Parent University is back for Spring 2023!
This year, Parent University will feature two virtual keynote sessions and a morning of in-person workshops!
Since 2014, Wakefield Public Schools has offered parents and caregivers programming that addresses academic, social-emotional, and technology topics through the Parent University series. Keynotes will take place virtually the evenings of February 9th and March 9th, and workshops will take place the morning of March 25th at the Woodville School. Wakefield Academy will provide free childcare during our workshops.
WORKSHOPS
March 25 ︱ 9 to 11:30 a.m. ︱ Woodville Elementary School
This year, our workshops are back in person! Join us at the Woodville School for a morning of casual, interactive sessions facilitated by Wakefield Public Schools staff and community partners. Sessions cover a variety of topics that span all grade levels.
Keynote Speakers
Dr. Ellen Braaten
February 9 ︱ 7p.m. ︱ Virtual
Trying to Keep Up (co-sponsored by the Wakefield SEPAC)
We live in a world where quick responding is considered an essential skill; however, many children feel left behind. Dr. Braaten will provide an overview of processing speed and its relationship to today’s quick-paced lifestyles, classroom environments, and home lives. She will discuss the connection between processing speed and other issues such as ADHD, learning disabilities, and anxiety; how slower processing can affect a child’s social relationships and classroom performance; and how caregivers can best accommodate and help students who have trouble keeping up.
Dr. Ellen Braaten is the Executive Director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP) at Massachusetts General Hospital and an Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School.
Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP
March 9 ︱ 7p.m. ︱ Virtual
Teach Children to Manage Their Time, Space, and Materials
Do you have children who are disorganized and forget to turn in the homework they have completed? Do you see your child is constantly multitasking, so tasks take twice as long as they should? This session will teach caregivers dozens of easy-to-implement strategies to improve motivation and task initiation.
Sarah Ward, M.S., CCC/SLP, is a speech and language pathologist with over 25 years of experience in diagnostic evaluations, treatment and case management.