On Saturday, May 7, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law continued the work of its Parental Readiness and Empowerment Program (PREP) with a parent workshop at Sherman Elementary School in San Diego, California.

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On Saturday, May 7, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law continued the work of its Parental Readiness and Empowerment Program (PREP) with a parent workshop at Sherman Elementary School in San Diego, California. 

The workshop, “School Discipline: Parents’ Rights & Responsibilities,” was presented in concurrent Spanish and English sessions in collaboration with the San Diego Unified School District’s Parent Outreach and Engagement Department.  Almost 50 parents attended the successful event and were provided with important materials related to school discipline including district policies and parent guides on how to prepare for a suspension meeting and how to prepare for an expulsion hearing.

During the workshop, parents learned the importance of being a good advocate and how to improve their own advocacy skills to support their child’s education.  Through role plays, small group exercises, and group discussion, parents enthusiastically participated in an interactive learning session to increase their knowledge of the school discipline process and effective advocacy techniques.  Parents also shared their personal stories and ideas on how to improve their own advocacy skills.  One parent’s testimonial of what she learned at the workshop is available here: http://www.youtube.com/PREPparents.

Thanks to the support of our volunteers from Qualcomm, DLA Piper, and the NAACP, nine parents were served at our first educational consultation clinic!   Parents discussed their children’s educational needs and created an action plan with the volunteer advocates.

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The next PREP workshop will take place on Saturday, June 4^th at Cherokee Point Elementary from 9:30 a.m – 1:00 p.m.  The workshop will focus on special education and will be presented in Spanish and English.  In addition to the workshop, an educational consultation clinic will be offered from 1 – 3:30 pm where parents can meet with a trained volunteer advocate to discuss their child’s educational needs.  Parents should RSVP to make an appointment for the clinic.  For more information on the event and to access the registration form, please click here.