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Parent Support Specialists

See photos of district PRO Centers! One of the ways that the Safe Schools Healthy Students grant plans to meet its goals is by building a bridge between homes and schools. Research has shown that the more parents are involved in their children's education, the better they perform in school. But there are sometimes barriers that prevent parents from being involved in their children's education. This can include:

  • not knowing about or having access to available community resources that can help with challenges they face at home
  • mistrust of schools and school staff
  • child behavior problems
  • cultural or language barriers
  • not having enough time to volunteer
  • not knowing exactly what they can do on their local campuses
The role of the Parent Support Specialist is to help parents to overcome barriers to parental involvement by linking them with community and in-district resources, services, and information. Parent Support Specialists help to decrease the barriers to parental involvement by:
  • Organizing and facilitating monthly educational and informational workshops at their individual campuses.
  • Providing support to all parents by identifying district and community resources that are available to parents and their children.
  • Helping to set up and maintain the Parent Resource Opportunity Centers (PRO Centers) on their campuses.
  • Supporting families who have complex needs by identifying accessible community resources and serving as members on campus student support teams (or appropriate campus response teams).
  • Working closely with PTA, campus parent organizations and other staff members to help organize various parent volunteer opportunities.
Each school in the RRISD and the Round Rock Christian Academy will have a parent support specialist on staff. There are twenty-seven elementary schools, eight middle schools and four high schools.



2007 Parent Support Specialists and Supervisors <<< Parent Support Specialists & Supervisors

PSS Roster <<< 2007-2008 Parent Support Specialist Roster





Supervisors

Dewana Thompson, PhD
Program Coordinator
512-428-7983

Vaughn P. O'Neal, LCSW
Program Coordinator
512-428-7982