P.O. Box 2405
Concord, NH 03302
Web site: http://www.parentinformationcenter.org
Hours: 9 am - 5 pm, Monday - Friday
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Director:
Mr. John-Michael Dumais
Phone: 603-224-7005
Fax: 603-224-4365
Evaluator: Kate Gill Kressley
Evaluator affiliation: RMC
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State PIRC Board:Dottie Fair, Director, State Title I Office
Jo-Ann Mulligan, Educator, Early Reading First
Michelle Lewis, Director, Parent, Supporting Successful Early Childhood Transitions (SSECT) Project
Grace Jeffrey Nelson, Coordinator of Public Education and School Support, NH NEA
Charlene Mayo, Special Education Resource Specialist, Parent, NH PTI
Angela Robarge, Executive Director, NH PTA
Eric Mann, Co-Director, PBIS-NH/ NH CEBIS
Michael Geanoulis, President, National Congress for Fathers and Children, NH Chapter—Also member of NH Commission on the Status of Men
Sue Stepick, Program Director, State Title III/ESOL Office
Deb Naro, Executive Director, CADY, Inc. (Communities for Alcohol- and Drug Free Youth) Special Advisory Committees: - Minority/ELL
- Urban
- North Country
- Literacy
- Youth
The New Hampshire State PIRC builds the capacity of parents and school personnel to effectively communicate, expand parent involvement education, build strong school-family-community partnerships, and link families to community resources. As a result, students will have access to the support they need to achieve high standards.
Goal 1: Increase parents’ knowledge of NH’s accountability system, their children’s public school choice options, and opportunities for supplemental services.
Goal 2: Develop and strengthen Family/School/Community Partnerships to better meet the educational needs of children.
Goal 3: Support parent involvement practices for parents of children 0-5 to improve student achievement.
Goal 4: Support parent involvement practices for school age children to improve student academic achievement.
Goal 5: Network at the national, state & local level to support parent involvement in children’s education.
Parental Engagement Model
NH PIRC promotes Joyce Epstein’s 6 types of parent involvement: Parenting, Communicating, Volunteering, Learning at Home, Decision Making. and Collaborating with the Community.
Major Activities:
- Building and strengthening family-school-community partnerships through workshops and technical assistance around such topics as home/school communication, learning standards, learning at home, study skills, and parent involvement.
- Working intensively with Title I schools to assess and increase parent involvement practices and support existing school improvement efforts. Current efforts are underway with 5 schools in Manchester, Nashua, and North Conway.
- Statewide media and educational outreach, including a hotline and parent-friendly website about No Child Left Behind, school choice, supplemental educational services, school report cards, and parent involvement.
- Support for ethnic and minority communities with workshops, technical assistance and written materials offered in Spanish and other languages.
Early Childhood Model
NH PIRC’s early childhood efforts are focused on helping parents actively support the development of pre-literacy skills in their children.
Major Activities:
- NH PIRC offers trainings in the Hanen language development method for professionals and community organizations such as Easter Seals, Head Start and PBIS to train parents in promoting pre-reading skills.
- Support the Early Reading First program through intensive home visits.
- Offer Kindergarten readiness and pre-literacy workshops and technical assistance to both parents and schools.
How the Work Plan Meets the Needs of Parents
Parents will understand school report cards, school choice and supplemental services. Diverse groups of parents and school personnel will have an enhanced ability to work together for school improvement and student achievement. Parents of young and school-age children will be knowledgeable about how children learn and how to help them succeed in school. Parents are knowledgeable about and use a variety of statewide resources to support student learning.
How does the work align to the purposes for the statewide PIRC efforts?
Project activities will have statewide reach with intensive services being provided for targeted communities throughout the state. NH PIRC will collaborate with the state PTI, Dept. of Education, NHPTA, PBIS and other statewide organizations to support all five goals. Our “Keys to Parenting” public-access television show is distributed statewide. Our toll-free NCLB helpline is available statewide. |
