It is the mission of the Ohio Parent Mentors to provide the necessary support and resources to families of children with disabilities and the professionals that serve them.
Districts have a responsibility to develop, support and implement a system of education services for all students.
The Parent Mentor Program is based on the assumption that students with disabilities will be ensured an appropriate and meaningful education if parents and educators can communicate effectively and operationalize the partnership planning required by IDEA.
Districts choose to implement the Parent Mentor Program to promote this necessary and effective communication by providing information and support to families about special education issues and by providing a mechanism to convey the family perspective back to the system.
The State Support Team, Region 11 Parent Mentor Network is one link in the cooperative effort among SST 11, school districts, County Boards of Developmental Disabilities, State Schools and Joint Vocational School Districts in the Central Ohio region.
A number of school districts in the seven county SST Region 11 participate in the Ohio Parent Mentor Project. The list below identifies the parent mentor(s) in respective Central Ohio school districts.
If a district does not have a parent mentor, parents may contact the Family Services consultant for
the State Support Team Region 11.
Bexley City Schools Jane “Sam” McMillan 614.237.4309 x 3238
Madison/Champaign ESC Jacqueline Howley 937.484.1570
Columbus City Schools Jennifer Sims and
Elaine Hamilton 614.365.5219
Gahanna City Schools Laura Glenn 614.337.3737 x 0280
Licking County Schools Nancy Banks 740.349.6947
Newark City Schools Eva Marino 740.670.7060
Ohio State School for the Blind Lauri Kaplan 614.728.1567
Ohio School for the Deaf Tabitha Belhorn 614.752.2647
Ohio School for Deaf/Blind Ed. Allison Glasgow 614.785.1163
Westerville City Schools Tracey Davis 614.797.5939
Worthington City Schools Marilyn VanGilder 614.883.3044
For more information about these services contact:
Joe Farry, M.A. 
Consultant
614.753.4680
LINKS
Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities Web site