Lessons from JEFF

⚠️ Challenge ➡️💡What Could Help

Admin support was inconsistent and performative ➡️ Secure admin commitment in writing (space, time, communication)

Meeting times were set to benefit staff, not parents ➡️ Push for co-decision-making on meeting times — or host independently

Staff refused to attend when accountability was uncomfortable ➡️ Clarify expectations upfront: "We speak with honesty and respect — and expect the same."

The school erased the website without warning ➡️ Keep ownership of group platforms (email, flyers, website) on neutral ground

Parent energy burned out due to constant resistance ➡️ Share leadership early — don’t carry it alone

• Clear boundaries around collaboration vs co-optation

• Transparent space to hold admin accountable without retaliation

• Training/resources for parent leaders on navigating school politics

• Backup from the district or CAC when site support failed

Even if it didn’t last, JEFF:

• Brought families together who would’ve felt alone

• Made space for hard conversations

• Inspired this guide

• Proved that families will show up when they feel safe and seen

A special note from Sarah Kieffer, Co-Founder of JEFF:

I want to be transparent about why I choose to share my reason for pulling the plug on JEFF—not because I think it was a failure, but because the fact that it couldn’t survive says something important. I’m someone with knowledge of the system, strong connections, and deep roots in our special education community. And even with all that… I couldn’t keep JEFF alive.

It wasn’t from lack of need. The need was urgent, constant, and real. What was missing was shared ownership. Site support. Space. It slowly became something that rested entirely on my shoulders and that is not sustainable for any parent, no matter how passionate or prepared.

I’m sharing this because I know I’m not the only one. There are other parents out there trying to hold their communities together while raising children with complex needs, navigating school systems, and carrying grief, joy, rage, and love all at once. If even someone with access and experience can’t sustain it alone… what does that mean for families with less?

This isn’t the end of my advocacy. But it is the end of pretending that passion can carry the weight of what should be shared responsibility.