting
family’s and district personnel in establishing parent groups or
supporting existing ones, promoting the knowledge of benefits derived
from increased family involvement to school personnel, and providing
resources to parents in the areas of technical assistance and leadership
development.
Why
are Support Groups Important?
Support groups fulfill a
basic human need. People who share a common experience are uniquely
qualified to provide support and understanding to each other.
This is why the vast majority of the more than 4,500 self-help
groups listed in New Jersey are lead by non professionals.
However, starting a group “from scratch” can be difficult.
This is one reason the START Project has as one of its priorities the
offering of help to any individual/team of parents interested in
beginning a group with the thought of looking at Special Education in
their districts in mind. There
is no one recipe for starting a support group but the Parent Support
Group Specialists (PSGS) working throughout the state under the START
program, will be happy to give training on some specific steps to take
that have been proven to increase the changes of a successful beginning
to new groups. SPAN has officially teamed up with the self-help group
experts at the New Jersey Self-Help Group Clearinghouse to ensure the
use of the most up-to-date information and resources materials.
What
Are Peer Consultants?
Another measure to help
promote the successful creation of new parent support groups is the
identification of several Peer Consultants to assist the PSGS in providing
technical assistance, coaching on successful techniques in communicating
with school staff their
child’s unique abilities, and other needed support. Many of these
individuals are parents of children with special needs themselves who
have experience in working with school districts and have received
specialized trainings on various topics in special education.
Fostering
Literacy in Your Child...
Linking literacy and the New
Jersey Core Content Standards is another objective of the START project.
Staff will be available to provide training and follow-up technical
assistance for parents focusing on strategies and techniques to foster
literacy in their children and to collaborate with their school to
support their children’s progress in New Jersey’s core curriculum
content standard. Staff members will also be available to assist parents
to review their IEP’s to identify correlation between IEP’s and CCCS.
About
This Website...
The goal of this website is
to provide comprehensive on-line responses to parental concerns
/inquires and frequently asked questions. It will eventually have the
capability to host on-line chats about such critical issues as
inclusion, transition to adult life, parent-professional collaboration,
and positive behavior supports and discipline in addition to providing
important links to other organizations. If you have suggestions or other
information that you feel would be helpful to the START staff, as well
as to other visitors, feel free to e-mail
Debra Jennings.
SPAN
Annual Conference Scholarships...
The START project will also
be offering scholarships to parents of children in Special Education in
order to make it possible for them to attend the annual Span conference.
This is in keeping with the over all Span mission of fostering the
development of empowered, educated, engaged, effective parents.
If you have any questions or
comments or would like to become a part of this exciting initiative,
please call the START Team at 973-297-5300.
