School is for kids, right? In the Lake Washington School District (LWSD), there are ample opportunities for parents to learn, too.
A free class series, “Teen Life on the Eastside: What Parents Should Know” continues next week. “Maintaining the Parent-Teen Relationship as Your Teen Asserts Their Independence” runs from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, in the cafeteria at Evergreen Junior High School, 6900 208th Ave. NE, Redmond.
Ken Wong, teen programs director for the City of Redmond, will examine common conflicts between parents and adolescents — from grades to chores, family rules, friends and more.
“Common conflicts” are key words, said Joanne Hall, parent education liaison for the the Lake Washington PTSA Council, who has coordinated the content of the parenting programs with Wong and with Jeannine Ewing, health instructor at Redmond High School.
“I look for topics of broad interest that don’t create fear in parents,” Hall explained. “These are common issues we all face.”
And to entice parents to attend, “it has to be strong speakers … and there needs to be some entertainment value,” Hall added. “I ask speakers to offer strategies, rather than just painting the landscape. Most of us parents don’t have the tool chest to deal with all issues. This is about helping parents feel more successful.”
The hope is to engage parents before there are serious problems and to offer them resources, such as working with SROs (School Resource Officers) or city employees who are teen-savvy.
Wong, for instance, “has been a teacher, has done some drug and alcohol counseling and has connections with kids in RYPAC (Redmond Youth Advisory Partnership Committee),” she pointed out. “He has a great sense of humor and is an incredible communicator.”
A panel presentation, “The Risky Business of Adolescence: Local Trends in Teen Risk-taking and Experimentation” is scheduled from 7-9 p.m. Monday, April 13 at the LWSD Resource Center Board Room, 16250 NE 74th St., Redmond.
Wong will moderate and panelists will include Ewing, a licensed mental health counselor and a former RHS student.
Again, this program is not meant to alarm parents, but to give them a reality check, Hall stated: “Some parents over-monitor their kids’ behavior, some don’t monitor enough at the secondary level. We’re trying to strike a balance.”
At the parent education programs, Hall strives to have hand-outs for parents to take home. And the district requires evaluation forms.
“I take feedback very seriously,” Hall noted.
College and career planning have become hot topics, because teens have so many stressors heaped on top of academic expectations.
Worries about the economy, the environment and misuse of technology — such as being harassed on the Internet — have made teens’ lives increasingly complicated.
“College Planning: Finding the Right Fit for Your Student” will run from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, April 23 in the LWSD Resource Center Board Room. Highlights will include college pathways and how the economy has affected college admissions.
For information about the parent education programs, contact Joanne Hall at jjjahall@juno.com.
