Agenda - 03-04-1991 - Laserfiche WebLink

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L" In meeting individually with parents, and by conducting two needs assessments, the NIP's project coordinator identified concerns of Ridgefield parents. These included: (1) getting assistance in preparing a household budget, (2) drug education, (3) building self- esteem, (4) setting limits for adolescents, (5) teen pregnancy prevention information, and (6) reproductive health information. All these concerns are being addressed in NIP programs, by PPOD, or by other agencies coordinated by us. In November, a Ridgefield resident agreed to host a meeting for parents. Margo Crawford, of UNC's Black Cultural center, has facilitated the four meetings held to date. Five mothers attended the first meeting. Their main concern was a feeling of helplessness in dealing with the school system. Their children were being labeled as learning disabled, and the parents did not understand how this determination was made, how it could be challenged, or what they could do to help their children succeed in school. Attendance increased for the second and third meetings, where sexuality and (once again) the problems their children were having in school dominated the conversations. Fifty people attended the fourth meeting! These included parents, a few teens, school principals, guidance counselors, special resource teachers, and the assistant superintendent of schools. The parents had taken the initiative and arranged for the school personnel to attend the meeting. The resulting dialogue clearly left the parents feeling more involved in their children's education and lives. We believe that this feeling of empowerment will raise the parents' self- esteem and consequently that of their children. Research on teen pregnancy prevention suggests that, with increased self - esteem, adolescents are more likely to succeed in school, to set goals, to delay sexual activity, and to use birth control if they do become sexually active. These meetings have had the additional benefit of reducing the parents' initial suspicion of PPOD and its services. The meetings also have served to familiarize school personnel with the Minority Involvement Project and Planned Parenthood. On November 17,, the NIP co- sponsored a "Fall Family Festival" at the Hargraves Center. Seventy parents and children attended, enjoying the Chuck Davis African- American Dance Ensemble, the Impromptu Teen Expression Theater from Planned Parenthood of Greater Raleigh, and the hotdogs sold by the parents to raise money for the Airport Gardens Tenant Association. This is yet another example of the parents' support for, and willingness to participate in, PPOD's Minority Involvement Project.