A Parent Mentor is a liaison between the parent and the school. When a child is diagnosed with a disability, it is often an overwhelming and confusing time for a parent with the many policies, procedures and safeguards that go along with educating children with disabilities. The Parent Mentor can also network parents with other parents, parents with educators and parents with community resources to help create a cooperative partnership within the community to meet the needs of the student.

The Parent Mentor’s role includes, but is not limited to:

Provide training and technical assistance to parents     Meet with parents who are new to the special education process     Facilitate Parent Networking     Provide and/or facilitate parent and educator trainings, and workshops     Explain the district and ISBE policies and procedures     Bridge the gap between parents and educators     Provide a support group on facebook for parents Illinois Educated Parents (IEP)     Provide community resources to parents, and educators in the Freeport Community

The following include tools and resources to help you navigate through the special education process:

Parent Mentor Brochure (pdf)     Early Intervention Transition Process (pdf)     General Transition Process (pdf)     Illinois Educated Parents Online Support Group (pdf)     Wrightslaw Workshops (pdf)     Resource Guide (pdf)     Educational Rights Guide (pdf)     Acronyms (pdf)

Funds for this project are provided by ISBE’S Parent Mentor Project Grant & the Freeport School District with one hundred percent of grant funding provided by federal sources. Learn more about the Parent Mentor Program or for more information contact Stephenson County RAMP's Parent Mentor.