Parent Collaboration (Online Workshop, 3-4:30pm)

MSAA Professional Development Workshop for Administrators

Parent Collaboration

You have a sensitive matter you need to bring up to a parent. What do you say? Should it be a call, email, or conference? How do you make sure they don’t misinterpret the situation? 

You haven’t heard back from a parent about an important matter. How do you get them to participate? What strategies do you use, and what could backfire?

You have a parent who seems suspicious of you based on a bad experience with last year’s teacher. How do you build a positive rapport with them?

This Parent Collaboration training addresses these issues and more, using examples from real parent-teacher interactions, and successful, classroom tested strategies that solved them.

Administrators will learn:

• How to put structures in place to head off communication challenges  
• Common ways parents can misinterpret information, and how to prevent that
• Ways to increase parent participation and communication
• Strategies to see school communication from the parent’s point of view
• How to navigate sensitive subjects with parents

When: Tuesday, October 7, 2025, from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm

Delivery Method: Online Workshop

ZOOM Link: It will be provided on Monday, October 6

Presenter: Liz Capone, PD Ninja

PD Hours: 2 in Content Area Safe and Supportive Learning Environments

Fees: Member $80 / Non-Member $100

MSAA Contact: Victoria Ellison, vellison@msaa.net 

Liz Capone | Co-founder and Content Creator, PD Ninja
Liz Capone, M.S., Co-founder and Content Creator of PD Ninja, brings 21 years of experience as a Special Education teacher to her work.  Her extensive teaching background spans all grade levels (pre-K through 12), and diverse educational settings, including self-contained, resource, inclusion, virtual, ESY, PHP, RTC, and hospital programs across DC, Maryland, and Virginia.  She holds a master's degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Johns Hopkins University.

Following several years in the classroom, Ms. Capone transitioned to become an in-house expert witness and chief advocate at a DC education law firm specializing in serving children in foster care.  In this capacity, she testified in over 60 prevailing due process hearings, and presented in DC Superior Court over 200 times.

After the birth of her daughter (and future co-founder), she returned to teaching for several more years.  Her experience also includes teaching a graduate-level literacy course at George Washington University, and serving as a national expert witness in family law cases involving children with special needs. She has also provided Continuing Legal Education (CLE) training to the Bar Association of Montgomery County on the intersection of Special Education and family law.