Parents and Youth Skill Building
Conference
Together, we can accomplish this school year with success!
The Salem/Keizer Coalition for Equality has been working with Roberts High School with the High School Graduation Initiative grant. The coalition uses the strategy of preparing parents and youth together in order to reach their goals and succeed in school. Fathers and Mothers are the most important people in the world to encourage and support their teenage children as they prepare for higher education and their future life.
This summer program ended in September with the Skill Building Conference for Parents and Youth, held at McKay High School. Forty parents and twenty youth attended on Saturday the 27th. They were able to choose from two workshops—The Importance of Knowing our Culture” or “How to Influence our Children Positively.”
The guest speaker, Rick Puente, is a Juvenile Detective in the Woodburn Police Department. Rick was born in Oregon, attended school in Salem-Keizer, and graduated from McNary High School. He attended Chemeketa Community College and studied business and criminal justice. His focus has been in prevention and intervention of drugs, gangs and other problems that our youth face today. He talked to parents about the things they can do and strategies they can use to motivate their sons and daughters to improve their behavior and have success in school. The conference offered informational workshops and resources.
Detective Puente talked about his father, who has been blind his whole life, and who has taught him strong values and demanded respect. The most important value he learned from his father is honesty, and he wants parents to teach and expect thes