The ABCs of the DOE's reorganization: Where do parents go for help?

SSO, DFA, OFEA, ISC. If you are a parent whose head is spinning with these and other new acronyms, you're not alone. We at Insideschools have been scratching our heads as we attempt to follow the Department of Education's (DOE) latest reorganization which dismantled the 10 regions last spring in an effort to let principals choose how much administrative and instructional support they want from the DOE.

It's too soon to say how this reorganization will work out; offices are still being moved, phones installed, and personnel shuffled. But there's no question that for parents who weren't consulted about these changes - there is a new set of bureaucracies to navigate. Whatever the faults of the 10 geographical regions, they were generally "one-stop shopping" for families seeking information or services.

In the new system, parents may need to go to one address to seek advice about a school problem, another to enroll a child in school, and still another to get special education services. Adding to the confusion, many familiar faces in the districts have retired or been reassigned.

If you are a parent seeking help, the first place you may want to go is to your district office to see a "district family advocate" (DFA).

"Parent Support" becomes "Family Engagement and Advocacy"

"There are a lot of cooks," said Dina Paul Parks, a spokesperson at the Department of Education. "That's part of why the DFAs are so crucial."

Formerly known as "parent support officers," the DFAs are officials in each of the 32 community school districts whose job it is to support families. They report to the central Office of Family Engagement and Advocacy (OFEA) and chief executive Martine Guerrier. Say you want to complain that your child is being bullied by a classmate and are unable to resolve it with your teacher or principal, or you need to know which school bus your child is supposed to be on. You can go to speak to a DFA in your district office. Will he or she be able to fix the problem? The answer is "maybe." The DFAs can make phone calls on your behalf and help you fill out paperwork, but they don't have authority over principals. If they are unable to resolve your problem, they should be able to direct you to someone who can.

"Parents should be able to walk into any district office and get answers from the DFAs," says Parks. "If they don't know the answer they should be able to give them the support they need in navigating the system."

The DFAs have been trained to answer questions about transportation, school food, special education and English Language Learning programs, she said. In general, they will answer questions for parents of children in elementary and middle schools while the borough directors will handle high school issues, Parks said.

It's the job of the 32 community superintendents and nine high school superintendents to work with schools to make sure students are making academic progress. They also have the power to hire and fire principals. In some cases the DFAs or parents may turn to them for help on other issues as well.

SSO "Network Leaders"

If your problem is particularly sensitive or persistent, you may want to go the "network leader," the person at the "School Support Organization" (SSO) who is working with your school.

There are three different kinds of school support organizations: Empowerment Schools, Learning Support Organizations, headed by former regional superintendents; and outside non-profit organizations known as Partnership Support Organizations. Each organization has network leaders responsible for working with as many as two dozen schools who have chosen to be in the same network. Although it's not part of their job description, network leaders in the empowerment schools, the pioneer organization in the new system, in the past have helped mediate problems between parents and school officials. Other than at the central office at Tweed, the SSOs don't appear to have physical offices that parents can visit. But you can always contact a network leader by phone or e-mail.

Enrollment and transfers at OSEPO

If you're trying to enroll your 5-year-old in kindergarten and your neighborhood school tells you there is no space, or if your son in high school gets jumped at school and you need to find a safer school for him, you should go to your local enrollment office, which reports to the central Office of Student Enrollment Planning and Operations (OSEPO). The enrollment offices may or may not be in the same location as your district office.

OSEPO, formerly in charge of high school admissions, is now handling elementary and middle school admissions, gifted and talented program admissions, as well as enrollment for students in special education, formerly done by the Committees on Special Education (CSE). The change in responsibilities has led to some confusion this year, according to advocates at Advocates for Children, who have been fielding calls from parents whose children have been placed at schools that don't offer the special education services or classes they need. If that happens to you, department officials suggest you try calling your DFA to help sort it out.

Diminished role for CSEs

The 10 CSEs are still housed in the old regional offices. However, their role has been diminished and they now primarily handle cases of students attending private or charter schools. If you suspect your child has a disability and would like to have him evaluated, you need to ask for one at your school. If you suspect your child is not getting the services he should be getting, try contacting your local CSE; it may be able to help. For more information about the reorganization of special education, check out a recent memo on the DOE website or call the Advocates for Children helpline at 1-866-427-6033. The CSEs now report to the Integrated Service Centers, which basically replaced the old ROCs (Regional Operations Centers).

Integrated Service Centers (ISC)

The five borough-based Integrated Service Centers provide administrative services to schools such as payroll, budget, personnel. They also handle have some student suspensions and health and safety issues, and special education questions. Theoretically, it's mostly school personnel who will be interacting with the ISCs, but parents have found the directors there to be helpful as well.

So, with all these organizations to choose from, how's a parent to know where to start? For some questions, it's clear where parents should go. For others, it might be a matter of knocking on as many doors as you can to get help. Our advice: Start with your district family advocate and if she can't help, reach out to the other organizations. If you're still having problems after that, call AFC's helpline, or e-mail the chancellor.

How is the reorganization working or not working for you? Send us our stories and we'll share them in an upcoming alert.

Pamela Wheaton, October 16, 2007