An Interview with Susan Shaffer, Executive Director of the Maryland State PIRC

Written by

Michael A. Robinson

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Susan Shaffer, Executive Director of the Maryland State PIRC at the conclusion of one the organization’s conference planning sessions with over 10 Maryland school districts.

The Maryland PIRC is an organization not known to many, but is one of the most effective organizations in the State of Maryland advocating for parental/family involvement in schools and communities to benefit student achievement.


Q. What is the Maryland PIRC?

A. The Maryland PRIC is the Maryland State Parental Information Resource Center. It is funded by the United States Department of Education and we provide services, direct services to parents and educators on issues related to family engagement and student achievement.

Q. How does the Maryland PIRC define Parental Engagement/Family Involvement?

A. That is a very good question. We want parents to be partners with schools and decision makers with schools; to be able to work effectively with their children at home; to be able to be advocates for their children and all the children that they work with within their communities. That is really what we would like. We want parents to have both advocacy skills as well as a sense of feeling empowered to help their children at home, so that the children can do better in school.

Q. How can Families find out about the services and programs offered by the Maryland PIRC?

A. They can find out by going on our website, which is http://www.mdpirc.org/
We have a hotline were parents can call in and we have people on staff who will answer their questions and if they can’t answer them the will put them in direct contact with someone in their County. They can find out about the PIRC through their Title 1 offices, through their family engagement offices and through the Maryland State Department of Education.


For the complete interview with Susan Shaffer, Executive Director of the Maryland State PIRC visit The Journey Begins, our 24 hour online radio station for the engaged parent and dedicated educator on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/mini.cgi?station_name=mdavisro&tm=7566

You will also be able to download the entire interview beginning August 15, 2009 at http://education4and2parents.podbean.com/ our Podcast Resource Center for free.