Download - Creating Positive Partnerships
Creating Positive
Partnerships
PBIS MarylandSummer Institute
July 22, 2005
IntroductionsJessica Pearsall, advocate
Ellen Hughes, teacherClaire Holmes, advocateKim Willard, teacher & advocate
PartnershipsWhat is a partnership?Who is involved in a partnership?
What are the characteristics of effective partnerships?
What are the characteristics of ineffective partnerships?
Communicationa process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior Direct, Respectful, OngoingMulti-directional, Thorough
Belief
to accept as true, genuine, or real; ideals we believe in
Team Spirit
a number of persons associated together in work or activity: a group on one side (the child’s side)
Flexibility
characterized by a ready capability to adapt to new, different, or changing requirements
Understanding to show a sympathetic or tolerant
attitude toward something. The action of being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner
Trust
assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; one in which confidence is placed
Celebrations& Thankfulness observe notable occasions with festivities
be conscious of benefit received, offer expressions of thanks
Building Partnerships
Communication
Belief Team Spirit Feedback
Understanding Trust Celebrations &
Thankfulness
BarriersDoes the IEP process usually model effective partnerships?
Write barriers to effective partnerships in the IEP process on an index card.
Team Alex
Jessica Pearsall, Alex’s mom
Ellen Hughes, one of Alex’s third grade teachers at Ilchester Elementary School in Howard County
Self-Advocacy Speaking and acting for oneself. People may need help learning new
skills through training, experience and practice which allow people to make decisions about their own lives.
Many people in the community still have not accepted the fact that individuals with mental retardation must speak, choose and act for themselves.
Self-Determination Making choices based on one’s own
preferences and beliefs, participating in and taking control of decisions which affect the quality of one’s own life.
Having the freedom and authority to plan one’s life and contribute to the community. Taking risks and assuming responsibility actions.
Empowerment through self-determination increases the respect and value one has for oneself and that others have for an individual.
MAPS ProcessMaking Action PlansVision Building8 Key QuestionsUse in transition or when
everyone is not “on the same page”
Find more information at www.mcie.org (Look under “Publications”)
Solutions CircleRoles: PresenterFacilitatorRecorderBrainstormers
Solutions CircleWelcome the Group -- 1 minutePresent the Problem -- 5 minutesAsk for Clarification -- 3 minutesGenerate Solutions -- 5 minutesGather Information -- 3 minutesTake a Step Forward -- 30 secondsFollow Up -- 1 minute
ResourcesBooks
Websites
Practical StrategiesStrategies for building powerful partnerships in the IEP process
Specific, observable actions—not general philosophical statements
What works?What doesn’t?
Families & Professionals United
Advocacy and Leadership Development
September 2005 – May 2006 14 sessions Earn 6 MSDE or 6 graduate credits All expenses (except TU graduate
credit) courtesy of Maryland State Department of Education, Baltimore County Public Schools, and Towson University
Q & A
Questions, answers, and discussion
Revisit barriers on index cards
Attitude Is the Real Disability
“Failure does not exist in the lexicon of a flight controller. The universal characteristic of a controller is that he will never give up until he has an answer or another option.”
-- Gene Kranz, former NASA flight director