After the death of Schuyler Jones in Old Town, Alexandria last September, many parents of West Potomac students were worried. They were worried about their children; worried about their safety and worried about their future.
Instead of just sitting around and continuing to worry, the parents decided to take action. Speakers were brought into the PTSA meetings to talk about bullying and other topics. Two speakers are scheduled to speak at this month's meeting, which will be held on Monday, May 10, at 7 p.m., in the cafeteria at West Potomac High School.
The first speaker will be Susan Kron, who will speak about the Empower program, which is based on the book called "Queen Bees and Wannabes" written by Rosalind Wiseman. This is also very timely because the newly released movie called "Mean Girls" also is focused on the book.
The second speaker will be from Landmark Education, which puts on a course called the Landmark Forum for Teens (for ages 13 on up), held locally in Alexandria.
Last month, a group of parents met to talk about other ways to stay informed about things that are going on in and around school.
Spearheaded by Naomi Hatch and Lynn Van Fleit, the first meeting of the Parent Network Group was held at the end of March. They invited Sharon Burdick, co-chair Langley High School Parent Network Group, to meet with the group. Burdick explained to the group of 20 parents present the parent network has been in existence for over eight years. It was set up as a vehicle for parents to develop and present educational programs, dialogues and open channels of communications.
Burdick spoke about some of the programs that have proven to be effective at Langley. One of those is called "Saturday Night in the Suburbs." It's usually held at the beginning of the school year and is led by a panel of 10 current high school (mostly senior) students who provide frank and open discussion of what takes place in the suburbs on weekends. There is a question and answer session, and some of what they talk about is very eye-opening, according to parents.
Another sponsored program is called "Monday Morning in Juvenile Court." This program features a Fairfax County judge who discusses with parents the legal consequences of teen drug and alcohol use.
IN ADDITION TO these programs, Langley hosts parent coffees, where an administrator, counselor or School Resource Officer (SRO) is invited to talk to parents. They also have a coffee with the principal once a month.
One of the outside programs that Burdick was positive about is called "Vision Warrior." This two-day program is led by a former student who dropped out of school and became addicted to drugs. After turning his life around, he started this program where he attends schools to impart his message about not going down that same road.
"His charisma with the kids was unbelievable. Two years later, students still email him," said Burdick. "It was one of the most powerful programs Iíve seen."
Burdick spoke about how some of the Langley parents sign a parent agreement that says that they will not allow alcohol or drugs to be consumed by teenagers while under their supervision. Names of parents who sign these agreements are entered into a list which parents can check. While not all parents adhere to that agreement, at least it's a start.
Burdick then got personal and related one of the situations she experienced with her own daughter. When her daughter was asked to a party at a home she didn't know, Burdick called the parents to ask if the children would be supervised. The father was very genuine and assured her that they would be. She then asked if there would be alcohol, he said, 'Yes, but we won't let them drive.'
Situations like that where parents think that they are justified serving underage students alcohol if they don't let them drive are not uncommon. Burdick's daughter was not allowed to go, and she advises other parents to always know what kind of party their son or daughter is attending.
THE NEWLY FORMED parent network at West Potomac is hoping to have coffees with the principal and perhaps the Vision Warrior next school year. However, with the end of this school year approaching, they wanted to initiate at least one of the programs before the school year ended.
After a series of follow-up meetings, the group decided that they would sponsor a session titled "Summer in the Suburbs (SITS)." They originally wanted to incorporate that program onto the May 19, presentation on drugs that's already scheduled at West Potomac. However, that event was solely for the purpose of talking about drugs and already had an agenda that would require the entire length of the meeting.
With that in mind, Hatch contacted Burnette Scarboro, the Director of the Community Coalition, to see if the content of their event could be included in the agenda of their upcoming Summit, which is scheduled to be held at the Bryant Center on Monday, May 24. Naomi was invited to the coalition meeting which took place last week at Sherwood Hall library.
The meeting was mostly about the planning of the Summit. After Naomi gave a brief background of the genesis of the WP Parent Network and more detailed presentation of SITS and other areas they would like to cover at their summit, the coalition decided to include the SITS program in the upcoming summit.
The original purpose of having the summit was to repeat a similar one that was conducted recently at the South County Center. It's hoped that having it at Bryant will enable more parents with children in the Mount Vernon area schools (WP, CS, WW and local elementary schools) to attend.
Hatch said, "They loved our Summer in the Suburbs programs, ideas, and the name. So they decided to change the name of the event to Summer in the Suburbs, with a subheading relating to safety, and to incorporate our programs with theirs. It will be a very informative and timely program and I am very pleased that they are incorporating our agendas as well."
Where & When
West Potomac's PTSA meeting will be held in the library on Monday, May 10, at 7 p.m. Speakers will talk about the Empower program and the Landmark Forum for Teens.
The Community Coalition Summit will take place at the Bryant Center, 2709 Popkins Lane, on Monday, May 24. Dinner will be provided from 6 to 6:45 p.m. From 7 to 7:45 p.m., a panel of 3-4 seniors will preside and answer questions. From 7:50 to 8:15 p.m., policemen will discuss the policies and perspectives of keeping children safe, and from 8:15 to 9 p.m., a Mount Vernon High School student, who is an ex-gang member, will speak. Another student will talk about cyberbullying.