Topeka, Kansas (October 8, 2008)

Parents took center stage at the statewide Kansas Parent Information Resource Center (KPIRC) State Board meeting on Monday, October 6, as Jane Groff, director, unveiled the Governor’s Proclamation declaring October as Parent Involvement Month. The KPIRC state board met to recognize and celebrate parents as a child’s first and most important teacher, and to encourage parent involvement in a child’s learning from birth through high school.

Kansas Parent Information Resource Center State Board Members that helped craft the proclamation  included: Tammie Benham, Assistant Director (KPIRC); Natalie Schweda, Office Manager (KPIRC); Zoe Thompson, Business & Community (KPIRC); Suzanne Knorr, Evaluator (KPIRC); Melissa  Martin-Wilke, Communities in Schools (CIS), Janet Newton, Parents as Teachers;  Mary Baskett, Kansas Head Start;   Sherri  Yourdan, KNEA;  Lesli Girard,  Families Together, Inc.;  Jan Long, Parent Teachers Association (PTA);   Roxanne Broxski, Kansas Parent As Teachers Association,  Chris Bradley , Kansas State Department of Education     ( KSDE);  Marcia Dvorak, Kansas Enrichment Network (KEN); Roy Bird, State Library of Kansas; Brenda Brown, Parent Representative, and Paul Holthaus, student representative.

The Kansas Parent Information Resource Center is a project of Kansas Families and Schools Together, Inc.  (KFAST) and funded by the US Department of Education to provide parent involvement and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) resources, training, and technical assistance to parents, educators, schools, and organizations.   For additional information regarding parent involvement and to obtain free resources and/or inquire about training or technical assistance from the Kansas Parent Information Resource Center, please go to www.kpirc.org  or call toll-free:   1-866-711-6711  or local:  785-783-2975.