TNSTEP offers FREE in-person or virtual training, workshops, and resources for parents and families of children and youth with disabilities, special health care needs, and mental health needs. Our training is hands-on, activity based, and interactive. They can be customized to fit within your existing family involvement activities.
TNSTEP also offers a variety of professional development training and resources to assist educators in their work. Our professional development is customized based on the needs of the district or organization using best practices and research-based information.
Bring a TNSTEP workshop to your community!
- Schedule an in-person or virtual training
- Locate an in-person meeting space
- Advertise the workshop in your community
- Take registrations by phone/email or TNSTEP take registrations online
- TNSTEP will provide the training materials
To sponsor a workshop CLICK HERE to fill out the form and a team member will be in contact you to schedule the workshop.
TNSTEP relies on members of local communities to help us bring the workshops we offer to every county! We believe in supporting local communities by increasing opportunities for parents, caregivers, and community agencies to become actively involved. Sponsoring a workshop is a great way to increase access to accurate, reliable information for those in your community.
Anyone can sponsor a TNSTEP workshop who desires to assist in bringing quality information to their community about the rights of children with disabilities. Sponsors are often parents, support group leaders, and agency representatives. Agencies and businesses may sponsor a workshop with the understanding that parents must be invited to attend. In-service training is available to school systems for a fee or FREE if parents are included in the training with the school personnel.
Find an accessible meeting place in your area, perhaps a school, business, or church. Then, advertise the workshop using a media package TNSTEP will provide you. This includes press releases, radio releases, and flyers. Most newspapers and radio stations will run these free of charge. Sponsors are often the contact for the workshop and provide a number for participants to call and register. The day before the workshop, we called to get a count. We provide the materials; sponsors sometimes offer snacks!
We prefer to have at least five people registered.
Our core workshops include:
- Introduction to IDEA 2004 (BASIC Special Education Rights) – (English and Spanish)
- The Six Principles of IDEA (a condensed workshop on IDEA) – (English and Spanish)
- IEP Development and Goal Writing – (English and Spanish)
- Early Childhood Transitions – (English and Spanish)
- Section 504 Anti-Discrimination
- Inclusion and Least Restrictive Environment
- Transition to Adult Life
- Communication, Negotiation, and Conflict Resolution
- Follow Question and Answer Open Forum
- Skills for Effective Advocacy Workshop – (English and Spanish)
- Parents As Leaders: Increasing Your Involvement and Making Change in Your Community – (English and Spanish)
Email your request to [email protected] or call 423-638-3619
Workshops are typically three hours long, with a break in the middle. Workshops can be customized for your group.
Full workshop descriptions are available on our website at www.tnstep.info