Education | Resources

Achieve

Achieve of Southwest Missouri provides comprehensive transition services to individuals with disabilities who need additional skills and supports to succeed in life after high school.

Primarily for ages 18-25, Achieve provides instruction and experiences in life management, career exploration, and self-determination.

Through a facility partnership with Evangel University, Achieve supports and equips individuals, upon program completion, to assimilate into either higher education or competitive employment with the necessary skills to be successful.

To learn more, visit their website: https://achieveswmo.com/

Bear POWER

Bear POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Work, Education and Resilience) at Missouri State University is a two year, five semester inclusive college program for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The program that was created to offer a post-secondary education opportunity to students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) transitioning out of high school.

The Bear POWER mission is: “To effectively utilize existing campus and community resources to create an inclusive academic college program that generates individual outcomes for students with intellectual disabilities in the areas of education and employment.”

To learn more, visit their website: https://www.missouristate.edu/bearpower/

Distance Learning and Form G

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has prepared additional education materials for parents and guardians who now bear more responsibility than ever for the educational success of their children through online or distance learning. Parents, who are working to understand and keep up with all of the changes in the current school climate, have asked DESE to provide guidance by answering some key questions about getting IEPs ready to meet students’ needs as schools reopen. Special Education Compliance staff members used questions provided by parents through a variety of sources to develop two new parent resources.

See the link here: https://dese.mo.gov/special-education/compliance/parent-information

MoSPIN

The purpose of the Missouri Statewide Parent Involvement Network (MoSPIN) is to provide a free homebased program for families of children, birth through five years of age, who are visually impaired, including those with multiple disabilities and combined vision and hearing challenges. Services are coordinated with local education agencies, adult service providers and deafblind task forces to enhance networking and to build expertise in the community.

To learn more, visit their website: https://msb.dese.mo.gov/outreach-services/mospin.html

MPACT

Missouri Parents Act (MPACT) is a non-profit that serves children with disabilities, their families, and communities throughout the state. MPACT has served as Missouri’s federally-funded Parent Training and Information Center since 1988. MPACT also works in collaboration with, and receives funding from, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Their primary goal is to assist parents in their effort to effectively advocate for their children’s educational rights and services. MPACT staff and volunteers are located throughout Missouri and work with public and private agencies, parent groups, professional organizations and advocacy groups to achieve that goal. MPACT is committed to excellence as they provide FREE services and assistance to parents, families, and youth. Parents of children with disabilities face challenges every day that other parents don’t have. It is often difficult to navigate the maze of special services and create a plan that will help children achieve successful outcomes through education.

For more information about MPACT visit their website at: http://www.missouriparentsact.org/