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Parent University 2020-21

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Mount Vernon’s Parent University provides parents a breadth of opportunities to learn and grow together as a community. One of our many goals is to offer parents the opportunity to learn from each other and partner together as we tackle the many challenges our children face today. Many events occur throughout the year on topics such as child development, digital citizenship, learning, and parenting from local and national educational experts, special guest speakers, as well as teachers and leaders within our Mount Vernon community.

Special Topics Series: Cultivating Community Resilience & Belonging

Mount Vernon has refocused the 2020-21 Parent University series to provide specific parent programs for inclusion, diversity, and equity, as one of the Next 100 Days IDEA Action Steps.

2020

September 10    
8:45-9:45 am
Mentoring and Monitoring Children’s Online Presence

For over four years, Mount Vernon has partnered with Bark Technologies to provide families with the tools they need to raise children in the digital age. Bark’s comprehensive service lets parents monitor content, manage screen time, and filter websites to get peace of mind while their children are online. Recently, the School hosted a Virtual Parent University Webinar: Mentoring and Monitoring Children’s Online Presence, hosted by Director of Instructional Technology Katie Cain.
View the recorded session.


Wednesday, October 28
8:30-10:00 am 
Resilience and the Power of Inclusion and Connection to End Bullying 

Online Community Screening of The Upstanders, followed by a panel discussion hosted by Mount Vernon’s Counseling Team: Dr. Kelli Bynum, Keri Walton, & Stephanie Corbett

The Upstanders is a documentary film about resilience and the power of inclusion and connection to end bullying. This independent film explores various types of bullying and the brain science behind it all. The film explores the need for inclusive behaviors and calls for a change in how we act as humans to stand up and make a difference together to create systemic change. The film follows the story of David Molak who was literally cyber-bullied to death and the aftermath of how his family has created change to address this epidemic.

Attendees will explore inclusive behaviors that can strengthen a community where all members feel valued and safe. RSVP: Register to receive the Zoom link to participate.

Tuesday, November 17       
7:00-8:30 pm
Talking to Your Kids about Race and Racism
Hosted by Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, The Galloway School, The Mount Vernon School
Register Here

Talking to Your Kids about Race and Racism with Julie Lythcott-Haims, New York Times best-selling author, former Stanford University Dean, and former corporate lawyer with a JD from Harvard Law

On November 17, three school communities will come together for one special night for a virtual learning experience with Julie Lythcott-Haims. Discussing “Talking to Your Kids about Race and Racism,” Julie draws upon her own experiences as a biracial woman to inform and illustrate raising her own children in different ways. Believing in humans and deeply interested in what gets in our way, Julie will spend the evening with parents, engaging in courageous conversations about race and racism while removing the stigma of saying the wrong thing or not having the right answers. 

While being a regular contributor to CBS This Morning, Julie is the author of the New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult along with her award-winning memoir, Real American. Her third book, Your Turn: How to be an Adult, will be released in April 2021. Additionally, Julie is a former corporate lawyer and Stanford dean with a BA from Stanford, a JD from Harvard, and MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts. 

Julie Lythcott-Haims’ TED Talk on How to Raise Successful Kids - without Over-parenting

 

2021

Wednesday, January 13     
8:30-10:00 am
Raising Awareness and Identifying and Understanding Anxiety

On Wednesday, January 13 from 8:30 -10:00 am, join the MV parent community to watch an online community screening of Angst, followed by a virtual discussion. Angst is an original documentary and virtual reality experience that explores anxiety, its causes, effects, and what we can do about it. The film was designed to raise awareness around anxiety by identifying and understanding the symptoms while breaking the stigma. Angst features candid interviews with kids, teens, educators, experts, parents, and Michael Phelps who suffer, or have suffered, from anxiety and what they’ve learned about it. 

Immediately following the screening, attendees will explore the causes of anxiety and its sociological effects with Mount Vernon’s counseling team. Resources and tools for identifying and managing anxiety will be shared.

RSVP: Register to receive the Zoom link to participate. Viewing of the film will take place during the first 50 minutes with the discussion immediately following.

Thursday, January 14
8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m.
Trends in College Counseling: Grades 6-10

Please join us on Zoom (RSVP below) to get the inside scoop on the college process at Mount Vernon. Since March 2020, schools (high schools, K12 schools, and colleges) have been dealing with an unprecedented shift in the educational landscape due to the impacts of COVID19. We look forward to sharing with you what we’ve learned through this admissions cycle and highlighting the ways that Mount Vernon students are uniquely prepared to be competitive even in the most uncertain of times.

Your MV College Counseling Team of Erin McCubbin, Ryan May, and Aerial Dickerson are excited to meet with you! Feel free to submit any specific questions or topic requests in advance here.  These are a sample of topics that will be discussed:

  • The current structure and goals of the MV college counseling program

  • How MV’s grading and assessment philosophy (Altitude and CBE) align with today’s shifting college admission landscape

  • Statistics and outcomes from previous graduating classes

  • What the person who reads your child's college application is looking for

Please make sure to RSVP by Tuesday, January 12 as space is limited. A direct link will be sent in advance of the program to the email provided. We will plan to record the session and make it available on MV’s LookUp in case you are unable to join us. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact college counseling directly at college@mountvernonschool.org. 

Tuesday, February 9    
8:30-9:30 am
Parent University: Managing Stress and Anxiety While Parenting in 2021 with Dr. Lisa Damour
We invite our Mount Vernon community of families to join us on Tuesday, February 9, via Zoom, to hear from the renowned psychologist and best-selling author Dr. Lisa Damour, who will explain the keys to understanding stress and anxiety under normal circumstances and at times of heightened concern and disruption. Join us to learn more about:

  • Recognizing the cumulative aspects of stress
  • Parenting through friction at home
  • Managing meltdowns (at any age, including adults)
  • Regulating ongoing stress and anxiety

Register to participate in the virtual, live Webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1q089sEuTjC7j-hZnjuVqQ 

Dr. Damour welcomes us to submit questions ahead of time using this form. 

Recognized as a thought leader by the American Psychological Association for her work on stress and anxiety, Dr. Lisa Damour is the author of two New York Times best-selling books, Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood and Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls. Dr. Damour also writes the monthly Adolescence column for the New York Times, serves as a regular contributor to CBS News, is a Senior Advisor to the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University, and co-hosts the podcast ASK LISA: The Psychology of Parenting.

Recommended from Dr. Damour’s NYT Adolescence column:

“Lisa Damour accomplishes the near impossible. She deftly blends insights from her clinical experience, time-honored wisdom, the latest social science and neuroscience research, and frank descriptions of cultural trends and media messages.”
– Wendy Mogel, Ph.D., New York Times best-selling author

Resources

Dr. Damour has developed a series of free resources to support families at this difficult time. Please share them as widely as you'd like.

#1: Ask Lisa: The Psychology of Parenting

  • Dr. Damour's new podcast gives parents the tools they need to navigate parenting in a pandemic. Along with co-host Reena Ninan, she tackles parents' timely and timeless questions about the challenges that come with raising children and teenagers. Ask Lisa is available at Apple, Spotify, and most podcast platforms. New episodes release each Tuesday.

#2: Downloadable Mental Health one-sheets

#3 Articles and Interviews

  • Dr. Damour's articles and interviews related to COVID-19 can be found at this link, which is constantly updated.

Tuesday, April 13
7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Parent University: Lauren Winborne of Steer Smart for Student Drivers (Upper School families)
Register Here
MV Upper School parents and students are all encouraged to attend an evening with Lauren Winborne of Steer Smart. Steer Smart is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping young student drivers, passengers, and parents prevent fatal or life-shattering car crashes by focusing on decisions and consequences made specifically in cars.  Winborne engages all of us to understand the risks of the road. She has worked with countless schools and universities across the country. While her emphasis is on safety and prevention, she encourages students to dissect the anatomy of real crashes that have resulted in near catastrophic injuries or fatalities. Students and parents will hear real-life stories from the victims of these crashes.

 

 

 

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