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Statewide Parent Training Information Center (PTI) |
- What can PAVE's Parent Training and Information Center do for me?
Currently the Parent Training Program provides:
1. Workshops on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
2. Workshops that address IEP development, pre-school transition, communication, secondary transition, discipline, and much more
3. Individual assistance from staff to answer the questions families have
4. Support at meetings from staff and trained volunteers, upon request and with appropriate notice
5. Lending library of books, audio and video tapes
6. Printed materials on various topics and disabilities
7. Information and referral on other resources throughout the state that may be of assistance.
- An administrator in our district told me that I do not want PAVE Parent Resource Coordinators (PRC) to become involved in our meetings with them, because PRC's are adversarial and just want to make trouble for the districts. Is this true?
A
The role of a Parent Resource Coordinator (PRC) at any meeting is to assist parents in advocating for their children with disabilities, because parents are the people who know their children better than anyone else does. Parents are the best advocates for their own children. When a (PRC) becomes involved with parents and/or in their school situation, it is as a support person. That support to parents takes several forms: giving information about rights and responsibilities of parents and school districts; helping parents understand and navigate the educational system; helping parents be heard at meetings; providing an objective "extra set of ears" at meetings; taking notes to help the parents get all the information; and suggesting ideas that may meet an individual child's needs.
Our philosophy at PAVE is that parents with their expertise and school district personnel with their expertise can make a powerful team to develop and implement programs for any given child when everyone is willing to work together for the good of the child. With any team, people pulling together can make great things happen. When they pull in opposite directions, very few positives happen.
School district people as well as parents have told PAVE personnel that meetings have gone much smoother, and more was accomplished when a PAVE support person was in attendance than when that person was not there. ... that does not sound adversarial, does it?
- How can I get a Parent Training & Information Center representative to come to a meeting with me?
A staff person from one of the offices or a Community Liaison (CL) may be available to attend meetings with you. CLs are volunteers who have taken training from PAVE to help others. It is helpful if you can give us as much notice as possible before a meeting (preferrably one week). Call the office nearest you and tell the staff person about your situation. Many times you can receive enough information on the phone that you would feel comfortable attending the meeting without a representative. If, after learning about rights and options, you would like a support person to accompany you, we will try to arrange that. If we are going to find a CL for your meeting, we need your verbal permission to call him or her, describe your situation, and, if that person is available, give your name and number to him or her and have the CL contact you. Because our CLs are volunteers, we do not give out their names and numbers. We have the CL contact you. If you do not hear back from anyone within a day or two, call us back so we can try again to make that connection. We try to assist as many parents as possible. If we do not have anyone available to attend meetings in your area or on certain dates and times, we will make every effort to give you adequate information so you feel ready for your meetings with the school district.
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