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OUR HISTORY…
The Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC) of Fairfax, VA. and State
Education Agencies in Virginia and West Virginia began a collaborative
partnership to support local Parent Centers in 1982. These centers would help
parents and educators develop the skills needed to advocate for a quality
education for children with disabilities. The project was initiated following a
statewide survey of families who identified a need for such Parent Centers. In
1985, The Maryland State Department of Education also adopted the model.
Montgomery County was one of the first counties to establish a Parent Center.
Since then other states and localities around the nation have adapted the parent
center model to create their own programs.
Each center is uniquely designed to meet the needs of the community it serves.
They go by many names: Parent Resource Center, Parent Information and Training
Centers and Family Resource Centers. Our Montgomery County Center is named the
Parent Information and Training Center: Partners for Success and we serve all
students and their families in Montgomery County. Our services include:
- Information and referral related to educational issues
- Training for parents and professionals in cooperative planning and educational
advocacy
- Assistance solving problems experienced by families in working with others
to meet the needs of their children
- Parent support groups
- Resources and training for parents on topics such as: communication
skills, effective parent-teacher conferences, the special education process and
the IEP, career and educational planning and parent involvement.
Throughout their history Parent Centers have built working relationships among
families, students, schools and their communities. This partnership has led to
some of the following benefits:
- Increased parent involvement in the educational process
- Deceased adversarial relationships
PITC MISSION STATEMENT
The Parent Information and Training Center/Partners for Success (PITC) promotes a
cooperative partnership among parents, educators and the community to enhance
services for students and their families. PITC builds this partnership through:
- Providing information and resources to families in understanding and negotiating
the education and service systems for their children
- Training for families and educators that model partnerships and collaboration
PITC STAFF
Margaret Flagg
Parent Educator
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Nilda Colgrove
Parent Community Coordinator
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Sr. Angela Kim
Parent Community Coordinator
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Diana Thompson
Special Educator
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Barbara Fabian
Office Assistant III
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