|
|
 |
|
|
What Special Education PTA Representatives Do The FCCPTA special education committee encourages all PTA units to recruit parents for the position of special education representative. This person represents the concerns of parents of children in special education to the greater PTA and may also consider doing some of the following: · Funnel information to parents: - Distribute flyers featuring upcoming programs around the area to parents (with the permission of your school’s principal) - Create a “New Parent Packet” to give to parents who are new to your school or whose child has been identified for special education services. · Parent Groups: - Hold monthly meetings at your house. - Invite your Parent Ombudsman. · Recruit other parents to work with you: - Send a letter introducing yourself to all the special ed parents in your school. One committee got the school office to address the envelopes for them (since the information is confidential). - Set up a booth at Back to School nights and other parent events. Put out a sign up sheet. - Start an email distribution list.
-
Have support group meetings and not just committee meetings - Ask the school staff to send home fliers in the backpacks of students with IEP’s (or to all students). - Anticipate PTA newsletter deadlines to get meetings announced that way. The deadline for September could be in July. - Request that a special education committee line be added to the volunteer survey that parents fill out at the beginning of the school year and to the Keep In Touch sign up form. · Library: - Start a parenting library. - Work with the librarian on a display of books about people with disabilities. - Work with the Parent Resource Center to develop a collection of core books. - Ask the PTA for a budget for books. - Create a literature rack or kiosk in the school office. · Scholarships: - Lobby your PTSA to fund special education scholarships for graduating students. · Parent workshops/conferences - Send out information about parent conferences. - Invite PEATC to speak to your parents. - Get together with other schools in your pyramids to give joint speaker forums. - Carpool to Parent Resource Center programs. - Be sure to publicize the annual county-wide special education - Ask one of your school’s special education teachers to speak - Speaker on the IDEA - ”Advanced IEP” workshop - Career Center presentation to parents on college planning for students with disabilities. - Have showings of Mel Levine’s Developing Minds video series, available through each school’s library.
Parents are often unaware of how much special education helps the entire school, by providing expertise on differentiated instruction and many other topics. Your programs will be most successful if they appeal to a variety of parents. · Newsletters:
· Web Site: - Create a special education section of your PTA web site. Schools that currently have these web pages:
· Student education about inclusion: - The Union Mill ES PTA organized an Autism Week. The head of PEATC addressed the entire student body. During gym, students rotated among sensory centers. Each day had a theme, such as Mindful Monday, Whisper Wednesday (to teach the point that children with autism have noise and other sensitivities), and Friendship Friday. - Invite The ARC of Northern Virginia to bring its puppet show Kids on the Block to school assemblies. Ask the PTA to pay budget for this. - Organize events for Inclusive Schools Week. · ESOL: - Distribute a video on special education in Spanish to parents of ESOL students. - Work with the Parent Liaison to help them with special education issues among parents who do not speak English well. !!!Keep a notebook of your activities to pass on to your successor. Find a successor when you leave!!!
Last Updated 11/15/2007 22:31:57 |
