Engaging Parents in Education: Lessons From Five Parental Information and Resource Centers 
The Mission of NH State PIRC
The NH Parent Information and Resource Center (NH PIRC) is a US Department of Education-funded program. Our mission is to support student academic achievement by increasing parental involvement in children’s education and promoting school-family-community partnerships.
NHPIRC offers workshops, publications, toolkits, newsletters, tip sheets, and support to parents, PTA’s, schools, school districts, and community organizations. In most cases, our services are entirely free.
History of NH State PIRC
in the fall of 2006, The Parent Information Center was awarded with a 5-year, $2.8 million grant to expand parent involvement in their children's education. The grant also requires 10.76% cost-sharing by PIC, including in-kind donations.
The PIRC (Parent Information and Resource Center) project has three levels of impact for promoting and supporting parent involvement:
- Statewide media and educational outreach, including an information and resource hotline and website about No Child Left Behind
- Targetted technical assistance and training for developing and strengthening family-school-community partnerships. This level will also include the development of a Parent Leadership Network statewide.
- Intensive-level support in primarily two areas: a) school-level support for developing a school-community index for increasing parent involvement and assist in school improvement plans for increasing student achievement, and b) training and support for early literacy for children birth to 5.
The Parent Information was previously the site of a state PIRC, from 1995-2003. Due to federal budget priorities, NH was not awarded a PIRC contract for the period between 2003-2006.
About The Parent Information Center
In January of 1977, the New Hampshire Coalition for Citizens With Disabilities, Inc. established a Parent Information Center as a means of providing information, training and support to families of children with disabilities in New Hampshire. From its inception to the present, the Parent Information Center has demonstrated an ability to identify and respond to the changing needs of children and families in N.H.
In 1995, PIC expanded services to families of disabled, non-disabled, and at-risk children through a system of interrelated services. The Parent Information Center is a recognized leader in building strong family/school partnerships and a pioneer in promoting effective parent involvement in the special education process.
