Connections: Creating a Positive School Culture

  by Uniting Families and Schools

What Is Connections?

Connections is a Parent Training Program.  Connections represents a collaborative effort between families and educators who share a common vision that all children have value and must have successful educational opportunities in order to accomplish their dreams.

The Connections Program is delivered in three ways:

1. The Trainer of Trainer Program was developed to give people committed to educating families of children with disabilities information on how to teach families to work with schools to achieve success for their children.

2. The Connections Workshops are components of the program presented independent of the rest of the curriculum.

3. Connections Clinics are an opportunity for families to work together on specific issues regarding the education of their child.

(See our Calendar of Events for Workshops/Clinics)

The Purpose of Connections

Connections is designed to be flexible. Each section of the manual can be used as an individual training, or the manual can be presented in its entirety, over the course of a day. Each group will have to make decisions based on the unique needs of their audience and consider where the families are in their learning, what information will be most meaningful, and time and travel constraints. Facilitators should consider the benefit of presenting Connections over time, thereby giving families and/or professionals the opportunity to get together and form a relationship that will benefit the participants as they work through the education process.

Each section of Connections includes:

• activities

• facilitator tips

• applicable powerpoints and handouts

We have attempted to include a variety of materials for each section and recognize that each audience will bring a unique perspective. Every facilitator will have the challenge of meeting the unique needs of their audience. We feel that we have provided materials that will cover many bases. It is our desire to present Connections in an experiential fashion as research shows that adult learners gain the most benefit from this method of training. We believe that when schools and families work together, our children will learn and grow. It is critically important that the facilitator use People First Language and model the appropriate way to speak about children with disabilities. Language shapes the images that society has about our children. Referring to children by their names is simply one opportunity that we cannot ignore. Facilitators should review the People First Language section of Connecting to the Communication Skills for more information on People First Language.

Connections is filled with unique and exciting information. It was designed with the knowledge that each Connections experience would look different based on the individual needs of the audience. We would love to hear from you regarding what works best for your audience so that we can share good strategies with other groups. Our greatest desire in developing this resource is that families and schools connect and work toward the success of each and every child.

What is in Connections? 

Section 1:

Connecting to the Manual…An Introduction

 

Section 2:

Connecting as a Facilitator…Facilitator Guidelines

 

Section 3:

Connecting to Yourself…Building a Foundation

 

Section 4:

Connecting to Communication Skills

 

Section 5:

Connecting to the School…Creating a Positive School Culture

 

Section 6:

Connecting to the Team…The ARD/IEP Process

 

Section 7:

Connecting to the Education Resources (Including the fabulous WEBLIOGRAPHY! and Texas Project FIRST website)

 

Funding for this Project:

Connections was originally developed by Family to Family Network with a grant from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities.

The contents included in Connections do not necessarily reflect the endorsement or opinion of TCDD.

Many of the materials from the Connections trainings can be found on our Texas Project FIRST website.