'What Every Parent Needs to Know' Lecture Prepares Parents of Teenagers
Over the past 30 years, Bob Leece, the current student assistance coordinator at Buffalo Grove High School, has trained thousands of parents through his lecture series, titled, 'What Every Parent Needs to Know'. Leece's sessions assist parents in navigating and appropriately responding to the growth and development of today's young people.
What began as a small gathering through word-of-mouth, has grown into a sizable class that averages more than 100 parents. The lecture series is presented by High School District 214 and Link Together Coalition, a community organization whose mission is to promote healthy communities through empowering students to make positive choices.
Parents delve into topics such as how to anticipate and prevent behavioral problems in a proactive way, how to develop mutually respectful relationships, explore fair discipline, maintain effective communication and use productive problem-solving methods.
The idea for the lecture series came to fruition after parents began reaching out to Leece asking for help.
"It's not what you know, it's what you do with what you know," Leece says. "These classes give me the ability to reach more people in the community."
Many parents sing Leece's praise, providing feedback that they learned practical tools through his teachings, and are now finding better ways to connect with their children.
Some even go so far to say that his classes should be mandatory for all parents.
"Bob gives parents the tools they need to deal with today's teenager," says Peter DeArcangelis, a parent in Mount Prospect who attended the lecture series.
The lecture series is offered three times a year. Each one has six classes for parents to attend, with a total cost of $20, which is donated to families in-need in the local community.
Future classes will be held in late February/early March of 2018.
For information, or to receive registration information, email Jorie at linktogethercoalition@gmail.com.
ABOUT LINK TOGETHER COALITION:
Link Together Coalition works in support with their fiscal agent, nonprofit OMNI Youth Services, and empowers Wheeling Township middle and high school students to be drug and alcohol free. These populations are provided with education, advocacy, access to community resources, and policy awareness. The organization's prevention programming is made possible by grants from the Illinois Department of Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), and Drug Free Communities. Link Together Coalition serves Wheeling Township, including portions of Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights and Wheeling. For more information, visit linktogethercoalition.org.