Schools

Parent Edge is Bringing Parents and Community Together

Mercer Island's Parent Edge wants to empower and help parents, teachers and school staff.

She wanted to give parents a place where they could talk about issues they were having with their children. And now Parent Edge —  started by Melissa Chasan 10 years ago — is making a difference in Mercer Island by bring parents and the community together.

“Parent Edge wants to empower parents,” said marketing director Maria Kaplan. “We want parents to know the latest scoop on parenting information and practical advice.”

The mission of Parent Edge  — formerly known as Mercer Island Parent Education Committee — is to help families build skills through learning that is timely, thought-provoking and practical, and to facilitate conversation within and among schools, parents and families. Skilled parenting cultivates healthy children, healthy families and healthy communities, according to the Parent Edge website.

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Hundreds gathered on March 7 at the and to hear guest speaker as he gave three different lectures on how to “Help Our Kids Mange Today’s Pressures.” Thompson, a noted psychologist, school consultant, and co-author of eight books, was received warmly. Four of which have been on the New York Times bestseller list. He has also been on 60 Minutes and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Susie Stenberg, a Mercer Island resident, has four children. She enjoyed Thompson’s lecture because he talk about a lot of issues that pertained to all of her children. She has gone to a few of the Parent Edge lectures and finds them helpful.

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“The biggest thing I took away was not to interview my children and learn to listen to them,” Stenberg said.

Debi Armstrong, a Bellevue resident, enjoys coming to Mercer Island because she enjoys the parent involvement.

“I come here (Mercer Island) to be around parents that care about their children and want to be really involved with their community,” she said.

Armstrong attended all three lectures given by Thompson and said she realizes as a mom she has to step back and let her children empower themselves.

Judy Chase, chair of Parent Edge, said they found that by starting conversations it increased the awareness of issues with parents, teachers and school staff.  And from the different conversations the committee gets ideas for lectures and group discussions, said Kaplan.

“The point is to learn from each other and we have a lot of community building from it which is inspiring,” said Chase.

Parent Edge has peer groups for parents with children from the fifth grade to 12th grade, and features two to four national and local guest speakers come during the academic school year to speak to parents.

“We talk about issues everywhere like on the sideline of the soccer field,” Chasan said. “We want to advocate what are the stresses that bind us parents on Mercer Island.”

There are 13 parents who make up the committee members. The age group of their ranging from preschool to college, said Judy Chase, the chair of Parent Edge.

“We work really hard to get a diverse age group of children,” Chase said.

For more information on Parent Edge visit their Facebook or website.


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