When families feel empowered to participate in the education of their children, they do better in school and in life.  The Office of the Education Ombudsman (OEO) has developed the Finding Your Voice program to prepare parents, legal guardians and family members across Washington State to understand the public school system in order to become equal and active partners in public education.

A Training of Trainers

OEO is offering a free 3-day training seminar for individuals interested in learning how to teach this program to families in their communities.  Participants will take interactive classes to build their knowledge about the public school system, how to deliver effective workshops, and will have the opportunity to apply their new skills training parents during the 3^rd day of the seminar.  At the conclusion of the seminar participants will receive a trainer’s certificate from the Office of the Education Ombudsman.

• Participants must commit to attend the 3 seminar days: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Only participants who attend the 3 days will receive a certificate.
• Participants must commit to teach at least one workshop for families in their schools and/or communities soon after completing this seminar and the OEO will provide continuous technical assistance to all trainers.
• Space is limited to 40 participants.

For schedule details, please click HERE

APPLICATION ELIGIBILITY: The following eligibility criteria will be used to select participants for this program. Space for this program is limited.

 1. Applicants who are currently involved in community outreach/community development, that has a focus on family-parent engagement in the  K-12 public school system in Washington.

2. Individuals who work directly with low income, refugee/immigrant and other parents of color whose children attend Washington public schools.

3. Applicants who work with public school parents and speak or have a working knowledge of a language other than English.

4. Applicants who can commit to the 3-day training seminar and to deliver workshops for parents in their communities after the training.

THIS IS FOR THE BELLINGHAM TRAINING ONLY.  BECAUSE OF SPACE LIMITATIONS, INDIVIDUALS MAY ONLY APPLY FOR ONE LOCATION.

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS 5:00 PM ON FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012

APPLICATIONS WILL BE REVIEWED IN THE ORDER RECEIVED.

MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS FROM THE SAME ORGANIZATION WILL BE CONSIDERED.  HOWEVER, EACH PERSON MUST SUBMIT AN APPLICATION.

ALL APPLICANTS WILL BE CONTACTED PRIOR TO THE EVENT.  ONCE APPROVED, THEY WILL BE REGISTERED FOR THAT LOCATION.

For bus and transportation information, please see the Whatcom Transportation Authority website:www.ridewta.com

For more information about the Office of the Education Ombudsman, please visit our website at www.waparentslearn.org

To begin the application, click the "REGISTER" button.  Note - you will have 60 minutes to complete the application.  Upon completion of the application you may see a green 'ORDER CONFIRMATION' message at the top of your screen.  This is only to confirm completion of the application process and in no way guarantees acceptance to the program.