FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (SEPTEMBER 10, 2008)
6th Grade Parents in Talbot County Receive Help from Talbot Partnership with Middle School Transition
Parents recently spearheaded a project, through Talbot Partnership and the Talbot County Public Schools, to provide sixth grade parents with a toolkit to help them with their children’s transition to middle school this school year. Families of students in Easton Middle School, St. Michaels Elementary School, Saints Peter and Paul Elementary School, The Country School, and Chesapeake Christian School will receive the toolkits this month. The Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC), appointed by the Talbot County Council, identified that interventions for substance abuse occur too late. The BRC recently developed a strategy to increase parent education about substance abuse risks and prevention when children enter middle school.
Among the items included in the middle school toolkit is a key ring of TALK cards, which parents can use to initiate meaningful conversation on a variety of topics including drug, alcohol and/or tobacco, and peer relationships. The cards were designed to help youth better understand who they are and what’s important to them. The toolkit also includes a bookmark listing resources for parents and children, including recommended classes, books, and Web sites related to drug, alcohol, and/or tobacco issues. Additional items include a street drug information sheet, magnets for the TurnAround Program and for the Talbot TipLine for Underage Drinking, a mouse pad encouraging parents to talk to their children, and brochures on tobacco and alcohol refusal skills. The items will be given to families in blue nylon tote bags bearing the word “Talk.” Talk toolkits were funded by the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Cigarette Restitution Grant.
Pictured left to right are Neil Mufson of Easton, Headmaster of The Country School and a parent of a sixth grader at The Country School and Paulette Brooks of Wittman, parent of a sixth grader at St. Michaels Elementary School, receiving their “Talk” toolkits. The toolkits, sponsored by Talbot Partnership, the Talbot County Health Department, and the Talbot County Public Schools, provide sixth grade parents with resources to help them with their children’s transition to middle school this school year.
