When Evanston parent Cari Levin started a program to help parents of special needs children in 2007, she was in the process of learning how to navigate the school system for her own son.
“It was hard,” Levin said. “There are too many people who don’t know how to do this.”
Levin is the founding executive director of Evanston CASE, which stands for Community, Advocacy, Support and Education. The group supports Evanston families whose children, from ages 3 to 22, have special needs at school. Those needs can stem from a variety of challenges, including dyslexia, autism or Down syndrome, to name just a few.
Now, armed with a $10,000 grant from Evanston Community Foundation, Levin and Evanston CASE are working to pair volunteer parents who have experience navigating the Evanston school special education systems with parents who are still figuring it out. The organization gained nonprofit status in 2016.
“I want to share what I’ve learned and be there for somebody,” Levin said.
About 1,500 Evanston students receive special education services in school, according to the Evanston CASE website. Most Evanston kids attend Evanston/Skokie District 65, which serves pre-kindergarten through 8th grade, or Evanston Township High School District 202.
“CASE advocates for appropriate special education services and promotes the inclusion of families and children in school, community activities and programs,” according to the group’s website.
The newest program, “Empowering Parent Partners,” helps parents, guardians and caregivers “successfully navigate their special education meeting and improve outcomes for their child.”
Levin said it’s not that Evanston schools are more difficult to navigate as a parent of a child with special needs. It’s more about the difficulties of learning a new system, what rights and services are available, and what benefits to request for their children.
Kate Noble is an Evanston parent of two boys, ages 10 and 13, who are on the autism spectrum. She is a volunteer with Evanston CASE’s new program.
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“It was important to me to help educate others with the knowledge I have gained over the years,” Noble said. That way, parents new to special education “feel prepared, not blindsided.”
Noble has already worked with one family and plans to work with another through Evanston CASE. Those families also have students on the autism spectrum. The first family has a child transferring from elementary to middle school, Noble said, and she hopes her work helped ease that transition.
One of the big challenges for parents, Noble said, is knowing what to ask. She meets with parents to learn their family’s story before going into the school for meetings with educators. She then takes notes during those meetings and types them up afterward for a debriefing session with the parents. There she goes through what happened, answers questions and ensures they understood what was discussed and what is happening next.
“I’ve learned what it feels like to be a parent and do things on your own,” Noble said. “A lot of them come from a place of anxiety and fear.”
Anya Tanyavutti, vice president of the Evanston/Skokie Dist. 65 school board, called “Empowering Parent Partners” a particularly thoughtful program.
“It’s hard work, it’s emotional work and it’s labor that deserves to be recognized,” Tanyavutti said.
Levin said she is applying for more grants to keep the program going. Parents can learn more about Evanston CASE, Empowering Parent Partners and other programs offered there by visiting the Evanston CASE website.