SHARE:  
Contact Us: (800) 894-7201
THE PESA POST
The latest news, views and announcements from
Parents, Educators/Teachers & Students in Action

October 20, 2022
HELPING PARENTS HELP THEIR KIDS
Even the most experienced caregivers can use extra support when their teens hit high school
Regular readers of this newsletter know that we tend to emphasize PESA’s student-focused efforts and initiatives, but a major arm of our mission is our involvement with and support of parents. After all, they’re right there in our name!

Case in point: We’ve recently been working with Los Angeles Leadership Academy High School in Los Angeles to present a series of parent empowerment workshops. The idea came at the behest of school principal Elsa Ochoa, who had developed a monthly “coffee with the principal event” that allows her to be actively involved with parents and students. She approached PESA with the request that we make presentations on topics of interest to parents, and we jumped at the opportunity.  

“These gatherings are an opportunity for a teen’s home and school life to connect for the benefit of the student,” says Ochoa. “I reached out to PESA for parent/caregiver workshops to provide enrichment for our families.” 

PESA community representative Jesus Gonzalez and recent MSW grad Jennifer Luna are the presenters at these monthly events, and they do so in both Spanish and English. Topics so far have included:
How To Be a Partner in Your Child’s Education: Presented at the very start of the new school year, this was particularly useful for parents of teens making the challenging transition from middle school to high school. In addition to nuts-and-bolts guidance on beginning the college-prep process such as taking AP and honors classes, it also included suggestions on how to provide students with supportive structure, encouraging involvement in extracurricular activities and becoming a self-advocate. 

Positive Parent Partnerships: A common challenge for parents of high-schoolers is knowing how much to stay involved in their education and personal lives while simultaneously allowing them the room to mature into confident, self-sufficient young adults. Topics included whether and how much to monitor internet and social media use; steps to being an educator and ally at home; and maintaining a proper balance of involvement in kids’ lives both inside and outside of school.

Wellness Workshop: This two-part presentation (the second will be presented in November) delved into issues of emotional, psychological and social well-being. Covering things such as common mental health struggles of students, such as anxiety and mood, attention and behavioral disorders, it’s a heavier topic, to be sure, but an extremely important one, given that every year, 1 in 6 youth ages 6 to 17 experience a mental health disorder. 

Principal Ochoa is pleased with the presentations and her community’s response. “All of us care,” she says, “but we need to build skills and engage in ongoing discussions about our youth, and this is a wonderful opportunity to be able to have an interactive presentation on a Saturday morning together."

Educators and administrators interested in these types of programs are invited to contact us. ■

If you’d like to support PESA’s many social and educational initiatives, please contact us.