MISSION
The mission of SUPAC is to promote meaningful parent involvement in the inclusive education of their children with disabilities. SUPAC works to involve and empower parents by informing them as well as their children of their rights within the educational system. By so doing, the SUPAC enhances the ability of parents to advocate for a meaningful education within an inclusive setting for their children and for supports that are appropriate, gentle, and respectful and which enable their children to maximize their unique abilities. The SUPAC also educates parents and school personnel (teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals), who share the responsibility to create inclusive schools and classrooms, about the potential of every child to succeed in school.
The Core Values of SUPAC
- Valuing all children of all ages for their unique abilities and as essential members of the school community;
- Envisioning “belonging” as an essential component of learning;
- Promoting meaningful student involvement in their own education by helping children to develop the skill of advocacy so they can have a say in the type and level of support they receive;
- Promoting meaningful parent involvement in their children’s education;
- Promoting inclusion not as a place but as a way of thinking about education;
- Believing that all children of all ages have the potential for success in inclusive settings;
- Supporting fully inclusive settings for all children of all ages and presuming competence of all children;
- Advocating for the use of supports that are gentle and respectful to the student;
- Educating school personnel to promote the dignity and sense of belonging for all children;
- Recognizing that parents, school administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals share the responsibility to provide a meaningful education to all children within the context of general education curriculum and instruction; and
- Recognizing that the work of creating meaningful education and inclusive schools and classrooms is not essentially a matter of resources, but rather how we think about the abilities and potential of all children, including children with disabilities.