Parent University.
Parent University is a morning of workshops for caregivers and community members focused on education, parenting, community engagement, and related topics. Parent involvement leads to higher rates of academic success for children. Melrose Parent University is designed to increase caregivers’ ability to support students, and help both caregivers and community members understand current trends in education.
Parent U is free, registration is required. Read more below about the most recent Parent U event that took place on Saturday, November 18. And stay tuned for future events and workshops.
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.
Saturday, November 18, 2023 | 8:15 am - 12:30 pm | Melrose High School
Schedule
8:15 - 8:45 Registration, coffee, community tables
8:45 - 8:50 Welcome by MEF
8:50 - 9:35 Keynote – Superintendent Macero
9:45 - 10:30 Session 1
10:40 - 11:25 Session 2
11:35 - 12:20 Mental Health Panel
Farewell, thank you
Keynote featuring Superintendent John Macero
Hear from the Superintendent as he shares the state of our schools. As a career educator, Superintendent Macero brings a wealth of experience to Melrose, a background that offers insight into what works. He’ll share his views on where Melrose is today, and highlight some of the positives while acknowledging the challenges, and discuss what he hopes to accomplish.
Session I
40 Developmental Assets - Build Resiliency and Help Your Child Thrive
Healthy Friendships: Helping Young People Build Them, Sustain them and Act as an Upstander
It's All About the Benjamins – Unpacking the School Budget
The Nurtured Heart Approach: Transforming Difficult Behaviors / Igniting Success & Greatness in Each Child
Spreading Fun, Reducing Fear: The Unique Contribution Coaches Can Play in Supporting Anxious Athletes
Saving and Paying for College
Session II
City Budget 101
Crabby Kids: What to Do When My Kid Starts Snapping
An Evolving Understanding of Gender
Getting Started: Understanding the College Admission Process
Healthy Eating for the Whole Family
The Nurtured Heart Approach: Transforming Difficult Behaviors / Igniting Success & Greatness in Each Child
Restorative Practices: Using Restorative and Relational Practices with your Family
The Science of Reading
A World of Difference
Mental Health Panel
The mind is on everyone’s mind. Join us for an engaging and informative panel discussion dedicated to the well-being of young people. Our panel of experts and advocates will explore the critical topic of mental health among today's youth. We'll delve into strategies for fostering resilience, coping with stress, and navigating the unique challenges of adolescence. For this talk, we will be joined by a private sector mental health professional, Jill Russo from the PediMIND program at McLean, a City of Melrose social worker, Collin MacGowan, and a gender inclusive classrooms consultant, Bert Whittier.
2023 Parent U: Workshop Descriptions
Session 1 Workshops
Spreading Fun, Reducing Fear: The Unique Contribution Coaches Can Play in Supporting Anxious Athletes
Target Audience: Grades K-8
Noreen Donovan, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist
Frank Oliveri, Melrose Recreation Director
Christopher Bellem, Special Education Teacher and Coach
It is commonly understood that physical activity and exercise can reduce stress and anxiety. This panel discussion will review how organized youth sports can support anxious kids and help them thrive. Join panelists to explore how the anxious brain can be both positive and limiting, factors that influence children’s interest in sports and why they sometimes choose to stop playing, and key strategies for coaches to keep kids engaged and participating.
Saving and Paying for College
Target Audience: All
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.
Healthy Friendships: Helping Young People Build Them, Sustain them and Act as an Upstander
Target Audience: Grades K - 6
Presenters: Crystal Johnson, Director, and Ellie Carver, Prevention Specialist, 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.
The Nurtured Heart Approach: Transforming Difficult Behaviors / Igniting Success & Greatness in Each Child
Target Audience: All
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.
40 Developmental Assets - Build Resiliency and Help Your Child Thrive
Target Audience: All
Presenter: Emily Hatchouel, Public Health Specialist, City of Melrose
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.
It's All About the Benjamins – Unpacking the School Budget
Target Audience: All
Presenter: Interim Superintendent John Macero
In this workshop, Superintendent Macero will go into the Melrose Public Schools’ budget in depth. Relying on his extensive career in public education, he will help participants understand the current state of MPS finances, and explore what works and where the MPS budget falls short. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about how our schools work with an opportunity to have your questions answered.
Session 2 Workshops
City Budget 101
Target Audience: All
Presenter: Paul Brodeur, Mayor of Melrose
A city’s budget reflects the values of the community. This workshop will provide an overview of city funding – where the city’s funding comes from, how it is limited by prop 2.5 and where there is room for growth – and go over some of the current demands, priorities, and challenges facing the City of Melrose budget. This is a great opportunity to get answers to questions you may have!
Getting Started: Understanding the College Admission Process
Target Audience: Grades 9 - 11
Tom O'Hare, Founder of Get College Going and a Senior Partner at Pivotal College Years
Applying to college can seem overwhelming and complicated. From building a solid college list, testing, filing applications, essays, showing interest, and more! This workshop presented by Tom O’Hare, College Advisor, will cover the college planning timeline and ways to support your student to make the process less stressful. In addition, supporting documents and checklists for 10th-grade and 12th-grade families will be provided to attendees.
The Nurtured Heart Approach: Transforming Difficult Behaviors / Igniting Success & Greatness in Each Child
Target Audience: All
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.
An Evolving Understanding of Gender
Target Audience: All
Presenter: Bert Whittier, co-facilitator of EPiC-Melrose, consultant to schools on creating gender inclusive classrooms
Our understanding of gender is changing. For many, these changes are confusing. For some, it feels as if the changes are happening all too quickly. For others, the changes can’t come soon enough. Transgender…non-binary…gender fluid…cisgender…pronouns…new names. How do we make sense of all this? This presentation will provide a common language around gender and offer answers to some of the questions about our evolving understanding of gender.
Bert Whittier is the presenter for this program. For 10 years, he taught at Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School. He continues to be an advisor to the MVMMS GSA (Gender/Sexuality Alliance), and is a co-facilitator of EPiC-Melrose, a group for parents of LGBTQ+ children. He also is an author and a consultant to schools and organizations around gender and creating gender-inclusive classrooms.
Crabby Kids: What to Do When My Kid Starts Snapping
Target Audience: Grades 4 - 8
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.
Restorative Practices: Using Restorative and Relational Practices with your Family
Target Audience: All
Presenter: Beth Hampson from 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.
The Science of Reading
Target Audience: Grades PreK - 5
Presenter: MaryAnn Barriss, Instructional Coach, Melrose Public Schools
In this workshop Instructional Coach MaryAnn Bariss will discuss the work of the district’s Literacy Task Force. Through the lens of the task force, she'll explore the current state and potential future of the curriculum in Melrose, as well as the current research on the science of reading.
Healthy Eating for the Whole Family
Target Audience: All
Kristen Schreck, MS, RDN, LDN
Did you know that healthy eating can not only help support growth and reduce disease risk, but it can also help improve behavior and athletic performance? Come learn simple, practical tips for incorporating new habits into your family's busy schedule.
A World of Difference
Target Audience: All
Presenters: MHS Grade 9 Students
This presentation is led by Melrose High School grade 9 students who participated in the Anti-Defamation League A World of Difference peer leadership program while in middle school. The World of Difference program empowers student leaders to become agents of change. The students address issues such as prejudice, bias, bullying and other social justice related concerns. Please come prepared to participate in student-led activities. The student leaders will facilitate a series of activities and conversations that may challenge your own sense of bias and social justice.