The next educational forum designed for Latino parents is scheduled for Wednesday, December 15 at El Verano Elementary School, beginning at 6 p.m. in the gymnasium. Free child-care and light refreshments will be provided.
This will be the fourth in a series of forums sponsored by Nueva Vida, with previous gatherings of between 50 to 75 parents each at Flowery and Sassarini Elementary Schools and Altimira Middle School.
The upcoming forum will be co-sponsored by the California Parenting Institute of Santa Rosa with a presentation about their Positive Parenting Program by educator Claudia Esparza Mudgett a bilingual Latino professional. Noris Binet, program director of Nueva Vida, Spanish for New Life, will also present on the topic: “To Discipline is not to Punish but to Love.”
The Nueva Vida sponsored forums were born from the sociological research within the Latino community conducted by Binet, which revealed that Latino parents need and want an educational process whereby they can learn how to engage successfully in their children’s education. To this end the forums have been focusing on such topics as reducing stress and improving communication within families, the particular stresses related to the immigration process, and the peaceful resolving of conflicts.
The emphasis on reducing stress levels in these forums fits with sound educational teaching for families as recently illustrated at Woodland Star Charter School. The school hosted over 60 teachers from seven Bay Area charter schools for professional development with Developmental Pediatrician Susan Johnson, MD who discussed the impact of stress on a child’s ability to learn. Dr. Johnson also reported that parental stress was a contributing factor in their student’s stress level.
The forums are aimed at providing support to teachers by educating parents to become emotionally healthier and by teaching skills to help them be more actively engaged with the education of their children. All district-wide parents are welcome to attend any of the forums, which are simultaneously translated into English for non-Spanish speakers.
For additional information please contact Noris Binet at nbinet@aol.com.
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