Lessons in parenting Lessons in parenting (January 06, 2006)

PACT takes its message to the larger community

By Molly Tanenbaum

For the first time ever, Mountain View-Whisman's PACT alternative school will be spreading its philosophy of the importance of parental involvement in education to the whole community.

PACT's upcoming Parents and Education Series will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11 with a lecture titled "Creating Successful Learners" by social worker Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet. The three-lecture series, which runs through February, will provide talks to parents on how they can help make their children better learners -- both in school and out.

In the past, PACT has held talks and educational workshops for parents in PACT only. This year, the three upcoming lectures are free and open to the public. Parents of kids attending the 10-year-old alternative program housed at Slater School believe these lessons are important for all parents to hear.

"These [lectures] will help your children regardless of what elementary school they're currently enrolled in," said Addison Snell, a PACT parent whose wife, Amy, organized the series.

Through her work as the director of Parents Place Express on the Peninsula, Moskowitz-Sweet has extensive experience providing educational lectures to parents, particularly on the topics of different learning styles for school-aged children. As a social worker, she also stresses the importance of healthy, strong families to foster good learning environments for kids.

"She's very dynamic and uses a lot of concrete examples," Amy Snell said. "She has a very good holistic view of the family in terms of everything you do."

All three upcoming PACT Parents and Education lectures will take place at Slater School's multiuse room, located at 325 Gladys Ave. Talks will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will last for about an hour and a half, including a question and answer period.

The remaining two lectures are entitled "Kids and Labels, Kids and Praise" and "Becoming Part of the Educational Team." On Tuesday, Jan. 24, "Kids and Labels" is a talk given by PACT teacher and co-founder Bonnie Malouf and will cover how parents can learn to focus on their children's strengths to assist them with overcoming learning challenges.

Finally, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, former PACT parent and co-founder Kimberley Smith-Nilsson will talk about the importance of parental involvement in the classroom to enhance kids' academic performance.

Additional information on the PACT parental involvement school can be found at www.pactprogram.net, and the school will host parent information nights on Jan. 18, Feb. 7 and 15 from 7 to 9 p.m.
INFORMATION: "Creating Successful Learners:" a lecture by Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet, LCSW and Director of Parents Place Express. Wednesday, Jan. 11 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Slater Elementary's multiuse room, 325 Gladys Ave., Mountain View. Hosted by the PACT School. For more information, visit www.pactprogram.net.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.