Forming (and maintaining) a parent group is part of the process of ‘partnering’ and ‘collaborating’ with your school district. Parent-School partnerships are components of effective parent involvement and critical to maximizing student potential and therefore producing positive student outcomes. The benefits are significant for the communities, families, and educators. To that end, the START project works together with the NJ Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs to provide trainings for districts and parents, called, ‘Family-Educator Collaboration in the IEP Process’, and ‘Planning For Effective Involvement of Parents of Students Receiving Special Education’ and Cultural Competence Family-Educator. These are leadership trainings and they require team registration (a minimum of one parent and one educator.) Often the Special Education Parent Group leader is one of the team members.
