Building Positive Parent and School Partnerships: Using Alternative Dispute Resolution Communication Skills and Strategies

This layperson-friendly workbook and podcast series is for educational professionals at any level as well as for parents. Organized into brief descriptive topics for quick reference, each practical skill is followed by suggested relevant exercises. For example:
• “The Art of the Question”: coming to a meeting prepared with the right questions, and asking them in the best way, both for clarity and attitude.
• “Say Hello to the Elephant in the Room”: How to deal with an unexpected and distracting event or behavior that just might derail the meeting if nobody addresses it.
• “Saying a Lot Without Saying a Thing”: Nonverbal communication and active listening – eye contact, distracted actions like texting, shaking versus nodding the head.
• “React to Ideas, Not the Person”: Separate the substance of what is being said from the person saying it, so as not to be unduly influenced by personality, title, and so on.
The fun and friendly format of Building Positive Parent and School Partnerships makes it accessible – even inviting – and adds to its value as a go-to desktop resource. The podcasts and the book go together – read through the workbook at your desk or listen to the podcasts in the car.
During this time of uncertainty, what do we have control over? Not much – except for our partnerships. The principles that are outlined in this book provides a template for schools and parents to work and collaborate together. In the twenty-eight years that I’ve been doing this work, there has never been a greater need for school communities to double down on making sure we build positive school parent partnerships.

Marc Purchin's vision, goals, education, experience, achievement and reputation combined to prompt the establishment of Purchin Consulting in 1997. Beginning some two decades before that, Marc has personally conducted more than 3,300 mediations, mostly through contracts with the California Special Education Hearing Office, the Department of Developmental Disabilities, several public school districts and numerous nonprofit organizations. He has additionally developed Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) programs for Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPA) throughout California.Along the way, Marc has taught courses such as "Conflict Resolution and Negotiation" and "Organizational Development and Leadership" at several universities. He earned his bachelor's degree at Southern Illinois University, majoring in speech communication with an emphasis in interpersonal communication and theater. He then completed the distinctive MBA program in nonprofit management offered by American Jewish University (formerly University of Judaism.)Recently Marc became the proud author of Building Positive Parent and School Partnerships, a user-friendly workbook that creatively gets educators and families on the same side - namely to best serve each student. He has been asked to train and speak about the book nationally to family empowerment centers, school districts, and a variety of conferences.As Marc uses the principles of improvisation in almost everything he does, he is especially excited and honored to serve on the board of the Applied Improvisation Network (AIN), an international nonprofit organization.