Parent Participation on Focused Monitoring Teams

[Guest guest]

Hi! Hope some of you are interested in this opportunity. It is a great

learning opportunity for parents (and you get paid!). See the attached

application.

________________________________

April 1, 2005

MEMORANDUM

Interested Parents of Children with Disabilities

From: Bryar, Director

Division for Exceptional Students

Subject: Parent Participation on Focused Monitoring Teams

The Georgia Department of Education monitors local school systems in order to

fulfill its responsibility for general supervision of special education

programs in the state. This process is called Focused Monitoring which

emphasizes

positive results for students rather than solely focusing on procedures.

A component of Focused Monitoring involves on-site visits by teams to review

local school systemsí progress toward attaining specified performance goals

for students with disabilities. We are pleased to announce an opportunity for

parents of children who receive or have received special education services.

We are accepting applications from parents of children with disabilities to

serve on Focused Monitoring teams. Parents will be fully participating members

of the monitoring teams, serving alongside state and local special education

administrators. We believe that this activity will strengthen the partnership

between parents and educators.

In order to be selected, a parent must have a child who receives or has

received public school special education services in Georgia, have a high school

diploma or its equivalent, have a basic knowledge of special education

procedures and terminology, have exemplary communication skills, and have e-mail

access. Two-day training sessions for Focused Monitoring team members will be

conducted on August 23-24, 2005. It is anticipated that parents will

participate

in monitoring one or more school systems per year, with on-site visits lasting

from three to five days. They must have the ability to travel and stay

overnight during training and on-site visits. Parents will not monitor school

systems in which they reside or in which their children attend school. A fee of

$200.00 per day will be paid to parents for the training and on-site visits.

Travel costs will be reimbursed according to state travel regulations.

Returning team members must complete the application and attend training.

We look forward to receiving applications from many parents. The selection

process will take place in the summer and may involve interviews in person or

by telephone. The state will not consider applications from parents who have a

potential conflict of interest with the state or a local system due to active

paid advocacy or involvement in due process hearings. Please review the

qualifications, job description, and application on the following form. If

there

are any questions or more information is needed, please contact Mr.

at (404) 657-9970 or kjohnson@....

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