Positive Parenting

As educators, we often have parents reach out to us to ask us questions like “How do I get my children out of bed in time for school?” or “How do I get my children to help with the chores without an argument?” To support families with finding solutions to these common parenting questions and others, Chelsea Ainscow, teacher at EDS, and her mother, Jill Ainscow, instructional assistant at EDS, created a Positive Parenting workshop. The program was designed to give parents practical skills that can be used immediately. The class, which was held on Tuesday nights through the month of March, was open to parents from all Moreland schools and filled up quickly. Destiny Ortega, Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, says, “This was a great example of how we can partner with parents to support our students.”

10 Steps to a Healthier You

Each year, the Anderson State Preschool holds parent engagement nights based on the interests of the preschool community. Last year, the preschool invited the Healthier Kids Foundation to lead one of those nights. With the outpouring of positive feedback from the parents, this year we invited the foundation to come out again and lead all three of their parent engagement workshops. Topics included leading a healthier lifestyle, developing structure and routines, and keys to raising a happy, healthy eater. Jeanette Escobar, Preschool Director, shares, “We are so excited to offer our parents these workshops. We have heard from several families how helpful each workshop was on strengthening their family time at home. We look forward to continuing to offer the programs in future years to support our families!”

Sexual Health Parent Information Evenings

Moreland offers comprehensive sexual health education for 7th grade students. This course uses up-to-date and medically accurate health information to address many of the health issues students face, or may face, in their lifetime. The curriculum will be taught during 7th grade science classes for approximately two weeks between April 15 and June 7, 2019.

During the month of March, Moreland offered three Sexual Health Parent Information Evenings led by Heidi Winig, Director of Bay Area Communities for Health Education (BACHE).  At these sessions, parents/caregivers:

• received an overview of the state requirements as defined in the CA Healthy Youth Act.
• had a guided review of all lessons and content materials that will be offered in the Positive Prevention Plus curriculum.
• became acquainted with what parents need to know as their children approach and go through puberty.
• identified ways to initiate conversations with their child and answer sensitive questions their child may ask.

We were delighted by the number of parents who joined us for these parent information evenings.

Parent Project

We have continued our partnership with the District Attorney’s office to provide Parent Project to our middle school parents. Parent Project is a twelve week program that is nationally recognized and was created specifically for parents who want to learn effective parenting strategies that address difficult behaviors.  Topics include learning to never argue with your child, improving school attendance and performance, preventing alcohol and drug use, and stopping gang involvement. We are happy to be able to offer this support to our Moreland families.