Surviving the Teen Years (STY) Parenting Class Series:
Motto: We are all about the successful parenting of KIDS
What is it? STY is a 6 week parenting class series that is held on Wednesday nights from 6 – 7:30 pm.
How often is it done? The STY parenting series is presented 4 times a year starting in September and ending in mid May. An annual schedule of the classes is available from the Family Connections Program and is also on our web site” www.cyfs.org
Who teaches the class? Jack Gallagher is the lead instructor. Jack has over 34 years of experience in working with at risk children and families and has been teaching this specific class series since 8/04. Melissa Cohen, MSW and LCSW, co-leads this program with Jack. She has several years of experience providing therapeutic services to teens and their parents.
Where is it held? STY classes are held at 1000 East High Street at the Children, Youth and Family Services building.
Who attends the class? STY classes are for parents and their teens. Some parents are required to take the class but most of the parents who attend are trying to improve their parenting skills and resolve existing parent/teen conflicts. It is highly recommended that both parents and their teens attend the class.
What is covered in the classes? STY uses the national curriculum Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) from American Guidance Service Inc. and includes parenting strategies and suggestions from a variety of proven parent education curriculums, books, and parent educators. Some of the topics include: adolescent development info; respectful communication; realistic family rules, consequences and privileges; consistency; how and why to do family meetings; conflict resolution approaches; anger and stress management strategies; strengths based parenting; community resources; and a variety of handouts on specific parenting challenges. STEP goals include: to raise a child who is happy, healthy, confident, cooperative, and responsible; to build a strong, lifelong relationship with your child; to help your child grow to be a responsible adult, and to raise a child who is loved and able to give love.
How is it taught? STY classes are multi-learning experiences that use parenting videos, simple reading and homework assignments, class discussions, group problem solving, and class exercises. We also supplement the curriculum with some specialized stress reduction activities and discussions. We do some initial assessment of what is working and what is not and help each parent/family develop some specific parenting strategies that work.
Are there other services provided? Yes, there are handouts provided on key ingredients for successful parenting and suggestions on addressing specialized parenting challenges from common parenting challenges to drug use, blended and single parent families, school issues, illegal activity, temper tantrums, runways, etc. We also offer 3 free (included in the class fee) parent consultation meetings at our office or in the family home, that help families apply what they have learned in the classes and address each family’s specific parenting challenges.
What is the cost? The cost of the entire 6 classes is $125 per family, $100 per couple or $75 per individual. This fee covers 6 classes (9 hours of instruction), 3 Family Coaching VIsits (3-6 hours of coaching meetings), 151 page STEP Parenting Teenagers Manual, class handouts, and phone consults.
Who funds this program? This class series is funded by a Family and Children’s Trust Fund (FACT) grant, with local support from the Charlottesville Community Area Foundation, the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Fluvanna County, United Way, local donors, and fees.
Why do it? As most parents of adolescents already realize, parenting is not taught in our mainstream public education system. Most of us rely on what our parents did and/or what we think we should do. Too often this approach usually involves good intentions but inconsistent and ineffective parenting approaches. When adolescence arrives things start to get complicated with the potential for frequent family conflicts, tension and stress, arguments, or worse. Luckily there are “tried and true” parenting strategies and skills that can be learned and used to resolve existing family challenges. This class series provides practical strategies and tools that can help a family reorganize their efforts toward a more successful family and parenting experience. An investment of 6 evenings and $100 is a small price to pay for some worthwhile parenting strategies. Most of the parents who take our classes, whether it is required or voluntarily, tell us that they are very glad they did. They feel that it is the least they can do for their kids and their families.
Does it work? Definitely. We ask parents and their teens to fill out satisfaction surveys at the conclusion of the classes and the results are always very positive.
If you would like to see these surveys and read the parent comments we would be glad to share them to you. We are committed to evaluating and improving our classes and the results indicate that our classes are appreciated and successful at helping parents and their teens make improvements at home.
How do I enroll? Enrollment can be done over the phone and takes less than 5 minutes. Parent Educators are also willing to meet with families prior to the class to explain the curriculum and answer questions.
Contact Info: Jack Gallagher CYFS 296 4119x257 116 West Jefferson Street, Charlottesville, Va 22902
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