Parent University is a morning of workshops for caregivers and community members focused on education, parenting, community engagement, and related topics.
Parent U is free, registration is required. Melrose Parent University is brought to you by the Melrose Education Foundation in cooperation with the Melrose Public Schools. Special thanks to the Melrose Cooperative Bank Foundation for a grant supporting this free event.
Thank you for joining us for our Fall 2024 Parent U! We can’t wait to see you next fall, plus stay tuned for our evening workshops throughout winter and spring!
Saturday, November 23, 2024 | 8:00 am - 12:00 pm | Melrose High School
Schedule
8:00 - 8:30 Registration, coffee, community tables
8:30 - 9:00 Welcome by MEF; address from Superintendent Deleidi
9:00 - 9:50 Workshop Session 1
10:00 - 10:50 Panel Discussion: Resilience
11:00 - 11:50 Workshop Session 2
Workshop Options - see below for full descriptions!
Anti Bullying Efforts for All
College Admissions
Crabby Kids: What to Do When My Kid Starts Snapping
40 Developmental Assets - Build Resiliency and Help Your Child Thrive
Healthy Friendships: Helping Young People Build Them, Sustain them and Act as an Upstander
Is Your Kid Ready for K?
Medical Conditions that Present as Mental Health Issues
The Nurtured Heart Approach: Transforming Difficult Behaviors / Igniting Success & Greatness in Each Child
Restorative practices: using restorative and relational practices with your family
Saving and Paying for College
The Science of Reading: Understanding How Children Understand Texts
Talking to Kids about Race: Why It Matters and How to Start Doing It
Understanding and Supporting Anxiety
2024 Parent U: Workshop Descriptions
Panel Discussion: Fostering Resilience
Jaime Wicklund, School Psychologist, Melrose Public Schools
Jillian Russo, Psychologist, and researcher with PediMind at Maclean Hospital
Sheilah Gauch, Principal and Clinical Director, Dearborn Academy
Resilience - the ability to adapt to and bounce back from difficult situations - is a skill we all need, and something that impacts all of us throughout our entire lives. Whether it’s coping through trauma like a serious illness or death in the family, or persevering through a challenging unit in math class, the ability to thrive despite challenges arises from the skills of resilience. Studies have shown that resilience is positively associated with self-regulation, learning, engagement and coping strategies, as well as a connection between resilience and wellbeing and mental health. The good news is that resilience is a skill that can be built. This panel will provide some insight into what experts are seeing with respect to resilience in youth and caregivers, and into resilience building in MPS, and offer suggestions for how you can help your children - and yourself - build these critical skills.
Anti-Bullying Efforts for All
Target Audience: Grades 4 - 8
Presenter: Josh Murphy, Principal, Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
The Olweus Anti-Bullying Initiative is being rolled out at MVMMS this year. Come learn more about this immense undertaking to create a culture change at the middle school. Our students' sense of belonging is an integral part of their academic and social emotional success. The Olweus program has been found to reduce bullying among children, improve the social climate of classrooms, and reduce related antisocial behaviors, such as vandalism and truancy. Participants in this workshop will learn more about what bullying is (and isn’t), how the Olweus program will help, and how caregivers and community members can help support this work.
College Admissions
Target Audience: Grades 9 - 12
Presenter: Meghan Jenkins, Jenkins College Coaching
College planning does not need to be stressful! This workshop will help parents and caregivers of high school students understand the key stages and timeline of the college admissions process, including academic preparation, college research, application components, and testing. Parents will leave with practical tips to support their children throughout this important time. (Students are welcome to attend with their parents.)
Crabby Kids: What to Do When My Kid Starts Snapping
Target Audience: Grades 4 - 12
Presenter: Jillian Russo, PsyD, PediMIND Program, McLean
Irritability – or the tendency to be angry or grumpy – is a common reason why children are brought in for psychiatric evaluation. Dr. Russo will focus on developmental trends in childhood irritability, how childhood irritability impacts mental health disorders and when you should seek help, and practical strategies parents can use to understand and support emotion regulation.
40 Developmental Assets - Build Resiliency and Help Your Child Thrive
Target Audience: All
Presenter: Emily Hatchouel, Public Health Specialist, City of Melrose Health
The developmental assets framework identifies 40 research-based, positive experiences and qualities that influence young people’s development, helping them become caring, responsible, and productive adults. When young people have more assets, they are more likely to thrive now and in the future, less likely to engage in risky behaviors, and are more likely to be resilient in the face of challenges.
Healthy Friendships: Helping Young People Build Them, Sustain them and Act as an Upstander
Target Audience: Grades K - 5
Presenters: Ellie Carver, Prevention Specialist, Melrose Alliance Against Violence, and Evan Adler, MSW Intern, Melrose Alliance Against Violence
This workshop is aimed at supporting parents of elementary and early middle school students as their children navigate friendships. We will cover how to support your children in building healthy friends and navigating challenging situations such as bullying. We want you to walk away feeling like you have the skills to support conversations with your children about healthy and unhealthy friendships and support them in acting as an upstander against bullying.
Is Your Kid Ready for K?
Target Audience: PreK and K
Presenters: Milissa Churchill, Principal, Horace Mann Elementary; Shamus Brady, Assistant Principal, Winthrop Elementary.
Is your child ready for Kindergarten? Elementary school in general? Join this workshop to learn more about what skills are needed for success, and what life in today’s elementary schools really looks like.
Medical Conditions that Present as Mental Health Issues
Target Audience: All
Presenter: Sheilah Gauch, LICSW, M.Ed, Principal and Clinical Director of Dearborn Academy
Mental health is on everyone's mind these days, and many are curious about the 'whys' behind mental health struggles. Some mental health issues develop as a result of medical conditions, such as Covid or Strep. In this presentation, we will look at the emerging science and research behind inflammatory brain conditions and neuroimmune disorders that present with primarily mental health symptoms, and are often misdiagnosed as purely mental health. We will focus on PANS/PANDAS (Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome/Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep).
The Nurtured Heart Approach: Transforming Difficult Behaviors / Igniting Success & Greatness in Each Child
Target Audience: All
Presenter: Sam Healy, LICSW
The Nurtured Heart Approach™ (NHA) is a relationship and success based set of strategies to teach children positive behaviors, self-regulation, and critical life skills within the context of everyday routines and activities. Participants will learn practical strategies and specific techniques to help children transform difficult behaviors and reach their highest potential.
Restorative practices: using restorative and relational practices with your family
Target Audience: One session preK-Grade 5, one session Grades 6 - 12
Presenters: Beth Hampson and Rebecca Taplin, Pathways to Restorative Communities
In this interactive session participants will be introduced to Restorative Justice Practices and how they are utilized in a school setting. Participants will learn about how shifting to a mindset of curiosity that centers healthy relationships can improve behavior in children and teens. We will explore how attending to our own adult social and emotional needs can improve how we respond to our children and inturn improve how they respond to us.
Saving and Paying for College
Target Audience: All
Presenters: Jeff Bentley, VP, Student Lending at Citizens; Amy Piantedosi, Director, Student Financial Counseling at MIT
College is an investment, but the thought of saving for and financing a college education can be overwhelming for families. Though it’s never too late to begin saving, there are certainly advantages to starting early on in your child’s life. This workshop will discuss college savings options, tips, and different ways to pay for college, including types of financial aid, the FAFSA, student loans and more.
The Science of Reading: Understanding How Children Understand Texts
Target Audience: PreK - Grade 5
Presenters: Tiffany Hogan PhD, CCC-SLP, Director of the SAiL Literacy Lab and Professor, MGH Institute of Health Professions; and Dorie Withey, M.Ed, ELA Elementary Program Director, Boston Public Schools (and Melrose School Committee).
The science of reading is a large body of research that explains how children understand texts. In this session you will learn main findings from the science of reading and how those findings have influenced current school-based policies and practices to support reading success for all.
Talking to Kids about Race: Why It Matters and How to Start Doing It
Target Audience: PreK - Grade 8
Presenter: Meredith Moore, PhD, Founder, Kids for Racial Justice
Were you raised to believe that we should all be colorblind? Do you have questions and concerns about whether, how, or when you should talk to your own children about race? Join social justice educator Meredith Moore for a workshop designed to help parents develop the skill and confidence to discuss race with children. Learn why it’s essential to address race with children of all ages, and explore strategies for initiating race talk proactively. You’ll walk away with helpful resources, including scripts and conversation starters that you can use to begin conversations in your own home.
Understanding and Supporting Anxiety
Target Audience: All
Presenter: Sheilah Gauch, LICSW, M.Ed, Principal and Clinical Director of Dearborn Academy
In this presentation, we will break down and understand the science behind anxiety and identify ways to support it. Anxiety impacts us all differently and particular attention will be given to understand anxiety in your children - and yourselves. This is particularly important for caregivers/parents who are caring for children who have challenges of any kind. Understanding our stress responses can not only help our children - but help us in supporting them!