IDEA Partnership Dedicated to improving outcomes for students and youth with disabilities through shared work and learning.

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Creating Agreement
The Creating Agreement workgroup is a collaboration between the IDEA Partnership, the Consortium for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education (CADRE) and representatives from national and state organizations who share an interest in the prevention and early resolution of special education disagreements. Fundamental to this collaboration is the belief that training and technical assistance is more effective when there is meaningful stakeholder involvement - content is developed by stakeholder groups and delivered to blended audiences that represent different perspectives.

The Workgroup developed a basic presentation and skill-building activities on conflict resolution with the purpose of reaching and informing a wider network of people.  The information is also disseminated deeper into their own networks and presented to other organizations where early dispute resolution is an important issue.

Important Underlying Assumptions of Our Work:
  • Training acquires power when developed by a broad cross-section of   stakeholders representing varying organizational interests.
  • Training is more effective when delivered to blended audiences (parents, school personnel and other groups).
  • Training is more likely to be trusted when delivered by teams of presenters who represent the stakeholders who are present in the audience.
  • Precious financial resources are best applied to conflict prevention and early dispute resolution reducing the demand for expensive, adversarial processes.
  • When families, schools and other providers are working well together, students’ programs are more effectively designed and delivered. Ultimately, learning and behavior is enhanced.


Shared Work is a social networking virtual workspace  developed by the IDEA Partnership and community members to facilitate their collaborative work.  Go to  SHAREDWORK.ORG to view communitity activities.


Community Activities

Working with the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution (CADRE), representatives from 15 organizations joined efforts to create a stakeholder-developed presentation on Early Dispute Resolution that can be shared with their membership. The initial training presentations are delivered in national and/or state meetings by a cross-stakeholder presentation team of administrators, practitioners, related service providers and family representatives.

Several of the organizations have committed to developing an active group of trainers within their membership that will be connected to each other, to the Partnership and the CADRE Center to support their work across the country. Organizations that are developing training cohorts to deliver the stakeholder developed materials include:
• The Region 1 Parent Technical Assistance Center
• The NY State Learning Community on Family and School Partnerships
• The School Social Work Association of America
• National Fiesta Educativa
Visit the CADRE website for more information.

Dialogue Guide: Creating Agreement / Dispute Resolution

PPT:  Creating Agreement: Train the Trainer Workshop
 
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