Reflections on Positive Outcomes’ Final Two ParentCamps of the 2023-24 School Year
Written by: ParentCamp Coach Jay Posick
As the school year came to an end at Positive Outcomes, it seems like the right time to reflect on the final two ParentCamps. The number of attendees continues to remain steady but, more importantly, the quality of the conversations continues to be what we talk about after each of the ParentCamps. We spent time immediately following the ParentCamps on March 27th and May 22nd meeting as a group to discuss what went well and what we need to improve upon. These conversations were with the ParentCamp school team, but others who attended wanted to share their thoughts with us as well. We spoke about the topics we had shared as well as ideas for upcoming topics. Above all, we recognized how the ParentCamp model is helping to spread the good news about the culture and climate of Positive Outcomes, especially the fact that the staff and families work so well together to support each and every student.
In March, we spoke about developing family activity nights and by the time we met again in May, some of these ideas had been put into place. We spoke about IEPs and how the school and families are supporting students who need just a little bit more to be successful. We spoke about the transition of students and families from the supportive environment at Positive Outcomes into activities outside of school and the supports that are available to assist students and families with this transition. We also spoke about self-care for families and how we all have the same needs and concerns for ourselves and our students. These topics were rich in discussion. We had a total of 32 attendees, great conversation during dinner, and reflection and amazing raffle prizes to end the evening.
At our May ParentCamp, we realized how busy the end of the school year can be. Despite the busyness, we still had 20 attendees who enjoyed the chance to have dialogue around three powerful topics
- Navigating social media and phones for students
- The importance of community on student success
- Communicating to be heard and listening to understand
We want to thank John Schmidt for facilitating the social media and phones session as he brings a great deal of experience on the topic from his work as the Delaware Director of Youth Prevention Services. Having an open and honest conversation regarding the impact of social media and phones on our students, and on ourselves, provided much needed suggestions for putting acceptable limits on students and ourselves. The discussion led by Mr. Ed Emmett showed again how tight knit the Positive Outcomes community and school is while supporting each and every student. The final topic of communicating to be heard and listening to understand led by Ms. Kelsey Stryker really got the attention of the attendees and they discussed ways to listen to understand instead of listening to provide suggestions. It’s something we can all benefit from.
As we look forward to next school year, please mark your calendars for the four ParentCamp dates, all of which are Wednesdays- October 23rd, December 11th, February 5th, and April 2nd. We hope to see you there!
