The Parent Mentor program is a parent-driven initiative by the Georgia Department of Education Division for Exceptional Students and Glynn County School System.  Your parent mentor is a parent of a child with a disability whose purpose is to advise, educate, and support other families and educators navigating through the special education process.  Your parent mentor works with and develops collaborative partnerships among parents, educators, agency personnel, support groups and other community members.  We are guides, collaborators, and most importantly, we are peers. Together, we can help our students with special needs get the special attention they deserve and find their pathway to educational success.

To develop understanding, trust, support, and educational opportunities which will enable parents and teachers to build effective home-school collaboration and provide our children the opportunity to reach their potential.

The vision of the Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership is Parent mentors and special education administrators will lead the way in Georgia to bridge the gap between home, school and community partnerships.

A Parent Mentor may assist you in many ways, including but not limited to the following:

• Provide you with information on the special education process of referral, evaluation, and placement.
• Assist you in networking with parents and teachers.
• Provide you accurate information through system educators and programs about your rights and responsibilities under IDEA and ESSA.
• Assist you in preparing for your child’s Individual Education Program (IEP) meetings to enable you to be an active informed member of the team.
• Direct you to resources available within and outside of the school system.
• Provide parent/teacher training either individually or through workshops on topics parents have requested.
• Provide feedback to the school system regarding areas that are of concern to parents and teachers.
• Diffuse difficult situations between administrators and parents.
• Develop a collaborative partnership of trust, respect, and common language to bring out our children’s fullest potential.

Additionally, our training helps us provide current and updated information about special education laws and policies.

• GA  All About Developmental Disabilities
• GA Georgia Advocacy Office
• GA Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities
• Nat'l Wrights Law

• GA Georgia Project for Assistive Technology
• GA Tools for Life                                                                                              
• Nat'l Assistive Technology Industry Association

• GA Georgia Department of Education
• GA    Georgia Depart of Special Education                                                      www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Special-Education- Services/Pages/default.aspx     
• Nat'l National Center on Secondary Education and Transition
• Nat'l   Office of Special Education                                                                    www.osepideasthatwork.org
• Nat'l    US Department of Education

• GA Employment First Georgia www.employmentfirstgeorgia.org
• GA Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency

• GA    Georgia Learning Resource Systems                                                     www.glrs.org
• GA Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership
• GA    Parent to Parent of Georgia
• GA    Parent to Parent of Georgia/Roadmap to Success                                 www.roadmap.p2p.org