Park Connects

Our Goals

• Create, strengthen, and support the connections between and among students and adults in our community.
• Reduce the risk factors that contribute to unhealthy behaviors and strengthen the protective factors that foster young people’s healthy development and physical, social, and emotional well-being.

Long-standing research demonstrates that prevention of unhealthy behaviors is associated with effective parenting; strong, positive family and school bonds; clear standards and limit-setting; opportunities for healthy risk-taking; postponement and/or reduction of inappropriate behaviors; and positive role models. Participants gain better understanding of:

• Risk-taking behaviors, healthy and unhealthy
• Child and adolescent development
• Effective parenting skills
• Cultural and social pressures on young people and families
• Benefits of parent networking 

Parent Facilitated Discussions

Sponsored by the Parents’ Association, these grade level parent-to-parent events allow for relationships to develop, experience to be gathered, and an ethos of a connected community to be built. Conversation topics range across the developmental spectrum, such as how to get a five-year-old to fall asleep on their own, to drinking and driving for parents of teenage children. For almost 20 years, these discussion groups, led by trained parent facilitators, have created a culture of conversation and connectivity among Park parents, demonstrated by the “Park Connects moments” — as parents call them — that now take place every day, in the carpool line, on the sidelines of a game, or in a phone call. As decades of research confirm, there’s no question that a more connected community provides a healthier and safer environment for all of our children.

For these Parent Facilitated Discussions, the Park Health Team will provide topics ahead of time (in addition to materials and resources) to help educate parents and guide their conversations. Members of Park’s Health Team will be present for these discussions to answer questions and share their knowledge on what they’re seeing on the ground based on these topics. After an initial conversation, Park’s Health Team will step out of the meeting to allow parents to continue the discussions led by trained parent facilitators. Topics in this portion can include the night’s themes or any parenting issues that are top of mind for parents. 

Resources

Park’s Health Team has created a database of resources (articles, books, lectures, podcasts, etc.) — and can be found here. These resources are intended to provide parenting education about developmentally appropriate topics.

Health Team Happy Hours

Get to know us! Park’s Health Team will host two meet and greet happy hours where our counselors and health educators will introduce themselves and share about divisional specific goals and initiatives. Parents will be able to connect with each other and get to know our health team in an informal — and fun! — way.

2024-2025 Park Connects Calendar

Park Connects Team

Park Connects programs and activities are created and run by a team of Park School faculty and staff and advised by parent volunteers.