Who are we? It Takes a Village is a support group for parents of Mill Valley School District (K-8) students with learning challenges.We are also a Special Education PTA (SEPTA) that participates in Mill Valley’s PTA council.
We have a very diverse membership that includes parents of children with learning disabilities, including students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).Our membership also includes parents of children with very mild issues. In fact, many of our parents have children without learning disabilities; they simply want to learn more about strategies to strengthen their children’s education. Teachers, administrators and other service providers are also a key component of our membership.
We are run by an elected board which includes parent liaisons from each of the District’s schools and a District liaison from the Mill Valley School District.
What do we do? We work closely with the District’s administration and teachers to create positive and productive relationships between the District and parents.
We provide information and resources to help parents and Mill Valley’s schools understand, identify and teach students with learning differences. We identify concerns of parents and collaborate on solutions. We have monthly speaker events, parent coffees, a children’s playgroup, and an appreciation holiday party.Our meetings, including our speaker events, are open to all District parents who want to help their children learn.Past speaker events have included topics such as:
Reading strategies for all types of early readers
How different learning styles affect homework
Understanding sensory integration dysfunction
Project Eye to Eye
2009-2010 Speaker Series
September 3, 2009 Project Eye to Eye: Learning Outside the Lines David Flink October 8,2009 Mastery and Competence: The Role of Learning in the Emotional Development of the Pre-adolescent Child Matthew O'Byrne Ph.D. November 5, 2009 From the Back of Their Head to the Center of Their World- Being the Rare Adult That Youth Will Listen To Jeffrey Leiken, M.A. January 7, 2010 Executive Functioning Maeve Burke, M.S. February 4, 2010 Psychological Evaluation and Effective Child Advocacy Brendan Pratt, Ph.D.
March 4, 2010 Social and Emotional Challenges Devora Depper Ph.D.
April 8, 2010 Transitions - the Public School Years; Pre-K to Elementary, Elementary to Middle School, Middle School to High School Teri Mcglaughlin, Terry Sullivan, Barbaro O'Toole, Karen Mates
May 6, 2010 Living with a Learning Disability - How Does this Affect Families and How Can Families Cope? Michele Saloner, Ph.D. & Susan Schmidt, Ph.D.
Counselor's Corner Claudia Trinklein-Engman
ITAV Featured in Marin Magazine
It Takes A Village is a non-profit tax exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Our tax identification number is 20-3411435. More information