215 Centennial Mall South, Suite 200 Lincoln, NE 68508 Hours: 8 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday

Director: Dr. Lisa St Clair Phone: 877-843-6651 Evaluator: Barb Jackson, Ph.D. Evaluator affiliation: University of Nebraska Medical Center

State PIRC Board:

Diane Stuehmer, Title I Director, Nebraska Department of Education
Karen Stevens, 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant Director, Nebraska Department of Education
Kyle McGowan, Superintendent, Crete Public Schools
Teri Dameron, Ponca Tribe of Nebraska
Melanie Luedtke-Taylor, Nebraska PTA
Barb Bartle, Lincoln Public Schools Foundation
Helen Raikes, Professor, University of Nebraska Lincoln
Mark Smith, Family Advocate, Monroe-Meyer Institute
Jessie Rasmussen, Vice President, Buffett Early Childhood Fund

Special Advisory Committees:

Committee of Practitioners
Parent Advisory Committee
Partners Committee

The Nebraska State PIRC is a collaborative project of the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, Munroe-Meyer Institute/University of Nebraska Medical Center, and the Nebraska Department of Education. Its goals are to provide information and resources to both parents and educators in order to strengthen partnerships between schools and families. The statewide advisory board is comprised of leaders from communities throughout Nebraska.

Parental Engagement Model
Solid Foundation curriculum framework (Academic Development Institute)

Early Childhood Model
Beautiful Beginnings early childhood curriculum and Getting Ready Intervention

Major Activities
Together, project staff and partners have identified four key activities for the Nebraska PIRC. First, parent involvement policy will be developed, articulated, and disseminated to Nebraska schools through a collaborative effort of the Nebraska Department of Education, community partners, project staff, and the project advisory board. Beginning in year two, the Nebraska PIRC will utilize the Solid Foundation curriculum framework (Academic Development Institute) to work with a total of 65 Title I school buildings by the end of the grant period in order to improve parental involvement practices and policies. These 65 schools throughout Nebraska will become Satellite PIRCs and will disseminate information and resources to area families.

Additionally, six targeted communities will implement Model PIRCs to provide individualized parenting education to families of children birth through age five. These programs will use the Beautiful Beginnings (Raikes & Whitmer) early childhood curriculum, or a comparable curriculum if the targeted community is already using Parents as Teachers (PAT) or Creative Curriculum, and any of these curriculums will be paired with the Getting Ready Intervention (Sheridan, et al).