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Bring a Free Early Childhood Literacy Workshop to your School or Library this Summer!

NH State PIRC has a corps of volunteers ready and willing to teach parents of children birth-5 years how to help their children make the most of story books and language. If you are in a parent-teacher group, parent support group, play group, or something similar, and can help organize the event, our volunteers can come and offer the workshops for free. Please see this web page or call Kimm at 848-5446. Read more about our early literacy workshops.

PIC Volunteers Celebrated on April 21

It was a cool drizzly evening outside, but inside there was a warm glow of gratitude and thankfulness as the Parent Information Center recently held its first Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at the NH Audubon’s McLane Center in Concord NH. Celebrating the work of the Board of Directors, Volunteer Advocates and Let’s Read Together early literacy volunteers, Heather Thalheimer, Executive Director welcomed the nearly 50 attendees with distinctive Lindt chocolate-filled goblets as she recognized each volunteer’s unique contribution to assisting the agency with supporting educational achievement for NH families.

Volunteers enjoyed a catered Italian buffet from the Common Man, and an inspiring talk from Lewis Feldstein, President of the NH Charitable Foundation (and former wine steward to John Wayne). Lew referred to the volunteers as the real supermodels of our times — models who are not grounded in their own image and needs but in serving others and sharing their talents, passion and most importantly time.

Each volunteer attending was recognized with a certificate of appreciation and long-stemmed rose before the Harvard Din & Tonics, Harvard University's signature all-male a cappella singing group, entertained attendees. Performing in white tie, tails, and lime green socks, they created one of the evening’s highlights by inviting John-Michael Dumais, NH PIRC Director and an original Din and Tonic member, to join the group for a snappy rendition of Shboom Shboom.

We wish to thank again all of our volunteers for the extraordinary work you do, without which we could not be nearly as effective as an organization. You truly are making a difference to families in NH.

New Resource!

Check out the Parent Information Center on Special Education’s updated webpage. We hope you enjoy this easy-to-use website, complete with frequently asked questions and resources on special education and related topics. Click here to enter the site or go to www.nhspecialed.org

Partnerships for Student Success (P4SS)

Partnerships for Student Success (P4SS): A practical guide to partnerships in action including special education.

Partnerships for Student Success (P4SS) is a model for creating and sustaining school, family and community relationships and activities, developed by NH Connections who's vision is that P4SS groups successfully connect families, schools and communities, creating a welcoming environment, to engage family involvement for the success of all students.

The P4SS workshop includes a power point presentation and a ready-to-use guide to equip you to develop and support your school improvement groups, advisory groups, parent support groups and special education groups toward increased performance and sustainability. download guide

P4E Conference a Success!

On March 21, 2009, over 180 people attended the second annual Partnerships for Education Conference at Southern NH University. Participants were nearly unanimous in their praise for the keynote address of Dr. Steven Constantino of Family Friendly Schools.

Dr. Constantino shared from his personal experience as principal of one of the lowest-performing high schools in Virginia, and with humorous anecdotes told the story of how he helped turn the school around through a vigorous program of reaching out to families.

Parents Make the Difference

The Parents Make the Difference website is now active. This site is now being mentioned in newspapers and on radio all over NH. The site is designed to promote parent involvement and school-family-community partnerships from the point of view of both parents and schools. It contains a number of downloadable resources, including NH State PIRC brochures and flyers, and a complete list of workshops offered by PIC.

Regarding www.NHParentsMakeTheDifference.org, the NH Department of Education has said, "[We are] proud to partner with the Parent Information Center to provide this resource. This Web site contains information to promote parent involvement and strong school-family-community partnerships. As a child's first teacher, the parent or guardian is critical in those early learning years of development in helping to build literacy skills, vocabulary, and most importantly igniting and nurturing the child's innate curiosity and love for learning.

They need our attention at birth to realize a complete Follow The Child initiative. It is crucial to reach out to parents about the importance of early learning and its impact on long term success in school and life, as well as encourage them to be actively involved in their child's education at school and at home."

Let’s Read Together

April 28 9:30 - 2:00 Interactive Reading Storybooks and Storytelling

NH State Parent Information and Resource Center (PIRC) is offering free volunteer training to provide Interactive Reading workshops to parents of 3-year-old to kindergarten-age children. This "train the trainer" model prepares participants to facilitate workshops to parents, neighbors and colleagues in the community.

The Parent Information Center’s first Wrightslaw Conference was a smashing success. 170 parents and educators came together to learn important rights and valuable advocacy strategies.

Mark your calendars for October 28, 2010 when Pete Wright will be back.

If you missed the Wrightslaw conference last month you still have a chance to obtain a copy of Pete Wright’s books: From Emotions to Advocacy and Special Education Law by calling PIC at (603) 224-7005 The cost of both books is $35.00

On July 11, 2008, in front of more than 70 people, Governor John Lynch signed legislation to revise and update NH’s special education laws. This was the culmination of a 3-year process, in which many, many parents, educators and others participated. The level of public participation was unprecedented.

The Parent Information Center wishes to express our deepest appreciation to the Governor and the legislature for demonstrating such a strong commitment to children with disabilities, and such a high regard for those who wished to be involved in the process.