Parent Training In Schools: It's in Everyone's Best Interests

On October 6, 2009, I will be be leading a two-hour webinar to inform and inspire more schools to offer a wide range of modern parent training programs and become places where parents turn for learning how best to raise their children.

Schools are ideal for providing and facilitating the education of parents. They are first and foremost educational institutions and nearly every child and family has a relationship with them.

A recent report from the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education marshals decades of research evidence from forward-looking schools that are already engaged in educating and involving parents. The report concludes that educating and engaging parents "leads to INCREASED STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, INCREASED SOCIAL SKILLS and BEHAVIOR, and INCREASED LIKELIHOOD of GRADUATION."

If that isn't enough motivation for schools and school boards to make parenting training a priority, there are other excellent reasons for schools to become advocates and providers. In so doing they will also be contributing to the prevention and treatment of numerous health and social problems, such as helping to stop child abuse and neglect, youth substance use, delinquency, gang involvement and crime. Indeed, because schools have the capacity to reach just about everyone in the community, their efforts to educate and support parents can be the pivotal and central means for getting more parents to be the best they can be.

I encourage all of us to encouarge schools to take this type of leadership and sign up for the October 6 webinar!