On Tuesday, October 16th, grades 9-12 will attend an assembly on healthy teen relationships and sexual harassment. The presentation is a program that is provided by the Middlesex Partnerships for Youth. IACS is one of over a 100 charter schools, public school districts, private schools, special education schools, educational collaboratives, and youth community service organizations that are members of Middlesex Partnerships for Youth (MPY). MPY provides training to students, teachers, and parents with the goal of reducing and eliminating risky behaviors (MPY Website). Healthy relationships and sexual harassment are part of our Integrated Health/PE curriculum that all sophomores take, and we hope that this presentation will be an additional support to help our students in this area.

Related to this, I would like to share with you some resources for parents. Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education began a project known as “Making Caring Common”. Their mission is to “help educators, parents, and communities raise children who are caring, responsible to their communities, and committed to justice.” Their website includes the following resources that I think you will find helpful:

Resources for Parents

Misogyny and sexual harassment are distressingly commonplace in young people’s lives yet it appears that most parents have failed to address these topics. If you’re a parent and aren’t sure how to start a conversation at home, try these tips and resources:

1. Practice our 6 Tips for Parents: Reducing and Preventing Misogyny and Sexual Harassment Among Teens and Young Adults. Given the prevalence of sexually degrading and harassing behavior in young people’s lives, conversations about misogyny and sexual harassment are critical—and it’s vital that parents go beyond platitudes like “be respectful.” Here are six tips for parents for engaging in meaningful, constructive conversations.
2. Practice our 5 Tips for Parents: Guiding Teens and Young Adults in Developing Healthy Romantic Relationships. How can we as parents prepare our teens and young adults to develop healthy, caring romantic relationships? We can have frank, wonderful conversations with young people—even if we don’t have all the answers—that powerfully guide them, greatly enrich our relationships with them, and help us understand and develop skills in our own romantic relationships.
3. Access more Resources for Parents. From tips to conversations starters, access more resources to support you at home.

I hope you find these resources helpful and if I come across any additional resources, I will be sure to send them your way as well.

Best,

Erik Arnold, Ed.D.

High School Principal