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Navigating Excellence - Parent Center Assistance & Collaboration Team
Region A E-News
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“Our anger was a fury sparked by profound injustices. Wrongs that deserved ire. And with that rage we ripped a hole in the status quo.”
~ Judith Heumann
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Message From Diana & Michele |
We would like to dedicate this issue of the NE-PACT E-news to Judy Heumann. We all know about the great things she has done to further inclusion and advocacy so we would like to share this short video about how she appreciated the work of Parent Centers.
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CT YAB GAB, a Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC) Youth Advisory Board (YAB) podcast: Created by young adults, they highlight important topics like advocacy and disability issues, talk with incredible guests, educate, entertain, inform, and inspire. Listen to the podcast.
Candid Conversations: Handing Over the Reins: NY Region 1 PTIC Collaborative, which consists of Advocated for Children (AFC), INCLUDE(nyc), Long Island Advocacy Center(LIAC), and Sinergia, along with the Chinese-American Planning Council (CIDA) and the New York DeafBlind Collaborative, present a film about New York families supporting youth with disabilities in their journey transitioning to adulthood and understanding the importance of self-advocacy skills. "Candid Conversations: Handing Over the Reins" is a full-feature film that aims to address many questions and concerns parents and self-advocates may have around the transition from high school and into adulthood. See the film and feel free to share the flyer with others.
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Upcoming Events/Dates to Remember |
Region A Drop-In Call: The April Drop-in call will take place on Tuesday, April 4th, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, ET. Our featured technical assistance presenter will be Melanie Reese from The Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE). She will discuss resources that Parent Centers can share with families as they navigate the challenging situations they are experiencing. Let us know if you have any agenda items. Join the Drop-in call.
Follow-up Forum: Bringing Equity to Life: Join NE-PACT for an opportunity to continue and expand on the discussions from our 2022 Regional Conference. The REAL Day, for Youth Coordinators and Directors, will be on Monday, April 24th, 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm ET. Then the NE-PACT Day, for Directors only, will be on Tuesday, April 25th, 8:00 am - 3:00 pm ET.
Save the Date: Region A Native American Webinar: Understanding Native American Cultures and Outreach Opportunities: Join Judy Wiley (Apache) and Joann Sebastian Morris (Chippewa and Mohawk) on Wednesday, April 12th, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ET. During the webinar, you will: 1) learn where Native American parents are in your service area, 2) understand how local Native populations were affected by federal Indian boarding schools and 3) learn how that impacts outreach initiatives, and learn ideas for successful outreach. Click here to register.
OSEP Leadership and Project Directors’ Conference: The 2023 Office of Special Education
Programs conference returns in person! OSEP will hold a combined Leadership and Project Directors’ Conference, July 24 – 26, 2023, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. For conference registration and more information, click here.
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Non-Profit Management Resources |
Why Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Matter for Non-Profits: The National Center on Nonprofits shares practice pointers, questions to consider, and resources to offer nonprofits inspiration and guidance about how to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental values, and how to integrate these values throughout the operations and activities of their non-profit. Read more. |
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Family-Centered Services Resources |
Equity-Based Family Engagement Boosts Education, Families: Providing equity-based opportunities for family engagement can help parents become effective advocates and culture-bearers, which in turn improves educational quality and relevance according to a report from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Learn more.
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Youth-Centered Services Resources |
Measuring Success: Youth M.O.V.E National Presents #Things2Consider - Measuring Success. A guide to knowing if your youth program is succeeding and meeting the needs of youth. Review the "Reach Formula" and the steps to understand your program's reach and impact. Read more.
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Staff Development Resources |
13 Effective Ways to Educate Employees on Diversity: 13 members of the Forbes Coaches Council share some of the measures organizations can take to educate their workforce on the importance of diversity, from creating a culture of inclusion to implementing ongoing learning programs, encouraging constant dialogue, or developing diverse teams. Read the article. |
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School Attendance and Chronic Absenteeism: 3 years since the pandemic wrecked attendance, many students still aren't showing up to school: When this school year began, Issac Moreno just couldn't get himself to go. During the pandemic, he'd gotten used to learning from his family's home in Los Angeles. Then, last fall, he started junior high, five days a week, in person. Read his all too familiar story here. |
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English Learner Funding Equity and Adequacy in K–12 Education: This brief will summarize what was learned from a roundtable discussion. The brief will give a short overview of EL funding context in the U.S., followed by five key takeaways that emerged from the discussion central to making progress towards more equitable funding systems for ELs. Read the brief. |
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The Relationship Between Bullying, Learning Disorders and Psychiatric Comorbidity: Both learning disorders and bullying are major sources of public concern. Children with learning disorders often suffer from social rejection, potentially rendering them more susceptible to bullying involvement. Read More. |
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Child Welfare/Foster Care |
It’s All Relative, Grand families and Kinship Care: Hosted by the National Family Support Technical Assistance Center, “Family Connections” is a virtual community for parents and caregivers who support loved ones facing substance use and/or mental health challenges. Join the virtual workshop on April 6th, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm ET. This event will be presented by Robyn Wind, previously employed with Indian Child Welfare, Foster Care Leadership program. Register for the webinar and get more details here. |
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Choice/Charter Schools/Virtual Schools/Voucher Programs |
How “Abbott Elementary'' Takes On the Charter-School Movement: In its second season, this sitcom became an unabashed polemic against the privatization of a public good. Find the article here. |
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Conscious & Unconscious Biases in Health Care: When compared with that of non-Hispanic White populations, the incidence of morbidity and mortality among African Americans, Latino/Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and American Indians and Alaska Natives remains alarmingly high. Learn more.
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Advancing Equity with Data: The US Census produces data that depicts an accurate portrait of America, including its underserved communities. Some of their data equity services include a wealth of demographic data, data tools, public assistance program metrics, diversity measurement, and data education. Read more. |
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Discipline & Positive Behavior Supports |
What about the other kids in the room? This blog, by Alex Shevrin, discusses how we react to student stressors, blowing up or melting down. When a student gifts us with the opportunity to support them through a moment of crisis, we have an opportunity to care not only for that student but to demonstrate our care for the entire class community. Read the blog. |
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Beyond the Dotted Line: Empowering Parents From Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families to Participate: March 2, 2023, CADRE. The article focuses on the critical need for early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers to support and empower families to become active participants in their child’s IEP. The article examines the importance of cultural self-awareness in developing collaborative relationships with families, discusses supports for CLD families, and provides an easy-to-follow checklist for ECSE teachers as they support and empower CLD families to become active participants in their children’s IEP. Find it here. |
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Students push NJ lawmakers to help curb high school dropout rate: According to the latest statewide data, New Jersey’s high school dropout rate is only 1% which is relatively low compared to the national average of around 5%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Yet, there are about 100,000 students the state calls “opportunity youth,” those ages 16 to 24 who don’t attend school or have a job. Learn more.
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Early Childhood/Early Intervention |
Fact Sheet: Advancing Racial Equity in Early Intervention and Preschool Special Education: View this recently updated fact sheet from the Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA). This fact sheet provides key information and supporting evidence about racial disparities and inequities for young children with a disability, and questions for state and local leaders seeking to advance equity for all children with disabilities and their families. Find it here.
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Understanding and Improving Title I of ESSA: All4Ed, a national advocacy nonprofit committed to expanding equitable opportunities for students of color, students from low-income families, and other marginalized groups, today released a series of reports in English and Spanish. Find it here. |
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Empowering the Families of Black Autistic Children through Culturally Responsive, Community-Based Interventions: Check out the interview of Dr. Jamie Pearson, an assistant professor of special education at North Carolina State University by the National Center for Special Education Research about her developing and refining a community-based parent-training intervention, FACES (Fostering Advocacy, Communication, Empowerment, and Support). FACES is designed to strengthen Black parents' capacity to access and use special education services and improve the communication and behavior outcomes for their autistic children. Read the full interview. |
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Grandparents as Caregivers |
“Society Still Doesn’t Recognize Grandfamilies:” Grandparents on Raising Grandkids with ADHD: Grandparents are raising or helping to raise their grandchildren for a variety of reasons — while simultaneously learning how to parent and support a neurodivergent child, often for the first time. So much has changed in our understanding of ADHD and its comorbidities, and grandparents are working hard to catch up and help out. Read the full article here. Register for the April 26th webinar at 1:00 pm here. |
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Social Determinants of Health: Check out this easy-to-understand information about the social determinants of health - what they are and how the impact the life course of Americans.
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How one state is supporting children who do not meet strict federal guidelines as homeless students: Federal rules force many families to sleep in cars, on the streets, etc before they can access housing assistance. Explore what Washington is doing to address this.
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Special education clash: How one student's Supreme Court case could make schools more accountable: March 18, 2023. Miguel Perez, who is deaf, seemed to be a model student. But months before graduation his parents learned the truth. Now they're fighting to give disabled students more power to sue when things go wrong. Read about it. |
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Thirteen Famous Asian and Pacific Islander Immigrants: Immigrants from Asia and Pacific Islands are a diverse population of more than 130 ethnic groups from a geographic area that spans 16 million square miles. Their dreams and talents are as diverse as they are. Despite the challenges and discrimination they have faced, they have made extraordinary contributions to the United States. The Immigrant Learning Center has compiled just 13 of their stories, including those of an Olympic athlete, an HIV/AIDS activist, a U.S. senator and an astronaut. Read more. |
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To Make Schools Inclusive, Listen to Students: Forty-four students from 16 high schools in seven districts in New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, and California came together to share advice for both educators and fellow students across seven sessions on how to make schools culturally inclusive and why that matters. Read what the student had to say.
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Juvenile Delinquency/Juvenile Justice |
Q&A with US OJJDP chief Liz Ryan: Liz Ryan said she was surprised when the White House tapped her — a prominent advocate who has dedicated her professional life to reforming the juvenile justice system to be the administrator of the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in May 2022. Ryan’s appointment has been met with praise by advocates who have criticized the agency in recent years for allegedly not living up to its promise of delivering strong national leadership for juvenile justice reform. Read more here. |
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The 2021 National School Climate Survey: The GLSEN National School Climate Survey focuses on the LGBTQ+ youth experiences in schools, including hearing discriminatory language from students and educators, harassment and assault, anti-LGBTQ discrimination, and the effects of a hostile school climate on educational outcomes and psychological well-being. Find out more.
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‘A cry for help’: CDC warns of a steep decline in teen mental health: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning of an accelerating mental health crisis among adolescents, with more than 4 in 10 teens reporting that they feel “persistently sad or hopeless,” and 1 in 5 saying they have contemplated suicide. Read more.
YMCA gets grant to Fight Mental Health Crisis: The East Orange YMCA will benefit from a $337,000 federal grant given to the Metropolitan YMCA of the Oranges to bolster the Y’s mental health services for staff and the community. The Y has already trained 45 staff members in Mental Health First Aid, created a Mental Health Task Force, and hired a Mental Health Director to serve all of its seven branches with the support of grant funding. Read more here.
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Military Families & Youth |
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Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma: Although oceans apart, Ireland and the Choctaw Nation are deeply connected because of an act of kindness and generosity nearly two centuries ago. During the height of COVID, Irish people returned the favor by raising funds for the Navajo Nation. Read more of this moving story. Watch a 5 minute video by the Friends of Sinn Fein about this moving story: Native Americans, Ireland and a debt not forgotten.
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Parent/Family Engagement (and Youth!) |
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Racial Wealth Gap May Be a Key to Other Inequities: The wealth gap between Black and white Americans has been persistent and extreme, representing the accumulated effects of four centuries of institutional and systemic racism, and bears major responsibility for disparities in income, health, education and opportunity that continue to this day. Find out more.
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Corporal punishment in schools: Research and reporting tips to guide your coverage: From a project of Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center. This journalist’s resource curates, summarizes and contextualizes high-quality research on newsy public policy topics. Read more here.
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Social-Emotional Learning |
‘Social-emotional learning’ is just as vital for kids as reading and math, local expert says: Elementary and middle school are both pivotal times in young people's lives. Children experience a lot of emotional, physical and educational changes. They learn how to communicate with their peers and learn formative lessons that shape their critical thinking skills. What happens during these years often predict outcomes later on in school — and in life. Find out more.
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How Microsoft bakes accessibility into everything it touches: From reinventing its products for people with disabilities to arming policymakers with better data, the tech giant is mainstreaming accessibility. Read more. |
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Transition to Adult Life/Youth |
What the next generation of disabled activities can learn from Judy Heumann: The woman known as the mother of the disability rights movement is being remembered as a civil rights icon. Judy Heumann's years of advocacy and lobbying ultimately led to the federal Americans With Disabilities Act. She passed away at the age of 75. Read more.
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The Unequal Toll of Toxic Stress: This articles discusses how the mental burdens of bias, trauma, and family hardship impact girls and women, and the pervasive lack of sensitivity to the ways in which girls of color signal emotional distress and the widespread failure on the part of adults that results in too many girls falling through the cracks at school. Read all about it.
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ABOUT THE REGION A PARENT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER
The Navigating Excellence-Parent Assistance and Collaboration Team (NE-PACT), the Region A Technical Assistance Center, provides technical assistance to federally-funded parent centers -- Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) and Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs) - NEPACT Logolocated in the states of CT-AFCAMP, CT-CPAC, DC-AJE, DE-PIC, MD-PPMD, ME-MPF, MA-FCSN, NH-PIC, NJ-SPAN, NJ-ASCF, NY-AFC, NY-CIDA, NY-LIAC, NY-UWS, NY-Starbridge, NY-INCLUDEnyc, NY-Sinergia, NY-PNWNY, PA-HUNE, PA- ME, PA-PEAL, PR-APNI, RI-RIPIN, VI-DRVI and VT-VFN. These Parent Centers are independent non-profit organizations. We also provide support to emerging parent centers and parent organizations serving families of children with or at risk of being identified as having disabilities. In addition, we work with early intervention and education agencies (local, state and federal level) seeking information regarding best practices in involving parents of children with disabilities in systems improvement.
The center activities are specifically designed to:
- Enhance the capacity of parent centers to provide effective services to families of children with special needs and to work effectively with their states to improve special education and early intervention systems; and,
- Facilitate their connections to the larger technical assistance network that supports research-based training, including educating parents about effective practices that improve results for children with disabilities. For more information click here.
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