1135 Tremont Street, Suite 420 Boston, MA 02120 Web site: http://www.pplace.org Hours: 9 am - 5 pm, Monday - Friday

Director: Ms. Margaret C. O'Hare Phone: 617-399-8344 Fax: 617-572-2094 Evaluator: Kate Gill Kressley Evaluator affiliation: RMC Research Corporation

State PIRC Board:

Roxanne Chandler-Hoke, parent
Pilar Godoy, parent
Tracy Collins, parent
Janis McManus, Title I Specialist, MA DOE
Stuart Peskin, Director, Title I Dissemination Project, Inc.
Wendy Grolnik, Massachusetts Board of Education Parent and Community Education and Involvement Advisory Group, Clark University
Katherine Sullivan, Family Network Coordinator
Michelle Tremont, President, Massachusetts PTA
Kim Hunt, President-Elect, Massachusetts PTA
Gail DeRiggi, Department of Early Education and Care
William Henderson, Principal, Boston Public Schools
Danielle Gantt, Black Ministerial Alliance
Jenny Cintron, Director, ABCD Boston Hispanic Center
Melissa Colon, Gaston Institute
Stanley Pollack, Executive Director, Center for Teen Empowerment.

Special Advisory Committees:

Massachusetts Statewide Board of Advisors will create working Advisory Committees on an as-needed basis. Members will be solicited statewide and consist of stakeholders, such as parents, educators, school administrators, community organization representatives, state agency representatives, higher education researchers, and students. The Advisory Committees are:

• Steering Committee: provide leadership and guidance for the Statewide Board of Advisors and Massachusetts PIRC
• Regional Advisory Committees: address issues specific to regions of the state
• Ad Hoc Advisory Committees: focus on specific relevant issues on a temporary and statewide basis

The purpose of the Massachusetts State PIRC is to enhance the capacities of parents, families, schools, and school districts to improve children’s school readiness and students’ academic achievement through increased parental participation and through use of NCLB provisions and options. The goals are:

1. To establish, expand, and enhance the operation of early childhood parent education programs using the research-proven Parents As Teachers (PAT) model to further the developmental progress and enhance the school-readiness of children ages birth through 5 in economically and educationally disadvantaged families.
2. To implement broad statewide strategies to enhance the ability of Massachusetts parents, including economically and educationally disadvantaged families, to participate in their children’s education and communicate effectively with their children’s schools.
3. To increase parents’ understanding of and ability to access NCLB provisions related to School Report Cards and opportunities for Public School Choice and Supplemental Educational Services.
4. To assist Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) in the development and implementation of School Parental Involvement Policies (under Title I) through the provision of technical assistance to schools, districts, and parent leaders to support improved student achievement and school performance.

1. Providing resources and ongoing technical assistance to Parents AsTeachers programs and increasing networking among other early childhood parent education programs;
2. developing reader-friendly publications for parents on research-based strategies for helping their children gain school-readiness skills and be successful in school;
3. developing reader-friendly publications for parents and educators on key NCLB provisions (all publications are in English, Spanish, and Portuguese);
4. conducting outreach efforts to community-based and faith-based organizations to provide information and resources to families about education;
5. conducting workshops statewide on NCLB and parental involvement (English, Spanish, and Portuguese);
6. providing intensive technical assistance on NCLB, Title I, Section 1118, to 6 targeted districts across the state, and working with the state DOE on technical assistance and professional development opportunities;
7. providing individual assistance via telephone information line;
8. providing online information and resources through trilingual Website www.pplace.org.

How the Work Plan Meets the Needs of Parents
All information and resources disseminated by Massachusetts PIRC are specially designed to address family concerns in a format and in languages families understand. Massachusetts PIRC works with community-based and faith-based organizations to disseminate this information and support families around educational issues and works with schools and districts to make schools places where parents’ participation is welcome.

Alignment of Work to Statewide PIRC Efforts
Massachusetts PIRC has based its goals and activities on a program design that calls for a statewide, comprehensive set of research-based approaches that address the need for a continuum of information, training, and technical assistance aimed at enhancing parental involvement. All resources are targeted to districts with the highest needs as determined by the number of schools identified for improvement, the greatest percentages of minority and limited-English proficient students and of those living in poverty.