More than 50 parents, educators and community groups from throughout the state were honored October 4th in Concord during a ceremony celebrating October as Parent Involvement in Education Month.  Governor John Lynch proclaimed October as Parent Involvement Month to bring to public attention the central role that parents play in the academic success of their children. Kathleen Murphy, Director of the NH Department of Education, Division of Instruction, and Michelle Lewis, Director of Special Education Programs at the Parent Information Center of NH, recognized each of these individuals with a certificate during a ceremony highlighting their extraordinary contributions to family-school partnerships. Special guest speakers included Fred Bramante of the NH Board of Education, and Principal Janet Valeri of Ledge St. School in Nashua, among others. Click here to learn about the award recipients and why they were nominated (PDF). (This file provides the actual order of the program and matches the order of presentations on the video.) For the video of the guest speaker (bottom right), each guest speaks for an average of 5-7 minutes. The order of speakers is: 1. Kevin Lew-Hanson, Executive Director, The Parent Information Center of NH 2. John-Michael Dumais, Director, NH State PIRC, The Parent Information Center of NH 3. Kathleen Murphy, Director, Division of Instruction, NH Department of Education 4. Fred Bramante, Member, NH Board of Education 5. Dr. Anat Eshed, Parent 6. Stephanie Lafreniere, Statewide Title I Coordinator, NH Department of Education 7. Janet C. Valeri, Principal, Ledge St. School, Nashua 8. Mike Mooney, President, NH PTA 9. Lou Goscinski, Director of Pupil Personnel Services Moultonborough School District 10. Closing comments by John-Michael Dumais     © 2010 The Parent Information Center of NH The NH Parents Make the Difference website is a collaboration between the Parent Information Center of NH and the NH Department of Education.  This website is supported with funding from the US Department of Education through the NH State PIRC grant of the Natonal PIRC program. Click on images to enlarge Video of Award Recipients Video of Guest Speakers Videotaping by Walt Staples of Video Impressions 2011 Awards to be held on October 3 in Manchester