This document outlines best practices for collaboration between parents and child study teams. It emphasizes that the child should be the main focus of collaborative efforts and that all parties should agree to communicate respectfully. Key decisions that parents and teams make together are also discussed. The document then describes strategies for creating meaningful partnerships, including the roles parents play in supporting their child's education. It presents a "Right Question Strategy" to help parents effectively participate in decisions regarding their child, including a process for formulating questions and a framework for accountable decision making.

1. Building
Consensus:
Best Practices
For
Collaboration
Between
Parents &
Child Study
Teams

2. Defining
Terms
• Consensus
-­‐
• Collaboration -
• Parents
• Child Study
Team

3. Decisions
That
Parents
&
Child
Study
Teams
Make
Together

4. Where
To
Begin
Child Is Main Focus
Agreement between
all parties that the
child is the
centerpiece of the
collaborative effort.
Respect & Regard
Agreement that the
process will move
forward in an
atmosphere of
respect & regard for
all participants.
Communication
Agreement on a
uniform
communication
framework; face
to face,
telephone, email.

5. Crea=ng
Meaningful
Parent-­‐Team
Partnerships

6. Parents
Play
Three
Key
Roles
They support
their child’s
education from
home. They monitor
their progress.
They advocate for
them when
necessary.

7. How
CST
Foster
Parental
Growth
- By helping them to
formulate and use
questions effectively.
-By helping them
participate effectively
with decisions that
affect their child.

8. Parent,
Child
Study
Teams
Other
Stakeholders
Principals
School
Counselors Advocates Teachers
?
Who Else?

9. - Adaptive
- Flexible in role
- Begin as you mean
to end
- Case Management
vs. Expertise in a
Discipline
- Uniform
Communication
Among Team
Members
- Doing/Sharing Your
Homework
Partnership
Strategies
for
CST
Members:

10. The
Right
Ques=on
Strategy
• Deceptively simple strategy that can be used with all
parents
• Greatly enhances any parents’ ability to partner more
effectively with educators on behalf their child
• Has three core components; one set of specific roles
for parents to play and two skills that allow them to
play those roles more effectively.

11. Ques=on
Formula=on
Technique
Produce their own questions
Work with and improve their own
questions
Prioritize their questions
Strategize on next steps and
how to use their questions
Reflect on what was learned
by working with their questions
Five
Step
Process
That
Allows
Parents
To:

12. The
Framework
For
Accountable
Decision
Making
• One
of
three
core
components
of
the
Right
Ques=on
Strategy
can
be
used
alone.
• Provides
parents
with
a
simple
structure
that
makes
it
easier
to
understand.
• Par=cipate
more
effec=vely
in
cri=cal
decisions
that
affect
their
child.

13. Building
Founda=onal
Skills
to
Par=cipate
Effec=vely
in
The
IEP
Process
Schools and students would greatly
benefit from parents playing an active,
confident role in the development and
implementation of IEP’s.
Being savvy begins with the ability to
identify decisions and understand that
any decision is the selection of one
option among two or more.
Then knowing what a decision is, the
parent can apply the three criteria in
the Framework For Accountable
Decision Making.

14. Three
Criteria
Applying
to
Decisions
Using
the
Framework
for
Accountable
Decision
Making:
Legitimate
Reasons For
The Decisions
Transparency
Throughout
Decision Making
Process
Making The
Parents Central
To All Decisions

15. The
FADM
Then
Enables
Parents
To
:
Produce their
own questions
about options,
reasons, process
and role.
Improve their
questions.
Strategize on
how to use their
questions in the
best interest of
their child.