A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Iowa Parent Resource Center
The Higher Plain, Inc.

The Higher Plain, in collaboration with a number of other agencies, has established the Iowa Parent Resource Center (IPRC). The IPRC is designed to offer training and technical assistance to parent groups and educational programs throughout the entire state of Iowa, particularly for low-income families and their children. The IPRC provides services to 37 districts in east central Iowa in the first year of operation and will be expanded to cover the entire State. The Iowa Parent Resource Center consists of the following three major components:

1. Materials and Support
   This first component is the expansion of an existing parent resource center at the Grant Woods Area Education Agency. Before this grant, the center focused on services for parents of students in special education programs. Services provided included a toll-free hotline, a newsletter, a resource center, involvement with parent support groups, advocacy support for parents, and courses for parents on a wide range of topics. Grant funds will expand these activities to cover all children ages 0-21. Additional course offerings will focus on the needs of this newly targeted population.

2. On-Site Training and Technical Assistance
   Training and technical assistance are provided to parents and parent groups. Any parent is able to request and receive on-site training and technical assistance on a variety of topics which support their participation in their child's educational process. Topics include information on various federal and state programs, disabilities, and how to actively participate in educational programs. In coming years, some of the training and technical assistance will be made available through the Iowa Communications Network (ICN).

3. Support for Building Strong Family-School Partnerships
   Component three brings together parents, students, teachers, and administrators for a collaborative training program. The program involves 30 contact hours of training and focuses on building family-school partnerships which actively involve parents in the educational process. Each school in the first-year 37 district area is invited to send a team of ten members. All participants who complete the program receive two hours of GED, undergraduate, or graduate credit. Following each training session, each participant team receives a $500 "mini-grant" to apply what they have learned in their classroom, curricular area, building, pre-school program, or other early childhood program. In subsequent years, a follow-up training program will be offered. Both initial and follow-up courses will be available to programs throughout the State through the ICN (the state's fiber optic network).

Collaborators:

• 37 Iowa school districts (year 1)
• Fergusson-Florissant School District (MO)
• Kirkwood Community College
• Grant Wood Area Education Agency
• University of Iowa
• Family Resource Coalition
• National Center on Family-Centered Services

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[Parents & Children Together]

[Licking Valley Community Action Program]