Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 8, 1990 TAG: 9003092172
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W1 EDITION: WEST
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Two rocking chairs, cushioned in gingham, flank a wooden table where a large plant and stuffed animals rest. A colorful quilt hangs on a wall.
The decor is inviting - intentionally.
"Special education is a sensitive issue for parents," said Georgia Valentour, educator for the Parent Resource Center, the name given this cozy corner office. "We want them to feel as comfortable as possible."
The center, established last November with the help of an $8,000 state grant, offers assistance to the parents of special-needs children enrolled in Salem schools. The center helps parents understand the special-education process, helps them become more involved in their children's education, helps them obtain community services and promotes cooperation among homes, schools and the community, Valentour said.
"We want to provide clarification of things that parents might not understand," said Lewis Romano, director of student services. He oversees the center's operation.
"It's a comfortable, congenial way for us to establish a rapport. That's a very positive step."
The center is team-managed by Valentour, a visiting teacher (she prefers to be called school social worker) for Salem schools, and parent coordinator Donna Powell, a former teacher. Both have backgrounds in special education.
"It's a nice blend of both worlds - our partnership," Powell said.
The two women share a mutual admiration. Powell speaks highly of Valentour's knowledge of the special-education field. Valentour, in turn, says Powell exudes the warmth and friendliness needed in dealing with parents on such a sensitive issue as special education.
Powell, the mother of four sons with special needs, said she thinks it is important to have a parent coordinating the center.
"It's easier for [parents] to deal with other parents, easier for them to talk to a parent," said Powell, who recalled feeling a bit overwhelmed when she met with school administrators to discuss her own children.
The center is designed to promote a positive working relationship between parents and educators in an effort to benefit children with special needs.
That will in part be accomplished through "Understanding Special Education (USE)," a document that guides the parent through the special-education process. Two USE training sessions for parents have been scheduled for May 8 and 10.
Valentour and Powell have collected a fair amount of material for a resource information system that is available to interested parents.
Though word of the center's existence has been formally publicized only in the past two weeks through a brochure mailing, the parents of about 25 children already have contacted Powell and Valentour.
"We shudder to think what's going to happen now that the brochures have gone out," Powell said, referring to the response she expects.
The state Board of Education has set a goal of having a parent resource center operating in every school system in Virginia by 1991, Romano said.
"You're talking about a very highly regulated, very high-powered procedure embedded in federal law," he said of the special-education process.
"Parents have a difficult time understanding. We've emphasized that our parents be involved from the very beginning."
A quilt, drawn by Chris Foutz, a fifth-grader at West Salem Elementary School, is pictured in the middle of the brochure.
Brightly colored squares depict facets of his life - a sketch of his teacher, the abbreviations of special-education programs, the sun peeking out from behind mountains.
In the bottom right-hand corner of the quilt is an empty space. Coming from it is a long thread looped through a sewing needle. It pierces a quilt square on which Chris has drawn a picture of his parents.
"In the past, parents have been left out," Powell said. "We want to put that piece back in."
by CNB