Project Director Central/Southwest Facilitator Seacoast Facilitator South Central Facilitator North Country Facilitator Concord/Lakes Facilitator

Veronica Bodden Karen Gerdts Elena Acosta Kimm Phillips

Cheri Sullivan Liz Macdonald Kyle Szczepanik Joe Hatch Marlene Marchand Audrey Burke X 14

Dear Families,

I hope your family has an exciting school year!

Heather Thalheimer Executive Director

“The Power of Parental Involvement” -Janet C. Valeri

Schools around the country are facing the ramifications of the 2001 NCLB legislation that is currently up for re-authorization. As the principal of Amherst Street School in Nashua NH from 2004-2008 I felt the pinch of this legislation directly, when the school was placed in corrective action by being a School In Need of Improvement for the fourth year. Having children for only 6 ½ hours a day was great in order to let teachers put their strategies to work in the classroom, but certainly not enough time to really help children meet with success. The answer? Parental involvement! Thankfully, we connected with NH State PIRC in 2006 to assist us with this effort…and what a difference it made!

Connecting with Stakeholders

One of our greatest moves was to complete a school index survey to help us identify the issues that were getting in our way. Staff, parents, and administration took part in this survey. PIRC assisted us with data collection, and results gathering. A parent/teacher team took the results and chose four goals that would frame our thinking over the following two years. Issues included studying at home, clear expectations for teachers and parents, understanding of school goals, and building parental capacity. To these ends our work as a true team began.

Putting the Plan to Work

Over the course of the following two years, the PIRC

connection became very valuable for all involved. Teams of parents were trained to provide parent workshops in the evenings. Topics included “Studying at Home”, “Interactive Reading”, and “Ready, Set, Here I Come”. Two parents attended a “Train the Trainer” workshop devoted to each of the topics. These workshops were held at the school in both English and Spanish, with dinner provided. The “Studying at Home” and “Ready, Set, Here I Come” workshops were held in a series of three. Childcare was provided at the school with assistance from other school staff and high school students studying education. In the spring of 2008, we modified our standard Kindergarten Orientation with the help of PIRC. A bit of parent education was done on that evening and goodie bags were supplied to each student to encourage practice of early literacy and basic number skills.

Thinking Outside the Books - Karen Gerdts

Are you interested in motivating middle school or high school students to get more engaged in reading? In the PIC produced DVD titled "Thinking Outside the Books," you will hear parents and students share their thoughts about why reading is important, how to get started, and why good questions promote interest and critical thinking. Some thoughts from today's youth on this DVD include:

• "If you can find something you are genuinely interested in…you are going to want to read it." Melissa, age 14
• "I think you have to ask the question, do you not read because it is difficult or because you don't like the book? If reading is difficult, there are other options, like books on tape or CD. In the end, it is not about getting the book in front of you, it is about listening, gaining knowledge, and making your mind think" - Sasha, age 17
• "You read to enjoy." - Michael, age 15
• "I like to read books that give me a lot of emotion. I really like mysteries because when you get to the end of the chapter, you just can't put the book down!" - Alissa, age 15
• "I think one of the things you need to do when you are reading something, is to know…who is the person telling me this information? Why are they telling me this? What is their background? What is their slant on the world? When you know this, you can read between the lines and you can see if they are warping the facts or if they are showing the facts in a different way. You’ve got to know where they are coming from." - Michael, age 15
• "The motivation behind writing (a book) or presenting the information is really important in helping you know how truthful it is." - Sasha, age 17
• "I find myself picking harder books to read so I can challenge myself…more than if I am watching TV or a movie. I end up thinking, analyzing, and making it something that I want to learn about. It is like a competition between myself and the book (so I can defeat it), so I get through it and understand it." - Melissa, age 14
• "One way to encourage young people to read is to make it more social…like a book club, because teens love to interact. Read a book, have a discussion, and hang out with your friends! - Sasha, age 17

♦ "When I was little my dad used to read to us every night. From elementary school on, he used to say, 'Read 15 minutes every night. Since he pushed me to do that, I started to find out what I was really interested in and the kind of books I like to read. Now I read a lot…. I let it (reading) take me into my own little world." - Alissa, age 14

New Hampshire’s Special Education Laws and Regulations Have Been Revised!

Bonnie Dunham - Parent Information Center on Special Education

As the result of a 3-year process, where parents, educators, advocates, legislators and many other professionals and volunteers worked side-by-side sharing their experience, insight and ideas, NH has now completed the revisions to our special education law and regulations.

On June 11, 2008, the State Board of Education unanimously adopted Ed 1100, the NH Rules for the Education of Children with Disabilities (NH’s special education regulations). On July 11, 2008, the Governor held a public ceremony, attended by more than 75 people, to sign 2 important pieces of special education legislation, House Bills 766 and 679 (see companion article, New Hampshire Revises Special Education Laws).

The level of public involvement in this process was unprecedented – The NH legislature, State Department of Education and State Board of Education demonstrated how much they value public participation by outreaching to all stakeholder groups. The Parent Information Center on Special Education would like to thank everyone who took the time to participate in the process of revising NH's special education law and regulations.

The newly revised NH Rules for the Education of Children with Disabilities, which went into effect on June 30, 2008, were changed to ensure that NH is in compliance with the Federal special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), while continuing to meet the unique needs of NH children with disabilities. The revised NH Rules maintain critical rights and protections for NH children with disabilities and support parent involvement in the special education process. Some of the highlights of the revised NH Rules are:

Parent Involvement:

• Maintains NH’s current parental consent requirements for each step in the special education process, but adopts IDEA’s requirement prohibiting a school district from using due process to disagree when a parent refuses consent for the initial provision of services, and making it optional when a parent refuses consent for an initial evaluation (NH Rules continue to include a process that school districts may use when parents do not respond to a request for consent);
• Continues to require 10-day written notice before an IEP meeting (5 days for manifestation meetings);

Bookmobile Makes Maiden Voyage to Conway Village

Lloyd Jones

Reprinted with permission from the Conway Daily Sun. 7/24/2008

CONWAY -"Brake for Books - It Will Change Your Life."

That message is part of a painted emblem featuring a giant moose, and is a takeoff on the state highway signs, "Brake for Moose - It Could Save Your Life." It appears on a giant white van - a Bookmobile - that made the first of several trips planned this summer in Conway Village.

In an effort to help children maintain their current reading levels over the summer, staff members at Conway Elementary School, with the help of longtime

local business Frechette Tire Company, took books on the road, bringing them to children. The response was extremely positive, according to Conway El. Principal Brian Hastings, who made the maiden voyage along with several members of the school's staff.

"We had a great time," Hastings said by phone Wednesday morning. "We made six stops and had a lot of kids at each stop - I think it did everything we were hoping it would and now we've got to keep it going. I was really pleased with the number of kids who took the time to come out. The staff have been so supportive of this project. We had great numbers come out Tuesday, it went really, really well."

In May, Frechette Tire donated a van to Conway El., and staff members went to work creating the bookmobile with second-grade teachers Aimee Frechette and Jenn Nelson spearheading the charge.

"It went awesome," Frechette said by phone Wednesday afternoon. "It was exactly how we had pictured it - the van would pull into a parking lot and then there were lots of little kids running up to the van excited. We handed out over 500 books on our first day. At Conway El., we'd been talking about a roving bookmobile

for the past four years," she said. "Our plan is to be able to deliver books over the summer months. We want to target reading regression which occurs over the summer."

"I'd also like to thank Frechette Tire for their incredible donation," Hastings said. "George Frechette was our driver on Tuesday, he was super. The whole idea is great - it's an example of teachers stepping up and volunteering on their own time. To get books into the hands of kids over the summertime is so critical. I love the idea of a bookmobile. I'm going to jump on board and do the first tour with them. This is just one more example of how we've done a lot great things for our school this year; it shows how much the staff here cares."

New Hampshire Revises Special Education Laws

Bonnie Dunham - Parent Information Center on Special Education

On July 11, 2008, the Governor held a public ceremony to sign 2 important pieces of special education legislation, House Bills 766 and 679. HB 766, which goes into effect on January 1, 2009, revises RSA 186-C (NH’s special education law). HB 679, which has already gone into effect, revises other laws (RSA 169, 193 and 194) that affect children with disabilities, including those involved in the juvenile justice system and those enrolled in charter schools.

These bills were culmination of a 3 year process that started with a 33-member work group made up of legislators, parents, special education administrators, teachers, advocates and others, including a representative from the Parent Information Center on Special Education, which identified changes that were needed in our state special education laws. Highlights of each of those bills follows.

HB 766:

• Makes language more consistent with Federal law;
• Removes outdated references (i.e. Laconia State School and Training Center), and language that conflicts with Federal/State law (i.e. “Eligibility for participation in an approved program of special education shall be determined by the school board of the school district under rules adopted by the state board of education”);
• Brings NH law into compliance with IDEA 2004;
• Clarifies and updates the purpose to reflect the high expectations set for children with and without disabilities under No Child Left Behind and state law.
• Revises the definition of “a child with a disability” by adding a category for children with acquired brain injury and simplifies the eligibility process for a child with a developmental delay;
• Includes short-term objectives or benchmarks as part of each child’s IEP, unless the parent agrees that they are not necessary for one or more of the child’s annual goals;
• Promotes education in the least restrictive environment. Provides an incentive for school districts to help them build capacity to meet children’s needs within district;
• Strengthens the State Department of Education’s
• oversight, monitoring, technical assistance and accountability;
• Better ensures that eligible incarcerated children with disabilities receive special education;
• Makes the language in the section on extended
• school year services more consistent with that in IDEA and more clear regarding preschool children with disabilities;
• Adds facilitated IEP team meetings as an

additional (and free) alternative dispute resolution option; continued on page 21

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In Any Language or Culture Parents Make the Difference!

Tony, (20) is soft spoken and shy. He sat across from me as I asked him about his family's background. "I'm mixed, mulatto, my father is from DC, and my mother from Nashua. "I never saw them that much; I was raised by my grandparents." I didn't get support at home; I dropped out of school in the 10^th grade. I only had 2 credits in the 10^th grade. When I was a kid, my attendance in school was horrible. My mom never cared about what we did." At one point, Tony was absent from school for about 90 days. He attended Pennichuck Elementary and Elm Street Junior High.

What made Tony go back to school and get his GED? "It's my son," he says, "I don't want what happened to me, happen to him. Little Anthony is just 2 years old. "I want to be there for my son and give him a good life." Tony enrolled at the Adult Learning Center, finishing his GED. He plans to pursue a Commercial Driving License.

Tony's story could be the story of any young person or child from Mexico, the Sudan, Turkey, or any place in the world. The message is important. Parental involvement during a child's formative years is fundamental to a child's development: emotionally, physically, cognitively, and educationally. Parental involvement can make the difference!

New Hampshire is experiencing a growth in diversity. People, who dress, speak, eat, worship, and have different perspectives on life, are newcomers to the Live Free or Die state. Diversity in human culture brings interest and beauty. No matter how much diversity is celebrated, misunderstandings, misinformation, stereotypes, and fears can and do create animosity among people. New Hampshire has an opportunity to welcome and engage parents from diverse backgrounds to begin an exchange of ideas and dialogue – a dialogue to address their needs, fears, apprehensions, and dreams as they acclimate to US culture and society.

The Parent Information and Resource Center (PIRC) is presenting this opportunity to welcome parents from diverse cultures by holding a Multicultural Dinner and Dialogue. This Dinner and Dialogue invites parents to share their experiences and hopes for the future of their children.

The event is an opportunity to listen to parents as they begin to understand the educational system in New Hampshire. We look forward to parents telling us what is working for them in the school, what the shortcomings are, and the recommendations they have that will strengthen the relationship between themselves and the school.

The Dinner and Dialogue will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Manchester, NH. on Saturday November 15th from 5:00-8:00 pm. If you are interested and want further information, call Elena Acosta at 603-848-5669 or you may email her at eacosta@nhpirc.org. She would love to hear from you.

¡Octubre es el mes de Participación de los Padres en la Educación en NH!

Este octubre el gobernador John Lynch proclamará por primera vez la “Participación de los Padres en la educación” en el estado de NH. Este esfuerzo ha llegado acabo a través de la colaboración entre el estado de NH PIRC y otros programas dentro el Centro de Información para Padres, y el comisionario Dr. Lyonel Tracy y la comisaría suplente Mary Heath, los dos del Departamento de Educación de NH. Actualmente la oficina del gobernador está haciendo los últimos retoques en el texto de la proclamación que se anunciará alrededor del 1 de octubre, durante una conferencia de prensa planeada en Concord. Se publicará una copia de dicha proclamación por el Internet www.NHParentsMakeTheDifference.org.

El Centro de Información para Padres ha estado promoviendo por más de 30 años la participación de los padres en la educación de sus hijos. Nosotros creemos que cada niño puede mejorar en la escuela y en la vida cuando los padres toman una iniciativa en su educación. Pero usted no debe tomar nuestra palabra. La participación de los padres es una influencia positiva confirmada a través de muchos estudios de investigación. Estas investigaciones enseñan que cuando las familias toman un papel activo en la educación de sus hijos, los estudiantes de estas familias demuestran tasas más de 30% éxitos comparando con aquellas familias con baja participación de los padres. Estas medidas fueron hechas por promedios de puntos de grado y puntuaciones de pruebas en matemáticas, ciencias, lectura y ciencias sociales. Además, actividades en la casa tal como leer en voz alta y tener frecuentes discusiones familiares han mostrado que contribuyen al rendimiento del estudiante.

¿Cómo puede usted como padre estar más involucrado en la educación de sus niños? ¡No es tan duro como usted lo piensa!

Las avenidas tradicionales de participación como – asistir a las conferencias de padres y maestros y relacionarse con el PTA – son actividades en si maravillosas que harán una diferencia por siempre en la experiencia educativa de sus niños y además aumenta la calidad de la escuela. Pero hay cosas sencillas que usted puede hacer en el transcurso de la vida cotidiana que puede tener un gran impacto en el éxito académico y personal de sus niños.

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We’re about Partnerships Cheri Sullivan – Director, NH Connections

We are all familiar with the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” It reminds us that it’s not just one person’s responsibility to educate a child, it takes a community. Research has shown that when parents, communities and schools work together, our children are more successful. Children with disabilities have lower success rates both in and out of school compared with their typically developing peers. The additional challenges that children with disabilities face demonstrate an even greater need for us to work together for children’s success.

The mission of NH Connections is to strengthen and expand family-school-community partnerships to improve educational outcomes for children with disabilities. Through NH Connections Regional Resource Networks we promote partnerships throughout the state that include schools, agencies and parents working together to support children with disabilities in school and in the community. These partnership teams meet to identify needs and collaborate on how to respond to those needs. We have increased the ability of the community and school to increase the success of children through additional trainings, programs and resources.

The power of our parental involvement on these regional partnership teams cannot be overstated. Parents are critical to identifying needs; they bring a passion and an “out of the box” approach to solutions. Parents are the drive to sustain our work. They volunteer their time to make a difference for their child and for their community.

NH Connections is committed to supporting parents in building partnerships with their school and community. ₁₁ Successful partnerships have already begun. These collaborations are making trainings and resources available for parents, educators, and community members. Social skills groups, recreation programs, conferences and high school transition supports are some examples of what these partnerships can produce.

NH Connections is here to help “the village raise a child.” Our regional facilitators can provide guidance and support as you begin the process of developing partnership teams and/or other supports in your area. Network members have access to our Speaker’s Bureau and may decide to offer training as an introduction to forming this kind of partnership.

Partnerships can take on many forms or expressions; in Massachusetts many schools have Parent Advisory Councils and build partnerships that way. You may decide on another name or choose to affiliate with an organization such as the PTA and establish a Special Education PTA or SEPTA. SEPTAs have been formed across the country and are affiliated with the State/National PTA. Parents run these groups with the support and participation of their school staff. The group works together to understand the needs of students, parents and the school or school district and identify resources and expand opportunities to increase the success of children and youth with special education needs.

We invite you to be a part of the solution! Give NH Connections a call and find out more about how you can build community in your area to support all children while providing additional attention to the needs of children with disabilities. Call Cheri Sullivan, Director of NH Connections (800)947-7005, ext. 19 to learn more, or www.nhconnections.org.

Change Is In the Air, in Primary Care: The Family-Centered Medical Home

Your neighbor, Jack, calls to tell you that his family has found a doctor and nurse practitioner in the community who provide great primary care. They had been looking for good local health care for quite awhile. Jack was able to get an appointment for his daughter, Anna, right away. While at the appointment, a small team of staff spent time getting to know them. They collected information about Anna’s health and about the needs of her family. They recorded these needs to help staff remember. Before Anna’s follow up visit, a care coordinator from the office contacted Jack. She called to make sure the team and the family was prepared for the visit. The coordinator realized that no one had heard back from Anna’s specialists and promised to get any missing information. “The coordinator asked what our concerns were for the visit. This was new. Also, I didn’t know they would talk to Anna’s school. During the visit I was amazed when her doctor began by talking about our concerns. She also helped us to create a care plan for Anna. We feel safer and listened to. The doctor said that they call their practice a “family-centered medical home”. I think everyone should have one of those!”

Does this sound too good to be true? In NH scenes like this are becoming more common. Have you noticed anything different at your doctor’s office lately? Of course, they are as busy as ever. But change may be in the air. What is different may be that you are asked about the quality of your health care. For example, about what is going well and what could go better?

It now may be possible for you to go online and ask questions of your doctor or nurse. Instead of being told what to do for your child you are asked to be a partner in their care. Parents have been asking to be respected as their child’s care giver, teacher, and coordinator. Changes have been made in primary care; these now make a big difference to families. Doctor’s offices or practices are now rated for how the doctors and nurses listen and show respect for patients and families.

This is a direct result of family input. Health care is far too complex for any one person to know everything. Thus, parent and professional partnerships are important. Each team member needs to teach and learn from each other.

What does it mean to have a medical home? Why is there so much ‘buzz’ about it? We know that the health care system needs improvement. But, there has been little agreement on how to improve until lately. Having a strong relationship with one’s doctor or nurse is an important first step. The medical home is excellence in primary care – compassion, continuity, coordination, and consideration for the beliefs of families. Having a medical home means that you have a “go to” team at your doctor’s office. The medical home is a central place when you need it. Staff at the medical home help you to find your way through the health care system.

continued on pg 15

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October is Parent Involvement….continued from page 1

How can you as a parent be more involved in your child’s education? It’s not as hard as you think! Many of the traditional avenues of parent involvement – attending parent-teacher conferences and getting involved with the PTA – are of course wonderful activities that will make a lasting difference in your child’s educational experience, as well as increase the quality of the school. But there are simpler things that you can do in the course of day-to-day life that can also have a great impact on your child’s academic and personal success. Here are some ideas to consider:

• Let your child know that school is important. Be sure to ask questions about school and homework, and set up a quiet place for your child to work.
• Read everything that is sent home from school – report cards, homework assignments, school lunch plans, vacation and bus schedules. Show your child that you are well informed.
• Encourage your child to read at home. Let your child see you reading and have books and magazines around the house.
• Explore ways to interact with your child by sharing facts, perceptions and opinions related to things you are reading.
• Challenge your child to read the book before seeing the movie based on the book.
• When your child asks for help with homework, provide guidance, not answers. It’s not your job to know your child’s classroom material. You can help best by asking questions, giving encouragement, and having your child review class notes, completed homework and tests. You can always call or write a note to the teacher if your child is struggling.
• Learn to ask questions and share thoughts that promote critical thinking. Some good questions might be: “What is the purpose of that?” “Why did that happen?” “What do you think the solution might be”? “Is there another way to look at that problem or issue?”
• Be willing to learn from your child, and express your appreciation for the gift of his or her knowledge and enthusiasm.

Please join us in celebrating Parent Involvement in Education month this October. We encourage all parents to invest in their children’s future by taking some of these simple steps this coming school year. Please visit www.NHParentsMakeTheDifference.org for more information and ideas promoting parent involvement in education.

A personal visit from Angela Kenneson-Comeau, Parent Educator, Rumney NH

Personal visits are the heart of the Parents as Teachers program. PAT is an award-winning, research-based parent education and support program that can help make the most of a child’s crucial years for development, from conception through age five. Launched in 1981 by the Missouri Department of Education, PAT is currently in fifty states and eight other countries.

PAT educators individualize the program for each family. A parent educator helps parents understand their child’s development month-by-month and offers practical suggestions on how to use simple, everyday activities to give children the best possible start - intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically. The parent educator also addresses parents’ specific concerns and offers tips on discipline, toy and book selection, creating a safe and stimulating environment, as well as building healthy and happy parent-child relationships. All the parenting skills acquired through the PAT program are valuable throughout childhood and adolescence.

Each personal visit begins with rapport-building, getting to know the parent and child. Throughout the visits, the parent educator will consider the whole child as she shares specific observations related to each area and stage of development. Discussions occur throughout the visit around child development and there is lots of time to go over parent comments and concerns. Parents are shown fun activities they can do with their child.

Here’s a great example of a simple activity you and your child can do together for some ‘chemistry in the kitchen’ fun: Cornstarch Ooze.

This particular activity is important because children gain understanding of science concepts not by listening to and remembering scientific explanations, but by observing, exploring, and problem-solving with objects in their environment. Children love opportunities to explore with all their senses. Your encouragement as they make observations and comparisons supports their learning. Cornstarch ooze has unusual properties that stimulate the child’s senses and observation skills (it acts like a liquid but feels like a solid). Squeezing and touching a variety of textures and materials helps children develop their sense of touch.

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Change Is In the Air..continued from page 12

New Hampshire’s Center for Medical Home Improvement (CMHI)) defines the medical home as: “A community-based primary care setting which provides and coordinates high quality, planned, family - centered health promotion and chronic condition management.”

Primary care doctors and nurses want to be a welcoming medical home for their patients. Yet they face challenges and constant demands upon their time. CMHI (like many other groups across the country) support health care teams, helping them to improve their “medical homeness”. CMHI guides practice staff to partner with families and find out what they need. They help practices to coordinate care and teach them how to use care plans.

There has been little support across our country for primary care practices. Yet, studies show that when people have a relationship with a primary care doctor or nurse, things improve. They are healthier. They miss less work and school. They don’t use the emergency room or need the hospital as much. Primary care is becoming more valued. Things are starting to change. In the future, medical homes may even be paid more for providing great care, like Anna’s.

Conway Family Involvement Hits the Road

By Mandy McDonald, Family Support Liaison

Family involvement at Conway Elementary School in Conway, NH, is getting better each year. We have had a Family Support Liaison in our building since 2000. We began a partnership with NH State PIRC in the spring of 2007. We will continue this fall to work on our targeted goals for communication, study skills, homework, and literacy.

This fall we will be incorporating some exciting new tasks into our plan: driving our new roving bookmobile to local communities to get books into the hands of our students and parents; doing home visits to every second grader and bringing them study boxes filled with school supplies; doing a workshop for incoming kindergarten parents titled "Kindergarten Readiness"; and hopefully providing an "Interactive Reading" workshop.

We will continue to do the work we started last year by re-offering parent courses Raising Good Kids and Studying at Home. We started a wonderful but simple two-way communication tool "The Cougar Gram" which we will continue to utilize. At our Open House we will roll out our newly revamped "Title I Compact" which we hope to make more visible in classrooms and homes, so it becomes a living, working document as opposed to a piece of paper that gets forgotten about. As you can see, we have a lot of work ahead of us….I can hardly wait to get started!

I recently attended the National PIRC conference in Baltimore. It was energizing, powerful, and absolutely amazing! I was honored to not only be a participant but also a presenter. Karen Gerdts, PIRC Coordinator for Partnership Development, and I discussed the strengths of our family/school/ community partnership. We began by explaining the importance of using evidence based strategies; NH State PIRC uses Solid Foundations. We then explained how PIRC reaches out to schools/organizations and offers a variety of services, but more importantly also asks, "What can we do for you?" PIRC recognizes that each school, PTA, child care center, etc. will have individual and unique needs. We went on to discuss variables and resources which are integral in getting action plans written and accomplished.

Our presentation was well received; schools are looking for ideas on how to expand family involvement. We had a great deal of information packed into the session and we definitely added a little bit of fun and humor which made it our own!

Thanks to the National PIRC and the NH State PIRC - John Michael Dumais, Heather Thalheimer, and Karen Gerdts - for making the trip possible and for believing in me.

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New Hampshire’s Special Education Laws ..continued from page 6

Preschool:

• Describes the interagency agreement between Family Centered Early Supports and Services (ESS) and the school district to facilitate the transition process from Part C to Part B;
• Provides a continuum of alternative learning environments for preschool children, with descriptions for each setting;

Child Find:

• Revises Child Find requirements so Child Find responsibilities begin at 2.5 years.
• Adopts IDEA’s new requirements for parentally-placed private school children with disabilities, including making the liable district the district in which the child’s private school is located;

• Keeps NH’s current 45-day evaluation timeline (with 1 mutually-agreed upon 15-day extension);
• Clarifies the type of evaluations to be conducted and qualified evaluators for each disability category;

IEPs:

• Includes short-term objectives or benchmarks as part of each child’s IEP, unless the parent agrees that they are not necessary for one or more of the child’s annual goals;
• Continues to require planning for transition services, with a focus on the child’s courses of study to be included in the IEP beginning by age 14;
• Keeps the “sufficiency statement” (whether the child’s progress is sufficient to meet the annual goal) as part of the regular report to the parents of the child’s progress towards his/ her annual goals;
• Refers to the IDEA statute instead of the IDEA regulations in the definition of related services (IDEA regulations exclude the optimization or maintenance of a surgically-implanted medical device – including mapping of a cochlear implant – as a related service).
• Establishes that notice be provided 72 hours before a meeting when an IEP team member wishes to be excused (or when the member’s absence is known, whichever is soonest);
• Requires the school district to either schedule or convene an IEP meeting or provide the parents with a written prior notice detailing why the district is refusing to convene an IEP meeting within 21 days of a parental request for such a meeting;

Frechette praised the local library, but pointed out not every child can get there to pick up books."If we can get six to 10 books in a child's hands over the summer they will be able to maintain their reading standards. After two months out of the classroom we've found there is reading regression if the child isn't reading on a regular basis."

Frechette Tire purchased and then donated a 1990 Grumman Van to Conway Elementary to be used by the district for educational purposes. In a letter to the school board, Penny Frechette, of Frechette Tire, stated, "The Conway School District will own the van, however, Frechette Tire will donate services such as ongoing maintenance, tires and winter storage."

Gasoline will be funded through the Conway PTO.

Regression over the summer months in the area of reading is a huge concern among all elementary school students," Conway Elmentary staff stated in its proposal to the school board. "It is our goal to decrease the amount of regression by simply getting children to read over the summer.

Our community offers a number of summer programs aimed at this cause; however, the reality is that many students will not take part in these programs due to lack of transportation or family support. The roving bookmobile will bring reading to the students in an exciting and fun way. By reaching out to our community, we will continue to bridge the gap between home and school and remind parents about the importance of reading."

Students at Conway Elementary will get an opportunity to name the van this coming school year in a school-wide naming contest.

The van, according to Aimee Frechette, will house multiple books at various reading levels for children. The children will be able to keep the books.

"The first two distributions are going to be free books," Frechette explained. "We may do a take (a book), leave (a book) later on. We received a number of gently-used books this spring from a book drive at the school. Hopefully, down the road we may be able to offer books to high school students and parents as well."

Anyone wishing to drop off books for the bookmobile can do so with bins located at Frechette Tire off the West Side Road and in a bin in front of Conway Elementary School.

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The Power …...continued from page 4

Seeing Results

We began to see results of our efforts fairly quickly. Parents noted that they felt a strong connection with the school, were treated with dignity and respect, and felt that their opinions mattered to the school. Staff were focused on the goal of increasing parental involvement and worked this into their efforts over time. Our PTO grew in numbers, and our volunteer hours increased as well. We were all noticing a change. As a result of these efforts, Amherst Street School was removed from the School In Need of Improvement listing in 2008 after meeting AYP for all subgroups for two years in a row. We owe this success to our teachers, students, and parents!

Celebrations

Schools charged with doing the hard work of helping all children meet with success can’t do it alone. By engaging parents in a positive way, everyone has a better chance!

For more information contact: John-Michael Dumais - NH State PIRC

(603) 848-5665 or email jmdumais@nhpirc.org

New Hampshire’s Special Education Laws ..continued from page 17

Discipline:

• Includes expanded sections on child management, emphasizing positive behavioral supports, prohibiting the use of aversives (maintaining language in current rules) and establishing strict limits and procedures for the use of restraints;
• Adopts IDEA’s new discipline (suspension/expulsion) requirements, but requires that services a child receives during suspensions provide the child an opportunity to progress in the general education curriculum consistent with the child’s IEP;

Monitoring:

• Continues to require that a complete copy of the IEP be given to each of the child’s teachers/ service providers and to the parents;
• Strengthens and clarifies NH’s monitoring, enforcement and corrective action processes;
• Requires weekly on-site monitoring/visits to any extended school year (ESY) or transition service setting that is based outside of school;
• Other:
• Adds many new definitions, including terms defined in IDEA, and others used in the NH Rules;
• Adopts IDEA’s new requirements (also in NCLB) regarding highly qualified teachers (does not apply to private school teachers), but adds that if it is an IEP team placement, the child’s teachers must meet State certification requirements;
• Adopts IDEA’s new prohibition on mandatory medication; and
• Adopts IDEA’s new requirement & timeline for a resolution session when a parent files a due process hearing request.

The Parent Information Center on Special Education presents FREE workshops to provide parents, educators and others with the most up-to-date information on their rights and responsibilities in the NH special education process. Visit PIC’s workshop calendar at www.picnh.org

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• Allows courts to award reimbursement for expert witness fees to a parent who prevails at a due process hearing, but only “when the court determines that a school has not acted in good faith in developing or implementing the child’s individualized education program, including appropriate placement”; and
• Improves coordination between schools and other agencies serving children in order to avoid duplication and prevent delays in children receiving services when agencies disagree over who is financially responsible, and to promote better transitions when children enter school from early supports and services and transition from high school to post-secondary education, employment, adult living and/or service systems.
• HB 679:
• Requires that police and others involved in the criminal justice system notify the responsible school district when they are placing a child into a juvenile diversion program;
• Mandates that juvenile courts ask court-involved children and their families whether there is evidence of a disability, and requires that children with disabilities consult with an attorney before giving up their right to counsel;
• Requires the school district to investigate whether a child has a disability and needs special education when notified by a juvenile court that a student is involved in a juvenile case; and
• Clarifies that public charter schools may not discriminate on the basis of disability.

¡Octubre es el mes …...continued from page 15

♦ Esté dispuesto a aprender de su hijo, y expresar su apreciación por el regalo de su conocimiento y entusiasmo.

Por favor únase en celebrar con nosotros en la “Participación de los Padres en la Educación” en este mes de octubre. Queremos fomentar a todos los padres que inviertan en el futuro de sus hijos en tomando algunas iniciativas sencillas en este año escolar.

Por favor visite nuestra página del Web, www.NHParentsMakeTheDifference.org, para mayor información e ideas promoviendo la participación de los padres en la educación. Como siempre si usted le gustaría algún consejo, ayuda o oportunidades de aprendizaje, usted puede contactarnos al Centro de Información para Padres al (800) 947-7005, o visite www.parentinformationcenter.org. Si le gustaría asistir a la conferencia de prensa donde el gobernador estará leyendo la Proclamación, por favor escriba a info@nhpirc.org o llame a PIC y nosotros con mucho gusto le enviaremos los detalles.

Elena Acosta 603-848-5669

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October is Parent Involvement….continued from page 13

As always, if you would like any advice, assistance, or learning opportunities, you may contact the Parent Information Center at (800) 947-7005, or visit www.parentinformationcenter.org. If you would like to attend the press conference where the Governor will be reading the Proclamation, please write to info@nhpirc.org or call PIC and we will be happy to send you details.

i Fan, Xitao, and Chen, Michael, Parental Involvement and Student's Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis, National Science Foundation; National Center for Education Statistics, 1999, as summarized on http://www.par-inst.com/educator/resources/research/research.php.

ii Epstein, J.L. (1991) Effects on Student Achievement of Teacher Practices of Parent Involvement. In S. Silvern (ed.) Advances in Reading/Language Research, Vol. 5. Literacy Through Family, Community and School Interaction. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, as summarized on http://www.par-inst.com/educator/resources/research /research.php

For more information contact: John-Michael Dumais - NH State PIRC

(603) 848-5665 or email jmdumais@nhpirc.org

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The Parent Information Center is having an

Auction!

Saturday November 8, 2008 6:00 - 9:00 PM Holiday Inn 172 North Main St Concord NH 03301

Please RSVP - 603-224-7005

NH Coalition for Citizens With Disabilities, Inc. dba The Parent Information Center

P.O. Box 2405 Concord, NH 03302