Parents of students at Questar III’s George Washington School now have a new tool to support their children. Beginning this week, School Social Worker Michele Baldwin is hosting a Parent Support Group at the school to share tools, ideas and resources, as well as connect with one another.
While the group is new to George Washington, Baldwin hosted a similar group at Sackett Educational Center in Castleton when she worked that building.
“We often talk about how we help our students succeed in school, but success at home is an important part of that. We hope that by offering this opportunity for parents or caregivers to come together and share resources or ideas, we can help our parents be able to better help their children,” says GWS Principal Danielle Remillard.
Baldwin agrees, noting it can be overwhelming for parents to find resources they need to help their children succeed.
“For many of our parents, this is either their first child or their first child with a disability, and it can be difficult to navigate the system. Parents want to advocate for their child and ensure they get the resources and help they need, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed. We hope this group will support and educate our parents to empower them to be their child’s strongest advocate,” Baldwin says.
Topics will vary depending on what parents want to cover – from addressing behaviors at home, various sensory or mental health issues, available community resources and the changing mental health laws.
Each session will also feature a guest speaker. The first session featured staff from Vanderhyden’s Family Support Outreach Program.
Baldwin says the GWS administration hopes to help parents feel more connected to the school, especially considering the young age of many of their students.
