Over the past few years we have offered 'Parent Education' workshops on various topics. Last year parent input indicated a definite need to address anxiety, stress, and resilience among students in our community, understandable given the sad incidents that occurred within the PVSD community and our surrounding neighborhoods. Therefore, a few different parent workshops were held on topics such as anxiety, building resilience, and managing homework for which we invited different experts.
This year, in an effort to streamline these discussions about 'balance', we are working with experts from Stanford University to bring the Challenge Success workshops to the PVSD community.
The Challenge Success schedule for the 16-17 year includes: 2 Teacher workshops, 2 Parent workshops, and a student survey in the Spring. Parent workshops will be held
after
Teacher workshops, so that teacher insights, feedback, and concerns can be taken into consideration when presenting to parents.
The first of the Teacher workshops is scheduled for the afternoon of our October 10 Professional Development Day. The Parent workshop will follow on October 27, at 6:00 pm. Below is a brief description of content:
The Well-Balanced Student: How Educators Can Foster Engagement and Well-Being
In a high-stakes, high-pressure culture, parent and school expectations may have unintentional but damaging effects on students. Increasing demands on students may lead to unhealthy stress, resulting in burnout, disengagement, or debilitating physical and mental health symptoms. This workshop examines the tension that parents, students, and teachers often experience over issues such as homework, grades, and the culture of competition, and offers tools for creating a healthier school climate.
In this workshop you will:
- Explore the latest research on student health, school engagement, and school reform practices
- Examine how students today are coping - or not - in the high-pressure, fast-paced culture
- Learn effective strategies to work with students and their parents to reduce performance pressure and stress without sacrificing achievement or engagement in school
-- Minoo Shah, Ph.D., Director of Student Services
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