Core Questions: FAQ
Q. What does APPLE stand for?
A. The Advancing Parent-Professional Leadership in Education (APPLE) project was originally funded by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs to develop leadership skills of parents individually and within their communities. For a short background about the project, review this presentation handout – An Introduction to APPLE – or view the recording.
Q. How will this training increase your district’s ability to engage more families?
A. The foundation for increased engagement is trusting relationships. APPLE workshops assist teams in getting to know one another and define their strengths. APPLE helps district teams to identify a vision for engagement, focus on priorities (what can you accomplish in a year), and develop an action plan with a timeline.
Q. Who can participate on an APPLE District Team?
A. We welcome special education administrators, educators, team chairs, principals, family leaders from SEPACs, ELPACs and PTOs, school committee and site council members and other leaders in the community. Two Superintendents have been APPLE Team members in the past!
Q. What is the time commitment to participate in the APPLE Institute?
A. District team members will be asked to attend a 3 hour morning session in May for orientation and group training, then the District team will meet independently with an FCSN facilitator to work on an Action Plan during May in several zoom or in-person meetings. The whole APPLE group will reconvene virtually in early June to share best practices. The District team will meet virtually with FCSN during the next school year to review implementation of the APPLE Action Plan and discuss any questions which arise.
Q. What are the learning objectives for the APPLE Institute?
A. Our learning objectives are:
- Identify individual leadership strengths and skills to increase the capacity of parent organizations within the district.
- Build a collaborative team to improve family engagement with a goal to improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities.
- Increase outreach to diverse families to broaden perspectives and make sure all voices are heard.
- Create a district Action Plan which outlines activities needed to achieve team vision.
