Oregon PIRC for Educators

The Oregon PIRC develops materials for educators to expand their skills and abilities to form effective and meaningful partnerships. To date, these general educator resources include:

• A Web Site with links to information regarding NCLB and the latest research on school-family partnerships.
• An Electronic Newsletter distributed every other month which provides information about research and best practices in school-family partnerships.

Resources planned for dissemination in the next few months include:

• Searchable Database of Best Practices in Oregon Schools which will provide snapshots from Oregon's schools that have developed best practices in reaching out to and partnering with diverse families.
• Online Training Modules that will explore such topics as principal leadership in parent involvement and how to engage families in developing policies and school improvement planning.

In addition, we are creating parent materials that family involvement coordinators at schools and districts can use during parent meetings or conferences.

• Parent Pages (in both Spanish and English) that can be used as handouts or inserted into your own newsletter.
• Technical Assistance Packages that will include electronic training sessions, handouts, and suggested activities and discussion questions. The packages will be in both English and Spanish, with audio and video segments. (The first two TA packages-being developed now-include Tips for Parents about Reading, and Easy Ways to Help Your Child Learn at Home.)
• Online Learning Modules that can assist families in understanding the provisions of NCLB, as well as provide them with skills and information to help their children succeed in school.

Targeted Training and Technical Assistance

The Oregon PIRC also provides training workshops, email and telephone technical assistance, and targeted onsite technical assistance to schools and districts. We are also working in collaboration with many statewide parents to plan an Annual Family-School Partnership Summit. Our primary goal with technical assistance activities is to help schools/districts coordinate parent involvement policies and practices with their continuous improvement plans and help them reach their parent involvement goals.

To Serve You

Please feel free to contact any of the staff with questions or technical assistance needs:

• Debbie Ellis: 503-275-9552 or
• Keisha Edwards: 503-275-9553 or
• Delia Palomeque: 503-275-9550 or