Looking to create positive relationships in the ever-changing world of special education? Look no further than Tamara Jacobson! Tamara is filled with insightful strategies and guidance on how to foster successful partnerships, whether through training, coursework, or consulting services. Here are various ways you can build positive partnerships across the educational landscape through training, coursework, and consulting services.

Tamara is filled with insightful strategies and guidance on how to foster successful partnerships, whether through training, coursework, or consulting services.

Tamara can help you craft undergraduate and graduate education course curricula. Her book, Navigating Special Education, is applicable to foundations, psychology, ethics, special education, education leadership, and administrative classes. It also teaches communication, data collection, evaluation tools, effective IEP/504 development, parent-educator partnerships, best administrative practices, and the history of education. 

Key Concepts

• 5C Model of Communication
  Conversations, Collaboration, Cooperation, Compromise, and Consensus
• Active listening, data collection, and correspondence strategies
• Best practices for building trust, developing transparency, and forging positive partnerships

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the role of communication in education
• Understand how communication affects building positive partnerships
• Implement the 5C Model of Communication, expressing and internalizing best practices for communication

Active Courses

• Missouri State University – “Working with Families of Exceptional Individuals”

Tamara can assist parents in establishing a positive parent-educator partnership. By teaching communication techniques and education strategies, Tamara can decrease the family’s anxiety when meeting with teacher(s) or attending IEP meetings. She can also demonstrate how parents can effectively communicate with their community of practice by placing the child at the center of all conversations.

Key Concepts

•  Easy-to-understand overview of the special education process
• 5C Model of Communication
  Conversations, Collaboration, Cooperation, Compromise, and Consensus
• Active listening, data collection, and correspondence strategies
• Building trust, developing transparency, and forging positive partnerships 

Learning Objectives

• Understand the importance of communication in the parent-educator relationship
• Examine the role of communication in education
• Implement the 5C Model of Communication, express and internalize best practices for communication
• Develop empathy

Tamara can guide members of the educational community of practice. Tamara can work with educational leadership during weekly and/or monthly staff-faculty meetings to establish how to build a positive parent-educator partnership.

Tamara teaches data collection, effective IEP/504 development, communication, parent-educator partnerships, best administrative practices, and the history of education. Her book offers simple communication techniques and education strategies, helping to decrease staff anxiety when meeting with parents and/or attending IEP meetings. It also demonstrates how to effectively communicate across the school culture using data collection and correspondence. It emphasizes the need for the student’s voice to be represented at the center of all conversations by using real-life examples through stories and easy-to-use examples.

Key Concepts

• An easy-to-use framework to drive all parent-teacher conversations
• 5C Model of Communication
  Conversations, Collaboration, Cooperation, Compromise, and Consensus
• Active listening, data collection, and correspondence strategies to build trust and transparency
• Best practices for building trust, developing transparency, and forging positive partnerships

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the role of communication in education
• Understand how communication affects building positive educator-parent partnerships
• Implement the 5C Model of Communication by utilizing positive verbal and written communication

Tamara can be used for professional development within school districts or companies. Each chapter of her book could be a different module or the overall 5C Model of Communication could be the basis for the training. Redefining team vs. partnerships will strengthen productivity and build professional growth. 

Key Concepts

• Best practices for building trust, developing transparency, and forging positive partnerships
• 5C Model of Communication
  Conversations, Collaboration, Cooperation, Compromise, and Consensus
• Active listening, data collection, and correspondence strategies

Learning Objectives for School Districts

• Analyze the role communication plays in education
• Understanding the importance of family engagement in the education process
• Improve staff performance, competence, and productivity through effective communication, active listening, and perspective taking

Learning Objectives for Companies

• Analyze the role communication plays across the work environment
• Understanding the importance of team building and positive partnering
• Improve staff performance, competence, and productivity through effective communication, active listening, and perspective-taking

Powerhouse speaker and experienced educator Tamara is available to present the key concepts found in the innovative book, Navigating Special Education. Her talks highlight the importance of effective communication as it relates to working collaboratively and cooperatively as members of a team and within an organization. Tamara customizes her presentations to target the needs, interests, and concerns of the audience. 

Suggested Titles

• When All Else Fails, Go Back to the 5C’s
• The 5C Model of Communication; Its Power to Drive Partnerships 
• Preparation is Key, The Importance of Data 
• How to Actively Listen Across All Platforms 
• Navigating Negotiations Through Active Listening
• Conflicts Lead to Creative Solutions
• Redefining the Parent-Teacher Relationship