SCHOOL SERVICES

What school services does the Center for Accord provide?
What training programs are offered?
Who would arrange for these services?
What fees are involved and who usually pays for school services?
Recent audiences and comments from participants
School-related published works

What school services does the Center for Accord provide?
School-related services include the design and implementation of specialized training in such areas as collaboration and team building, negotiation and consensus building, facilitation techniques, conflict prevention and resolution, and effective meeting management. Programs can be tailored as required and submitted for approval by endorsing agencies when necessary. Training for parent groups is also offered, in both English and Spanish. For information about training programs for parents, click here.

Additional school services include specific dispute mediation, perhaps to reduce parent or staff conflicts, avoid unnecessary staff turnover, reduce the likelihood of a lawsuit, or provide early resolution of a suit already in progress.

The Center also offers facilitation services, which can be an approach to conflict prevention/resolution or may be independent of any conflict at all, such as assisting with team decision-making and goal setting, or facilitating response to specific trauma or change. Facilitation is also offered with regard to the resolution meetings now required under IDEIA. For more information about services related to resolution meetings, click here.

The Center also offers consultation, usually related to specific projects, such as improving school climate to reduce conflict and turnover, or fine-tuning a grievance procedure.

What training programs are offered?

COLLABORATION IN THE IEP ENVIRONMENT, designed for those who participate in special education conferences, including the development and review of individual education plans (IEPs) for children with special needs. This training is available in two three-hour segments: Effective Meeting Management and Conflict Prevention and Resolution. This skills-based training has been presented for hundreds of school personnel, and the material has been developed into Nicholas Martin's new book, A Guide to Collaboration for IEP Teams, published in 2004 by Brookes Publishing. For further information about this training, click here. For details about the Guide to Collaboration, click here.

ADVANCED FACILITATION SKILLS FOR THE IEP ENVIRONMENT is designed for school professionals (or others) who will assist struggling IEP teams to succeed. The facilitator is not a member of the team and does not attend as a decision maker or an advisor. Rather, the faciliator offers the process expertise required to help the IEP team communicate effectively, handle strong emotions, and work collaboratively towards consensus. This two-day program is skills-oriented, with an emphasis on "transformative" and "facilitative" styles, in contrast to evaluative or directive. Completion of "Collaboration in the IEP Environment" (above) is recommended but not required. For a video demonstrating the facilitation process, click here.

SUCCESSFUL "RESOLUTION MEETINGS" UNDER IDEIA, covers the new requirements pertaining to conflict resolution under the latest reauthorization of IDEA, due process hearing issues and trends, potential pitfalls within the new law, making the best use of attorneys, handling impasse, writing durable agreements, and much more. Time frames vary with the degree of skill-building desired (in three, six, and twelve-hour formats).

KEYS TO EFFECTIVE IEP TEAMS presents 20 "best practices" to help schools and parents live the dream of IDEA: to work together in a decision-making partnership for the benefit of children with special needs. Among the highlights are: characteristics of great committee members; what makes for good and bad meetings; and the "dirty dozen" concerns of parents that lead to trouble if left unchecked (in one, two, and three-hour formats).

TEAM BUILDING FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS AND THEIR STAFF, in three, four, or six-hour format. This program provides practical techniques for strengthening team spirit and effectiveness while enhancing school climate. It is designed for existing teams who will actually be working together once the training is completed. Experiential exercises maximize group participation, strengthening communication and mutual awareness, while providing skills that participants will take back to their day-to-day work environment.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, in six-hour format. This program covers the nature and sources of conflict, the role of emotions as obstacles or allies, typical scenarios in the school administrators' arena, and specific techniques for conflict prevention and resolution.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN SPECIAL EDUCATION TODAY is a one-hour overview in slide presentation format. Covers the formal and informal indicators of conflict, state and nationwide statistics and trends, and how to know how our own schools and districts are doing in this important area. Specific recommendations for building strong teams while minimizing conflict are also presented. A similar program tailored for parents is available in both English and Spanish.

DIPLOMACY FOR SCHOOL PROFESSIONALS. "It's not what you say but how you say it," and the ability to communicate effectively in often challenging circumstances is a skill all professionals must have. This program covers: communicating so as to be well-received; responding as opposed to keeping silent; saying "no" in a way that preserves positive relationships; and knowing what to say when we don't know what to say. This workshop is offered in a variety of time frames depending on the degree of participant involvement and skill-building desired (one to four hours).

"I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL" AND UDDER BLUNDERS is an overview of some of the common communication pitfalls to which school personnel may be prone. This light-hearted yet frightfully serious program brings into focus some of the ways we inadvertently get ourselves into trouble. More importantly, it provides clear and simple alternatives that can often save the day. Presented as a one-hour overview for raising awareness or as a skills-based, experiential workshop in three or four-hour lengths.

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Programs for Parents
The Center also provides training for parents of children with special needs, in both English and Spanish. For information about training programs in English, please click here. For information about training programs in Spanish, please click here.

Who would arrange for these services?
There are a variety of ways by which independent consultants are brought into educational systems, and much depends on the decision-making and budgeting policies of the particular locale. Host agencies might include individual schools (e.g., a principal decides to sponsor a workshop in effective communication skills), parent organizations (perhaps to host a speaker on the subject of how to negotiate effectively), and most commonly, when a school district or educational cooperative elects to provide specialized services open to several or all of the schools under its authority. Regional service centers and state departments of education are other possibilities.

Who usually pays for school services and what fees are involved?
Schools usually have a variety of potential funding sources, and procedures vary from state to state. In most states, consultant services are usually funded by the school district, a multi-district educational cooperative, a parent organization, an individual school, or a professional organization such as the state association of school administrators, the state's council of administrators of special education, the state middle school association, etc.

Fees vary according to whether single or multiple engagements are contracted, whether travel and accommodations will be involved, and whether financial assistance is required.  Please call for a quote.

Recent audiences and comments from participants
For a list of recent audiences and comments from participants about Nick Martin's school-related training, click here.

A Guide to Collaboration for IEP Teams and other publications
For a description of Nick Martin's new book from Brookes Publishing, click here. Nick was recently featured in Brookes Publishing's email newsletter, where he discusses collaboration in the IEP environment (see The Secrets to Collaborative IEP Meetings). In fact, a number of Nick's articles relating to school professionals and parents have been published. To see some of his recent articles, click here.

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