MPRRC Strengthens Collaboration for Next Five Years

The Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center (MPRRC) was recently refunded for another five-year period.  Under this new contract, the directorship of the MPRRC has shifted to Dr. Carol Massanari.  John Copenhaver will serve as the Principal Investigator for the MPRRC, but he will be focusing his efforts and expertise to the administration of the Center for Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education (TAESE).  TAESE is a not-for-profit center developed to provide technical assistance to states and local education agencies that goes beyond the scope and capacity of the MPRRC.  MPRRC is one project among several that are part of TAESE.

According to Dr. Massanari, there are two significant changes with the new cooperative agreement. One of the key changes is an emphasis of greater collaboration across the six Regional Resource Centers in the nation in an  effort to be more efficient and responsive to state needs.  This means that the RRCs will be working together to develop tools and strategies to use with states from other regions that might have a similar need.

To strengthen collaboration even futher, the MPRRC will work with other Centers, as appropriate, to develop and implement more specific or focused technical assistance to address a systemic issue or need.

The MPRRC is committed to continuing to provide high-quality, effective technical assistance that will help states improve outcomes for children and youth with disabilities and their families.