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Parenting can be a very rewarding experience, but it can also be very difficult at times. Children do not come with instructions and many people who become parents do so with little or no formal training. Many parents do not have the support of family members living in the area or may not have had appropriate parenting models growing up. All parents -- and their children -- deserve the support and guidance a Nuturing Parenting class offers. The Family Tree Center offers 4 different parenting classes (babies, toddlers, grade-schoolers, and adolescents) utilizing the evidence-based best practice Nuturing Parenting Curriculum. Classes meet two hours a week for fifteen weeks and cover topics such as: Empathy, Brain development, Child development, Discipline, Safety, Family morals and values, Family rules, Drug and alcohol abuse, Stress and anger management, Routines, and Problem solving. Highlights include: Free childcare and dinner for children Snacks for the parents Family interaction time during each class Activities for grade-school age children and older where they learn, at their level, the same information their parents are learning Classes are offered at no charge to all self-referred parents and for a nominal fee of $10 per class for parents who need a certificate Materials fee is $20 If you are interested in these classes: Contact Tonia at 406-252-9799 or email the Family Tree Center office at ftcoffice@qwestoffice.net.

A new government publication aims to help schools enlist parents in promoting and sustaining health in their children.

Published by the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH), Parent Engagement: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health covers how schools can connect with parents about health education for children, engage parents in the subject matter, and ultimately sustain ongoing interest in the mission.

1.  If your child is exhibiting new behavioral problems that are interfering with their ability to access the curriculum; your school may need to implement a Behavior Support Plan to extinguish the negative or off task behavior. 2.  If your child is struggling academically in the first semester, don’t wait until second semester to address the problem.  If you have to request new assessments; keep in mind the timeline from the day you authorized the assessments.  The school has 60 days* in which to conduct the assessments and hold an IEP, so if you wait until second semester, the school year might be coming to an end; basically, your child has lost the entire year.  * Some States have different timelines so please check the timelines in your State. 3.  If your child will be attending Kindergarten, Middle School or High School the following year; you need to know all the areas of strengths and weaknesses to help them transition into the next phase of their education. 4.  If your child has been bullied in school, you need to make sure there is a safety plan implemented to protect your child from harm.  In addition, your child should know the name of the school personnel they can approach if the situation arises again; providing a safe place in the school environment. 5.  If your child’s placement is no longer working, do not wait to address this problem; otherwise, your child may lose an entire year of academics. 6.  If your child has been suspended repeatedly for behavioral problems, do not wait until the school is about to expel your child from the district.  Call an IEP to discuss changes in the Behavior Support Plan or ask for additional assessments immediately such as a Functional Behavior Assessment. 7.  If your child has been assigned an Aide that is not experienced enough to prevent your child from eloping, you need to call an IEP as soon as possible to request a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) or additionally training for the Aide.  Remember, every time your child leaves the classroom they are not being educated! 8.  If your child is experiencing depression, lack of self-worth, anxiety…etc.  You should call an IEP and request a Social/Emotional Assessment for in-school counseling.  If your child already has in-school counseling and that’s not working then you need to request an Educationally Related Mental Health Assessment to address these issues before they escalate into more serious behavior. 9.  If the services you agreed to at your child’s last IEP meeting are not working, you need to call an IEP to ask your school to increase the amount of services, or file for Due Process if you feel it’s necessary to take the matter directly to the school district. 10. If the School has not been following your child’s IEP; therefore, is out of compliance, call an IEP right away to allow the school to remedy the situation.  If they are not willing to rectify the situation then you need to either file for Due Process or file a complaint with the State Department of Education.

A new survey tool that school districts and parent-teacher organizations can use to measure the quality of parent-school relationships has been created by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and released by SurveyMonkey, a Palo Alto, Calif., company, for widespread use by schools, districts, and parent groups. The 71-item "question bank" covers seven areas of family engagement—from how much help students receive at home to how confident parents are in supporting their child's schooling. Districts can adapt the survey to suit their individual needs, and parents responding to it can do so online or on paper.

Click here to register for this webinar What: This presentation examines how students who are at greater risk for suspension, expulsion and referral to the juvenile justice system because of behaviors associated with their disabilities, are targeted by school push-out policies and practices that systemically exclude these most vulnerable students from school and deny them their education. Our presenters will describe the array of such policies and practices - retention, academic sanctions, ineffective interventions, including those used for bullying and harassment, abusive use of zero tolerance, criminalization of disability related behavior and referral to law enforcement. Presenters will also identify and discuss concrete strategies for parents and advocates to use to help students protect their rights to remain in school and receive a high quality education. Time is provided for questions from participants. When: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm MT

What: This presentation examines how students who are at greater risk for suspension, expulsion and referral to the juvenile justice system because of behaviors associated with their disabilities, are targeted by school push-out policies and practices that systemically exclude these most vulnerable students from school and deny them their education. Our presenters will describe the array of such policies and practices - retention, academic sanctions, ineffective interventions, including those used for bullying and harassment, abusive use of zero tolerance, criminalization of disability related behavior and referral to law enforcement. Presenters will also identify and discuss concrete strategies for parents and advocates to use to help students protect their rights to remain in school and receive a high quality education. Time is provided for questions from participants. When: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm MT

Most parents and professionals would agree that good parent teacher communication is crucial to a dynamic home-school partnership, especially with regard to educating students with special needs. Most of us also agree that when adults strive for good communication, children win.

Education professionals say that emotionally-charged school meetings result from the demands of unreasonable and unrealistic parents. Parents counter this argument. They say that professional arrogance and an unwillingness to recognize the parent's valuable input is at the root of parent teacher communication breakdowns.

You can register here to become a member! You can also download the full flyer here!What:TASH invites you to learn about Building Inclusive High School Communities by participating in this exclusive webinar series featuring leading experts on inclusive education. Creating a truly inclusive high school can be an arduous and complex process, especially as schools already face the challenge of raising academic standards through rigor and high-stakes testing. But as the gateway to adult life, high school should embrace and support all students by creating opportunities for: Self-advocacy Differentiated instruction and Universal Design for Learning Youth Engagement Relationship building and social interactions Engaging in preparation for the quality of life they deserve in the community This series is intended for anyone interested in developing inclusive schools, including parents of middle and high school students, special and general education teachers, special services staff and directors, school administrators, inclusive facilitators and other personnel. When:February 20 - March 20, 2012Accessible 24/7!Contact:Phone: (202) 509-9596Email: pallen@tash.orgWebsite: http://tash.org/conferences-events/webinars/current-webinars/