Parent Resource Blog

Hispanic Futures Conference

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:31:47 -0500

ARD/IEP Facilitation

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:25:37 -0500

On behalf of the ARD/IEP Facilitation Team, I would like to say hello and let you all know about our role in the district and give you some information to pass on to parents of students with special needs when you feel it might be useful.

Austin ISD now offers ARD/IEP Facilitation services to campus ARD teams. Facilitation encourages good communication and problem solving before conflicts develop into more serious disputes. Although the facilitators are district employees, their responsibility is to serve the whole team—parents, students, and school staff.

What is the role of an IEP Facilitator?
·       Acts as neutral third party to support the team
·       Makes sure everyone has his/her ideas and opinions heard
·       Keeps committee members focused on the student and his/her needs
·       Encourages teams to work together to reach agreement

When is facilitation appropriate?
Usually ARD committees can reach agreement without the help of people like facilitators, but sometimes teams need support to move forward. A facilitator might be helpful when school staff and parents are not seeing eye-to-eye or have lost sight of the purpose of the meeting.

Facilitation might be needed if:
·       Teams are spending a lot of time but making little progress
·       There is a lot of new information to be processed
·       There is a particular disagreement the team wants to resolve
·       ARD committees are meeting repeatedly to address the same issues with little resolution
·       The ARD committee is unable to agree to a quality plan

I have attached some documents (in both English and Spanish) that you may feel free to copy and distribute to parents of students with special needs as you see fit. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact one of us. Thank you for your time and all that you do!

Sage A. Schenck
IEP Facilitator
Special Education Department
Austin Independent School District
(512) 414-4082
(1) 850-7222 (mobile)

Community Technology Training Centers

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:19:59 -0500

Dear CTTC Partners and Participants,

Attached is Skillpoint Alliance CTTC's (Community Technology Training Centers) Outreach Flyer, Computer Class Schedule and Professional Development Seminars information. Feel free to e-mail it out to friends, family members, and other organizations.

For those of you who wish to refer people to our classes, we will be holding Orientation this Saturday, March 27, noon-3 PM at Reagan High school
(New Mall Building, 2nd floor-room 414).

We offer:

          Computer classes at Introductory, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advance levels
          Open Lab for CTTC Clients to Drop-in
          Employment Services for CTTC Clients
          Professional Development Seminars (Open to the public at no cost – No orientation necessary)
          Daytime and Evening Computer classes
          In lab and online tutorials

Volunteer Opportunities:

           Teach Advance Computer Topics
           Teach Professional Development Seminars
           Classroom Assistant
           Outreach: flyer distribution

If you are interested in volunteering contact me at itorrez@skillpointalliance.org. Please specify which volunteer position you are interested in and attach your résumé.

CTTCOutreachFlyer.pdf

CTTCWinterSpringSchedule_030810.xlsx