Parent Liaison_color logos_20242

Online Parent Resources / Recursos en Linea:

Click the link to access parent resources in English:
https://bit.ly/3ylb9pn 

Haga clic en el enlace para accesar recursos en Español:
https://bit.ly/3A05MMI 

What We Do:

Outreach & Mentoring to Parents of Children (ages 0-3) with Disabilities: 
We connect Bright Start families to Community Resources and provide Support Groups, Parent Education, and transition-planning guidance when children turn 3 years of age.

Liaison Support for School-Age Children: 

We provide parent-to-parent mentoring by gathering information to understand a child's disability, its effects at school & home, and parents' concerns. Often, we make home visits and observe students in their school environment.

Bilingual Parent Education & Training:
We aim to increase parents' knowledge of the special education process, their rights under IDEA, the IEP documents, effective communication, and other topics of interest to parents by providing trainings and materials in Spanish and English.

Promote Parent Involvement in Special Education:

We help prepare parents for IEP (Individualized Education Program), 504 Plan, and other meetings by explaining specific terminology, documenting concerns, explaining evaluations, and communicating with the school.  We know that careful preparation ahead of time can prevent many problems later.

Attend & Participate in IEPs & Other Meetings:

We serve as a neutral party to resolve parents' concerns through access of information & compromise on both sides.  We are not traditional "advocates" because it is our job to look at both sides of the situation. Our responsibility is to look at all relevant information presented by parents and the school and make sure that the needs of the child are met. We do this by modeling appropriate participation & communication and helping the team stay focused on the student.

Foster a Positive Outcome Between Parents and School Personnel:

We work to establish a collaborative and positive working environment in order to ensure a Free & Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for students with disabilities.  For a student's needs to be met at school, it is imperative that parents and schools maintain a harmonious, working relationship and above all that is what we strive to create.

View/download our brochure (print double-sided & flip on short end for a trifold, bilingual brochure) 

Special Education Parent Liaison support line for parents of students ages 3-21

Call: (559) 302-3679

Bright Start Special Education Parent Liaison for children ages 0-2
Stephanie Caldera
(559) 740-4321, ext. 6528
scaldera@tcoe.org