• Need questions answered immediately?          En español       
• Need resource referrals? 
• Is your child having a hard time and you don’t know what to do to help?

Answers to these questions, and much more, can be accessed via the IEM Help-line. Just call the Help-line anytime during business hours Monday-Friday and an IEM Support Specialist will get back to you within 48-hours.

Teachers are also encouraged to contact our Support Specialists, too. Educators will find a wealth of parent-approved resources, ideas and help in providing their students with the best educational experience possible.

To contact a Support Specialist, call the Help-line at (800) 979-4436.

Provides a listening ear & support for parents who are ready to be at choice...

In frustration and desperation, the mother of a 9-year-old fourth grader called the Parent Driven Schools (PDS) helpline one cold day in January of 2008. She needed to get some academic help for her daughter. She was frustrated - her daughter did not like school and she felt that the school was not being supportive and helpful in the situation.

Since the PDS helpline is free, so she decided to give the number a call. She reached a support specialist who was able to listen to her story completely, connect with her in such way that she cried tears of relief, and told the resource specialist, “This has been going on for over 3 years and I feel like I have just been heard for the first time.”

The support specialist got details of her area and her daughter’s school district. The specialist offered to research some local agencies that might be able to help. The mother and the support specialist agreed to speak by the end of the business day.

The PDS helpline reached out to area agencies, found out what the parent needed to have in place in order to get service and support. The mother, so overwhelmed and discouraged by the lack of support from her daughter’s school, perceived lack of support was systemic of the education district. Opening the doors for other agencies to hear this parent’s story, and connecting her with other options allowed for the school and the parent to work better and together.  The helpline delivered:

• A listening and compassionate ear when the parent needed it most
• “Fresh eyes” to see resources and contacts into the local community
• Support and encouragement for the parent
• A report emailed to the parent with resources, names and numbers to call, connecting her with local level for support within 24 hours of the phone call.

The PDS helpline shared the parent’s story with the local agencies. This created an open door for the agency to be ready to help her. As a result of her phone call, this parent got in the driver’s seat and charted a new direction for her student’s services and support.

Every day, the PDS helpline assists parents, and in turn their students, by answering questions and helping parents connect to choices that will make a difference in their child’s education process.